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IV 


The    Library 

of 

Literary    History 


of  $tterarg 


A  LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  INDIA.  By  R.  W. 
FRAZER,  LL.B. 

A  LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  IRELAND.  By  DOUGLAS 
HYDE,  LL.D. 

A  LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 
By  BARRETT  WENDELL. 

A  LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  PERSIA  FROM  THE 
EARLIEST  TIMES  UNTIL  FIRDAWSI.  By  EDWARD  G. 
BROWNE,  M.A. 

A  LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND.  By  J.  H. 
MILLAR. 

Other  Volumes  in  Preparation. 

A  LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  PERSIA  (VOL.  II.).  By 
EDWARD  G.  BROWNE,  M.A. 

A   LITERARY   HISTORY  OF  THE  JEWS. 

A  LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA.  By  E.  H. 
MINNS. 

A  LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  By  GUSTAVE 
LANSON. 

A  LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  ARABIA.  By  R.  A. 
NICHOLSON. 

ETC.  ETC.  ETC. 

There  is  for  every  nation  a  history,  which  does  not  respond  to  the 
trumpet-call  of  battle,  which  does  not  limit  its  interests  to  the  conflict  of 
dynasties.  This — the  history  of  intellectual  growth  and  artistic  achievement 
— if  less  romantic  than  the  popular  panorama  of  kings  and  queens,  finds  its 
material  in  imperishable  masterpieces,  and  reveals  to  the  student  something 
at  once  more  vital  and  more  picturesque  than  the  quarrels  of  rival  parlia- 
ments. Nor  is  it  in  any  sense  unscientific  to  shift  the  point  of  view  from 
politics  to  literature.  It  is  but  a  fashion  of  history  which  insists  that  a 
nation  lives  only  for  her  warriors,  a  fashion  which  might  long  since  have 
been  ousted  by  the  commonplace  reflection  that,  in  spite  of  history,  the  poets 
are  the  true  masters  of  the  earth.  If  all  record  of  a  nation's  progress  were 
blotted  out,  and  its  literature  were  yet  left  us,  might  we  not  recover  the 
outlines  of  its  lost  history  ? 

It  is,  then,  with  the  literature  of  nations  that  the  present  series  is 
concerned. 

Each  volume  will  be  entrusted  to  a  distinguished  scholar,  and  the  aid  of 
foreign  men  of  letters  will  be  invited  whenever  the  perfection  of  the  series 
demands  it. 


THE   LIBRARY 

OF 

LITER  ART  HISTO'Rr 


A  Literary  History  of  Scotland 


A    Literary    History 
of  Scotland 


.    By 

J.    H.    Millar,    B.A.,  LL.B. 

Balliol  College,  Oxford;  Lecturer  in  International  'Private- 
Law  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh 


Author  of 

"The    Mid-Eighteenth  Century" 
("  Periods  of  European  Literature  "  Series) 


London 

T.     Fisher    Unwin 
Paternoster  Square 

1903 


[All  rights  reserved.] 


Preface 


THE  general  scope  of  the  following  pages  does  not,  it  is 
conceived,  require  any  elaborate  explanation.  The  work  is 
an  effort  to  fulfil  the  promise  of  its  title-page,  and  it  is  for  the 
reader  to  judge  how  far  that  effort  has  been  successful.  Down 
to  the  date  of  the  Union  of  the  Parliaments,  the  author's  task 
was  a  perfectly  plain-sailing  one,  in  so  far  as  regards  the 
choice  of  writers  to  be  dealt  with.  Thenceforward,  however, 
he  was  from  time  to  time  confronted  with  the  question, 
whether  a  particular  writer  of  undoubted  Scottish  nationality 
should  or  should  not  be  included  in  what  professes  to  be  a 
record  of  Scottish  literature.  That  question  was  sometimes 
by  no  means  a  simple  one  to  answer,  and  it  was  not  without 
misgivings  that  the  resolution  was  ultimately  adopted,  to 
abstain  from  attempting  anything  like  adequate  criticism  of 
men  like  James  Thomson,  James  Boswell,  and  Thomas 
Carlyle,  and  to  rest  satisfied  with  little  more  than  the  bare 
mention  of  their  names.  The  reasons  which  determined  this 
course  are  in  each  case  sufficiently  indicated  in  the  text.  If  it 
be  thought,  on  the  other  hand,  that,  whatever  may  be  said  of 
such  omissions,  the  last  two  chapters  err  on  the  side  of  over- 
crowding, there  can  only  be  urged  in  extenuation  a  desire 
to  make  the  work  complete  in  the  treatment  of  a  period  as  to 
which  information  is  not  yet  so  readily  accessible,  or  at  least 
so  conveniently  digested,  as  it  will  some  day  come  to  be. 


viii  PREFACE 

No  true  Scot,  probably,  can  avoid  the  taint  of  partiality  in- 
handling  some  of  the  topics  which  necessarily  come  under 
review  in  a  history  of  his  country's  literature.  The  present 
writer  does  not  venture  to  claim  immunity  from  a  weakness 
to  which  so  many  of  his  betters  have  proved  themselves  liable  ; 
nor  can  he  flatter  himself  that  he  runs  any  serious  risk  of 
being  taken  for  an  enthusiastic  partisan  of  the  "  Highflying  " 
interest.  He  would  fain,  however,  hope  that  no  constitutional 
prejudice  or  bias  has  led  him  to  the  unconscious  and  unin- 
tentional misrepresentation  of  the  views  of  men  with  whose 
temperament  and  habits  of  thought  he  may  chance  to  find 
himself  in  imperfect  sympathy.  Conscious  and  deliberate 
misrepresentation  he  trusts  it  is  needless  to  disclaim.  For 
the  rest,  he  has  sought  in  his  literacy  judgments  to  arrive  at 
independent  results,  and  to  state  them,  such  as  they  are,  with 
firmness  and  candour,  yet  without  over-emphasis  or  exaggera- 
tion. 

Among  the  indispensable  works  of  reference  which  have 
been  consulted,  the  writer  desires  to  single  out  for  especial 
recognition  the  convenient  and  accurate  Biographical  Dictionary^ 
in  one  volume,  published  by  Messrs.  W.  and  R.  Chambers, 
and  the  same  firm's  Cyclopedia  of  English  Literature — an  old 
friend  of  his  youth,  and  now  appearing  in  a  more  valuable  and 
attractive  edition  than  ever.  A  full  acknowledgment  of  heavy 
indebtedness  to  the  Dictionary  of  National  Biography  is  super- 
fluous, and  ought  to  be  taken  as  written  in  the  preface  to 
every  work  of  this  character.  Among  books  other  than  those 
of  reference,  substantial  aid  has  been  derived  from  David 
Irving's  Scotish  Writers  and  Scotish  Poetry^  and  from  Mr.  T. 
Y.  Henderson's  Scottish  Vernacular  Literature. 

It  remains  for  the  author  to  express  his  hearty  thanks  to 
various  friends  who  have  assisted  and  encouraged  him  in  the 
preparation  of  this  volume  :  to  Mr.  Charles  Whibley,  who  is, 
in  a  sense,  its  "  only  begetter "  ;  to  Mr.  G.  Gregory  Smith 
and  to  Mr.  George  Saintsbury,  Professor  of  Rhetoric  and 


PREFACE  ix 

English  Literature  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  who  have 
most  kindly  read  the  proofs,  and  favoured  him  with  many 
valuable  suggestions  ;  and  to  Dr.  Sprott,  minister  of  North 
Berwick,  who  has  read  the  chapters  dealing  with  the  seven- 
teenth and  eighteenth  centuries,  and  has  communicated  the 
benefit  of  his  extensive  reading  and  his  intimate  acquaintance 
with  Scottish  ecclesiastical  history.  It  need  scarcely,  however, 
be  said  that  for  the  opinions  hereinafter  expressed  these  gentle- 
men are  as  little  responsible  as  they  are  for  any  blunders  in 
fact  or  any  slips  of  the  press  which  may  be  detected  in  the 
course  of  perusal.  As  regards  the  latter  class  of  error,  the 
clemency  of  the  reader  may  be  moved,  while  his  vigilance  is 
stimulated,  by  the  recollection  of  Archbishop  Hamilton's 
sagacious  dictum  (infra,  p.  1 32),  that  "  thair  is  na  buke  sa 
perfidy  prentit  bot  sum  faultis  dois  eschaip  in  the  prenting 
thairof."  To  sundry  other  friends  who  have  contributed 
information  and  advice,  due  acknowledgment  has  been  made 
in  the  appropriate  places,  and  to  the  list  of  their  names  there 
fall  to  be  added  those  of  Mr.  William  Blackwood  and  Mr. 
A.  E.  Henderson.  The  staff  of  the  Advocates'  Library  have, 
as  is  their  custom,  shown  themselves  remarkably  attentive  and 
officious  (in  the  good  sense  of  the  word).  Finally,  it  would  be 
ungrateful  and  ungracious  of  the  author  not  to  testify  to  the 
courtesy  of  Mr.  Unwin  in  granting  him  a  very  ample  extension 
of  time  for  the  completion  of  a  work  which  has  occupied  a 
much  longer  period  than  was  originally  bargained  for. 

EDINBURGH, 

April  ^t),  1903. 


Contents 


PAGE 

PREFACE  vii 


CHAPTER  I. 

EARLY  SCOTS  POETRY  :  1301-1475 

The  English-speaking  Scots — Antagonism  between  Saxon 
and  Celtic  type  of  civilisation — Thomas  of  Erceldoune — 
Huchown — Poems  attributed  to  him — John  Barbour — 
The  Bnis — Andrew  of  Wyntoun — James  I. — The  Kingis 
Qtiair — Chrislis  Kirk — Robert  Henryson — His  Fables — 
Harry  the  Minstrel — The  Bukc  of  the  Howlat — Rauf 
Coilzear — Other  old  Poems. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  GOLDEN  AGE  OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY  .  .     46 

The  reign  of  James  IV. — William  Dunbar — The  "Aureate" 
style  —  Discussion  of  Dunbar' s  works  —  His  immense 
resource — Gavin  Douglas — His  essential  mediaevalism — 
The  Police  of  Honour — His  &neid — Sir  David  Lyndsay — 
Discussion  of  his  works — His  Sa tyre  of  the  Thrie  Estaitis— 
Remains  of  the  Drama  in  Scotland. 


CHAPTER    III. 

EARLY  PROSE,  AND  THE  PROSE  OF  THE  REFORMATION.   112 

Latin    Chroniclers — John     Major — The  Scots    Acts — Sir 

Gilbert     of     the     Haye — Scots     New  Testament — John 


xii  CONTENTS 

Bellenden — The  Complaynt  of  Scotland — John  Gau — 
Hamilton's  Catechism — John  Knox — His  History  of  the 
Reformation — George  Buchanan — Ninian  Winzet — Other 
controversialists — Robert  Lindsay  of  Pitscottie  —  John 
Leslye — Certain  memoirs — Prose  of  King  James  VI. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

THE    VERSE   OF   THE   REFORMATION  :    THE   BALLADS  : 

THE  LAST  OF  THE  "  MAKARIS  "  .  .   i6q, 

Satirical  Poems  of  the  Reformation — The  Gude  and  Godlie 
Ballatis — The  Ballad  Problem — The  "  Communal  Origin  '' 
theory  discussed — Relation  of  "Folklore"  to  Ballad 
question — Theory  of  the  comparatively  modern  origin  of 
the  Ballad — Illustrations  and  specimens  from  the  Ballads 
— John  Rolland — Sir  Richard  Maitland — George  Banna- 
tyne  —  Alexander  Scott — Alexander  Montgomerie — The 
end  of  "  Middle-Scots." 

APPENDIX — 

List  of  Tales,   Songs,  and   Dances  enumerated  in 
The  Complaynt  of  Scotland. 


CHAPTER   V. 

THE   SEVENTEENTH   CENTURY  :     POETS,    DIVINES,   AND 

HISTORIANS          .....  224. 

General  Characteristics  of  the  Century  —  Philotus  — 
Alexander  Hume  of  Logic — William  Lithgow — Simeon 
Grahame — The  Earl  of  Ancram — Sir  William  Alexander — 
William  Drummond — Zachary  Boyd — Sir  William  Mure 
of  Rowallan — The  Marquis  of  Montrose — The  Scots  Latin 
Poets — The  Sempills  —  William  Cleland — Pitcairne — 
Abacuck  Bysset — Alexander  Hume,  the  Schoolmaster — 
Sir  Thomas  Urquhart  —  The  Forbeses  —  Henderson, 
Gillespie,  and  Dickson  —  Samuel  Rutherford  —  Henry 
Scougal — Robert  Leighton — Other  Preachers — Hume  of 
Godscroft — John  Spottiswoode  —  David  Calderwood — 
Robert  Baillie — Other  Diarists  and  Memoir-Writers — 


CONTENTS  xiii 

PAGE 

Gilbert  Burnet— Patrick  Walker— Robert  Wodrow— 
Scottish  savants  —  Sir  George  Mackenzie  —  Fletcher  of 
Saltoun. 

CHAPTER   VI. 

THE  AUGUSTAN  AGE  :   PROSE    .  .  .  .  312 

Effects  of  the  Union— Decay  of  the  Scots  language  in 
conversation  and  writing — The  effort  to  write  English — 
The  ideal  of  "Eloquence" — David  Hume — His  History — 
His  philosophy  —  Adam  Smith  —  Principal  Robertson — 
The  reign  of  the  Moderates — The  first  Edinburgh  Review 
— Kames,  Home,  Blair,  Campbell,  Adam  Ferguson, 
Alexander  Carlyle,  and  Others  —  Thomas  Reid  —  John 
Millar. 

CHAPTER   VII. 

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY  POETRY  :  BURNS  .  .  370 

Versifiers  in  English — Blair,  Falconer,  Beattie,  and  Others 
—  The  Bruce-Logan  controversy  —  Survival  of  the 
"classical"  tradition — Vernacular  poetry — Watson's  Choice 
Collection — Allan  Ramsay — The  Pennecuiks — The  Hamil- 
tons — Ross  and  Skinner — Female  song-writers — Robert 
Fergusson — Robert  Burns — His  life  and  character — His 
works — His  adherence  to  the  Scots  tradition,  and  "  Emu- 
lation" of  predecessors — His  Songs — Tarn  o'  Shantcr  and 
The  Jolly  Beggars. 

APPENDIX — 

Macpherson's  Ossian. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

SIR  WALTER  SCOTT       .....  430 

Sketch  of  life — John  Leyden — Scott's  Poetry — The  longer 
pieces  —  The  shorter  pieces — His  prose  writings  —  The 
miscellaneous  works  —  The  Waverley  novels  —  Debt  to 
Smollett — Henry  Mackenzie — Scott's  constructive  skill — 
Use  of  the  supernatural — Illustration  from  the  Bride  of 


xiv  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Lammermoor — His  heroes  and  heroines — Sympathy  with 
the  "average  man" — Treatment  of  history — His  style — 
The  attacks  made  on  it  considered — His  grasp  of  human 
nature — Illustrations. 

APPENDIX — 

Chronological  List  of  Sir  Walter  Scott's  principal 
works. 

CHAPTER    IX. 

THE      RISE      OF      PERIODICAL      LITERATURE  :    THE 

"EDINBURGH  REVIEW"  AND  "BLACKWOOD"    .  481 

Early  periodical  literature — The  Edinburgh  Review — 
Archibald  Constable — Francis  Jeffrey — His  critical  work 
discussed — His  contributors — His  successor — Sir  William 
Hamilton — William  Blackwood — His  Magazine  —  The 
Chaldee  Manuscript — John  Wilson — The  Nodes  —  John 
Gibson  Lockhart — Peter's  Letters — Life  of  Scott — James 
Hogg — Chambers' s  Journal. 

CHAPTER    X. 

THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  :    1801-1848         .  .  539 

Mrs.  Grant  of  Laggan  and  Others — Miss  Ferrier — John 
Gait — Moir,  Thomas  Hamilton,  and  Others — Poetry — 
Whistle-Binkie — Historians — Antiquaries — The  tradition  of 
"  Eloquence  " — Andrew  Thomson  —  Thomas  Chalmers  — 
Hugh  Miller. 

CHAPTER    XI. 

THE  VICTORIAN  ERA  :   1848-1880        .  .  .  586 

William  Edmondstoune  Aytoun — The  Bon  Gaulticr  Ballads 
— Alexander  Smith  and  the  "spasmodic"  school — David 
Gray — Robert  Buchanan — Dr.  Walter  Smith — Other  poets 
— Mrs.  Oliphant — Mr.  George  Macdonald — Other  novelists 
— Historians  and  Antiquaries — The  Broad-Church  move- 
ment— Scholars,  philosophers,  and  savants — Journalists  : 
Russel  and  Hannay  —  Good  Words — The  North  British 
Review — Critics  :  John  Skelton  and  David  Masson. 


CONTENTS  xv 

CHAPTER  XII. 

PAGE 

THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  VICTORIAN  ERA:  1880-1901        .  645 

Robert  Louis  Stevenson — Mr.  J.  M.  Barrie  and  the  "  Kail- 
yard "  school  of  novelists — George  Douglas  Brown — The 
"  Celtic  Renaissance  " — Other  novelists — Poetry — Philo- 
sophy and  Theology — The  "  higher  criticism  " — Dr.  Flint 
— Historians — Mr.  Lang — The  Scots  Observer — John^  Nichol 
— R.  A.  M.  Stevenson — The  Scots  tongue  extinct  for  prose 
— The  vernacular  and  the  novel — Field  still  open  for 
novelist — Defects  in  the  national  temperament — Hopes 
for  the  future — The  Universities  and  the  cult  of  the 
"  useless." 

BIBLIOGRAPHY    ......  685 

GLOSSARY  .  .  .  .  .  .687 

INDEX     .  .  .  .  ;  .  .  693 


Literary    History    of   Scotland 

CHAPTER   I 

EARLY    SCOTS    POETRY  :     1301-1475 

THE  purpose  of  the  present  work  is  to  survey  the  literature  of 
the  more  important  part  of  that  portion  of  the  island  of  Great 
Britain  called  Scotland — a  geographical  and  political  entity 
whose  limits  it  is  conceived  to  be  superfluous  here  to  define. 
We  are  happily  absolved  at  the  outset  from  discussing  to 
what  branch  of  the  human  family  those  who  are  now  called 
Scots  in  truth  belong.  Nor  is  it  necessary  to  consider  the 
race  of  the  aborigines.  According  to  some  authorities,  the 
Picts  were  emphatically  Celtic  ;  according  to  others,  so  far 
from  being  Celtic,  they  were  not  even  Aryan,  and  the  Scots 
were  in  little  better  case.  Goidelic  Celts,  Brythonic  Celts, 
Saxons,  Angles,  and  Norsemen  present  themselves  to  us  in  an 
obscure  and  confused  mass,  all  working  up  together,  as  it  were 
(in  the  words  of  the  landlord  of  the  "Jolly  Sandboys"),  "in  one 
delicious  gravy."  Perhaps  the  earliest  inhabitants  were  Pelas- 
gians.  Nobody  knows  ;  and  possibly  no  one  need  very  much 
care. 

Adventurous  partisans,  to  be  sure,  have  not  been  slow  to 
advance  conjectures  for  positive  certainties.  Historians  like 
Mr.  Freeman,  and  his  picturesque  satellite,  Mr.  Green,  are 

A 


2        LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

eloquent  upon  the  essentially  Saxon  characteristics  of  the 
Scottish  Lowlanders,  other  than  the  Picts  of  Galloway.  Their 
speculations  are  rash,  but  at  least  they  had  some  basis  of  fact 
to  build  upon,  and  their  methods  are  models  of  historical 
research  compared  with  those  favoured  by  the  extreme  Celtic 
school.  It  is  no  easy  matter  to  pin  down  any  partisan  of  that 
faction  to  a  plain  and  intelligible  statement.  But  their  process 
of  reasoning,  in  so  far  as  it  can  be  apprehended,  appears,  in  the 
long  run,  invariably  to  come  to  the  syllogism  :  All  Celts 
possess  qualities  x  and  y  (imagination,  a  sense  of  the  beautiful, 
&c.).  But  A  possesses  qualities  x  and  y.  Therefore  A  is  a 
Celt.  The  result  of  such  light-hearted  trafficking  in  undis- 
tributed middles  is  wild  talk  about  Sir  Walter  Scott  having 
been  an  "English-speaking  Gael."1  Instead  of  making 
guesses  at  what  perhaps  can  never  be  ascertained,  it  seems 
better  to  follow  those  historians  whose  powers  of  reasoning 
have  not  been  paralysed  by  some  over-mastering,  though 
excusable,  prepossession.  By  so  doing,  we  shall  probably 
reach  the  conclusion  that  at  no  period  of  Scottish  history  was 
there  a  violent  or  extensive  subversion  of  the  status  quo. 
With  the  exception  of  the  Lothians,  there  was  no  part  of 
the  country  in  which  a  great  displacement  or  dispossession  of 
the  original  inhabitants  by  invaders  from  the  South  occurred, 
and  such  displacement  or  dispossession  as  did  occur  in  the 
Lothians  must  be  referred  to  a  comparatively  early  period.2 
When  we  approach  the  question  of  language  and  culture, 
we  stand  upon  surer  ground  than  in  dealing  with  the  elusive 
puzzle  of  race.  The  language  of  that  part  of  Scotland  with 
which  we  have  to  do  is  no  other  than  the  language  of  the 

1  As  good  an  exhibition  of  the  pro-Celtic  frenzy  as  any  other  is  afforded 
by  Mr.  W.  Sharp's  introduction  to  Lyra  Ccltica,  Edin.,  1896.    Mr.  Matthew 
Arnold,  it  is  to  be  feared,  was  the  chief  begetter  of  this  variety  of  in- 
fatuation in  our  time. 

2  See  Lang,  History  of  Scotland,  vol.  i.,  Edin.,  1900;   Hume  Brown, 
History  of  Scotland,  vol.  i.,  Cambridge,  1899  ;  and  Rait,  Relations  between 
England  and  Scotland,  1901. 


EARLY  SCOTS  POETRY:    1301-1475  3 

North  of  England.  Until  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
the  "Scots"  tongue  meant  Erse  or  Irish.  It  is  true  that  the 
Spanish  ambassador  to  the  Court  of  James  IV.  declared  that 
Scots  varied  from  English  as  much  as  Aragonese  from  Castilian.1 
But  he  was  doubtless  unaware  that  the  Scots  dialect  resembled 
that  current  in  Yorkshire  far  more  closely  than  the  dialect  of 
Yorkshire  resembled  that  of  Dorset.2  And  as  with  language, 
so  with  civilisation.  The  policy  of  Malcolm  Canmore,  trium- 
phantly carried  out  by  David  L,  resulted  in  the  all  but 
complete  expulsion  of  Celtic  culture  and  the  Celtic  system 
of  society  from  Roxburghshire  and  the  Merse,  from  the 
Lothians,  from  Angus  and  Mearns,  from  Aberdeenshire,  from 
Moray — in  short,  from  the  whole  of  the  East  of  Scotland  up 
to  the  Moray  Firth,  if  not  further.  The  last  serious  attempt 
to  rehabilitate  Celtic  notions  of  property  and  manners  in 
Scotland  ended  in  failure  at  the  battle  of  Harlaw  (141  r).  The 
issue  of  that  hard-fought  struggle  is  stated  to  have  been 
doubtful,  but  Donald  of  the  Isles  returned  home  with  his 
horde  of  "kernes  and  gallow-glasses."  It  was  not  until  1746 
that  the  doom  of  Celtic  civilisation  in  the  territory  to  which 
it  had  been  relegated  was  finally  pronounced. 

It  is  true  that  we  find  Highlanders  assisting  the  Lowland 
Scots  in  the  War  of  Independence.  It  is  also  true  that  we  find 
Highlanders  conspiring  at  various  dates  with  the  English 
crown,  for  a  consideration,  to  undermine,  or  rather  overthrow, 
the  independence  of  Scotland.  In  other  words,  the  magnates 
of  the  Highlands  were  equally  ready  with  those  of  the  Low- 
lands to  intrigue  against  their  sovereign.  We  cannot  honestly 
say  that  the  Lowlanders  regarded  the  Highlanders  as  a  separate 

1  Lang,  History,  i.  p.  3cS3. 

2  Murray,  The  Dialect  of  the  Southern  Counties  of  Scotland,  1873,  still  the 
great  authority  on  the  subject,  though  not  wholly  free  from  the  pedantry 
which  has  sometimes  characterised  the  Transactions  of  the  Philological 
Society.     See  also  the  late  Mr.  Oliphant's  Sources  of  Standard  English, 
1873.    Mr.  Freeman  pronounces  the  Scots  vernacular  to  be  "  the  purest 
surviving  form  of  English  "  (N.  C.,  v.  p.  342). 


4        LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

and  hostile  race  or  nation.  What  we  can  say  is,  that,  as  far 
back  as  the  literature  of  Scotland  goes,  the  Lowlanders  regarded 
the  Highlanders  with  the  feelings  of  contempt  and  dislike 
which  the  representative  of  a  higher  form  of  civilisation  (as  he 
conceives  it  to  be)  cherishes  towards  the  representative  of  a 
lower,  with  whom,  through  local  proximity,  he  is  involuntarily 
brought  into  contact.  Nor  was  there  any  diffidence  in  giving 
full  expression  to  this  frame  of  mind.  We  abstain  from 
dwelling  on  the  seal  of  the  burgh  of  Stirling,1  and  on  the 
testimony  of  Ayala.2  These  belong  to  the  domain  of  history 
rather  than  of  literature.  But  we  refer,  in  support  of  our 
proposition,  to  the  two  stanzas  from  The  Buke  of  the  Howlat^ 
cited  later  on  ;  3  to  the  taunts  hurled  by  Dunbar  at  Kennedy 
on  account  of  his  West  Country,  and  therefore  Celtic,  origin  ;  4 
to  the  same  poet's  description  of  Erschemen  dancing  a 
"  Heland  padyane "  in  Hell  at  the  call  of  Mahoun  ;  5  to 
Montgomerie's  Answer  to  ane  Helandmanis  Invective^3  which  is 
certainly  full  of  what  his  editor  describes  as  "  illiberal  abuse  "  ; 
and  to  another  poem  by  the  same  author,  from  which  it  is 
tempting  to  quote.  7  When  the  Highlander  has  been  brought 
into  existence  at  St.  Peter's  suggestion — 

"  Quod  God  to  the  Helandman,  '  Quhair  wilt  thow  now  ? ' 
'  I  will  down  in  the  Lowland,  Lord,  and  thair  steill  a  kow.' 
God  then  be  leuch,  and  owre  the  dyk  lap, 
And  owt  of  his  scheith  his  gowly  owt  gatt." 

The  Highlander  is  presently  discovered  to  have  appropriated 
the  gully,  or  knife,  in  question,  whereupon  St.  Peter  remon- 
strates with  him  on  his  felonious  tendencies. 


1  Lang,  History,  i.  p.  162.  -  Ibid.,  p.  383.  3  Infra,  p.  39. 

<  The  Flyting,  11.  107-12,  quoted  infra.,  p.  61.  Cf.  11.  55  and  56.  See 
Kennedy's  retort,  which  is  to  the  effect  that  "  Irische  "  was  the  language 
of  the  country  before  Dunbar  was  born  or  thought  of. 

s  The  Dance  of  the  Seven  Deadly  Sins,  ad  fin. 

6  Works,  ed.  Cranstoun,  S.  T.  S.,  1886-87,  P-  220.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  280. 


EARLY  SCOTS  POETRY:    1301-1475 

'"  Umff  !'  quo  the  Helandman,  and  swere  by  yon  kirk, 
'  Sa  lang  as  I  may  geir  get,  will  I  nevir  wirk.' " 


It  appears,  then,  that  the  Lowlander  regards  his  Highland 
fellow-subject  as  a  barbarian.  He  indulges  in  all  the  familiar 
jibes  about  the  eccentric  speech  and  clothing,  as  well  as  about 
the  predatory  instincts,  of  his  neighbour.  The  Englishman  he 
is  prepared  to  accept  as  an  equal,  though  a  dangerous,  insolent, 
and  aggressive  equal.1  But  the  Highlander  he  looks  upon  as 
an  aggressive,  or  a  sorning,  and,  in  either  case,  an  intolerable, 
inferior.  It  was  not  until  after  the  Union  of  the  Parliaments, 
at  the  very  earliest,  that  this  view  underwent  any  appreciable 
modification,  and  the  crowning  mercy  of  Culloden  alone  made 
it  possible  for  the  Lowland  Scot  to  perceive  and  to  relish  the 
romance  and  picturesqueness  latent  in  Highland  modes  of  life 
and  theories  of  existence.  With  the  Celtic  literature  of  the 
Highlands  we  have  here  no  concern.  Our  business  is  with 
the  literature  of  the  English-speaking  Scots. 

The  earliest  piece  of  Scottish  poetry  2  that  has  descended  to 
us  is  the  well-known  stanza  on  the  death  of  Alexander  III.,  for 


1  Compare  Montgomerie's  Answer  to  ane  Ingliss  railer,  who  boasted  of 
his  long  pedigree.     (Works,  ntsnp.  p.  219.) 

2  For  a  general  view  of  the  subject,  the  following  works  inter  alia  may 
be  consulted  : — Courthope,  History  of  English  Poetry,  vols.  i.andii.  1895-97  ; 
Thomas  Warton,  History  of  English  Poetry,  3  vols.  1774-81  ;  Irving,  Lives 
of  the  Scotish  Poets,  2  vols.,  Edin.,  1804  ;  History  of  Scotish^  Poetry,  Edin., 
1861  ;  Ross,  Scottish  History  and  Literature,  Glasgow,  1884  ;  G.  Gregory 
Smith,  The  Transition  Period,  ch.  ii.  Edin.,  1900.     An  admirable  Sketch  of 
Scottish  Poetry,  by  the  late  Professor  Nichol,  is  prefixed  to  the  E.  E.  T.  S- 
edition  of  Sir  David  Lyndsay's  Minor  Poems,  1871.     On  the  subject  of 
metres,  there  is  no  greater  authority  than  Guest,  History  of  English  Rhythms, 
ed.  Skeat,  1882.     As  regards  texts,  our  principal  manuscript  sources  are 
(i)  The  Asloan  MS.,  1515,  which  passed  some  years  ago  into  the  possession 
of   Lord   Talbot  de   Malahide  ;   (2)  The  Maitland  Folio,   1555-86,  in  the 
Pepysian  Library  at  Magdalene  College,  Cambridge  ;  and  (3)  the  Banna- 
tyne  MS.,  1568,  in  the  Advocates'   Library,  Edinburgh,  printed  for  the 
Hunterian  Club,   1873-86. 


6        LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

the  preservation  of  which  we  are  indebted  to  Andrew  of 
Wyntoun.1  Its  authorship  is  unknown. 

"  Quhen  Alysandyr  oure  Kyng  was  dede 
That  Scotland  led  in  love  and  lc, 
Away  wes  sons  of  ale  and  brede, 
Of  wyne  and  wax,  of  gamyn  and  gle  ; 
Oure  gold  wes  changyd  into  lede  ; 
Chryst,  born  in  to  Virgynyte, 
Succour  Scotland,  and  remede 
That  stad  is  in  perplexyte." 

How  far  Wyntoun 's  version  accurately  reproduces  the  original 
it  is,  of  course,  impossible  to  say,  but  the  lines,  at  all  events, 
represent  a  far  higher  level  of  workmanship  than  the  few  sur- 
viving scraps  of  verse — mostly  in  ridicule  of  the  English — which 
can  be  attributed  to  the  era  of  the  War  of  Independence  or  to 
the  immediately  succeeding  generation.2  These  latter  may 
perhaps  be  genuine  specimens  of  "  folk-song " — such  in- 
genuous lyrics  as  were  sung  by  the  Scottish  maidens  who  had 
no  Miriam  among  them  to  give  adequate  utterance  to  their 
feelings  of  exultation. 

The  first  figure  that  flits  across  our  field  of  vision  is  the 
shadowy  one  of  Thomas  of  Erceldoune  or  Earlston,  commonly 
known  as  Thomas  Rymour,  as  to  whom  it  seems  pretty  safe  to 
infer  that  he  died  before  1294.3  Tradition  has  invested  him 
with  much  the  same  attributes  and  powers  as  Merlin.  Prophecy 

1  Chronykil,  ed.  Laing,  vol.  ii.  p.  266,  book  vii.  ad  fin. 

2  For  example  : 

"  Maydens  of  Engelonde  sore  may  ye  morne 
For  that  ye  han  loste  your  lemmans  at  Bannokesbourne 

With  hevaloghe  ! 

What  ?    Wende  the  Kynge  of  Engelonde 
To  have  gotten  Scottland  ? 

With  rombyloghe  ! " 

3  The  Romance  and  Prophecies  of  Thomas  of  Erceldoune,  ed.  Murray, 
E.  E.  T.  S.  1875  ;  ed.  Brandl.  Berlin,  1880.    See  also  Laing's  Select  Remains, 
ed.  1885,  p.  142.    Sir  Tristrem,  ed.  Kolbing,  Heilbronn,  1882  ;  ed.  M'Neill, 
S.  T.  S.  Edin.,  1886. 


EARLY  SCOTS  POETRY:    1301-1475  7 

was  his  forte ;  and  his  great  triumph  in  that  department  was 
the  prediction,  uttered  on  the  day  before  the  event,  of  the 
death  of  Alexander  III.  Even  if  we  are  charitable  enough  to 
give  him  credit  for  this  success,  we  cannot  challenge  the  con- 
clusion of  Dr.  Murray  that  his  other  efforts  in  vaticination  are 
precisely  analogous  to  the  fragments  of  "  Arthurian  "  prophecy, 
revived  from  time  to  time  to  suit  the  circumstances  of  every 
age. 

The  Romance  and  Prophecies  ascribed  to  him  is  a  poem  in  three 
"  fyttes,"  in  alternately  rhymed  octosyllabic  verse,  which 
combines  fairy  tale  with  prophecy.  Here  we  learn  of  Thomas's 
dealings  with  the  Queen  of  the  Fairies.  Dr.  Murray  has  little 
hesitation  in  pronouncing  that  the  work,  as  known  to  us, 
belongs  to  the  fifteenth  century.  It  is  probable,  at  all  events, 
that  the  hand  which  transcribed  it  was  that  of  a  man  to  whom 
the  Southern  English  was  more  familiar  than  the  Northern  ; 
and  the  same  observation  applies  to  Sir  Tristrem^  a  metrical 
romance  which  Sir  Walter  Scott  edited  in  1804,  and  in  regard 
to  the  authorship  of  which  there  has  been  much  controversy. 
The  tendency  of  expert  opinion  has,  upon  the  whole,  been 
unfavourable  to  the  theory  of  the  connection  of  the  Rymour 
with  the  poem  ;  but  Mr.  M'Neill,  the  latest  editor,  is  inclined 
to  accept  the  traditional  view,  which  appears  to  be  vouched  for 
by  a  perfectly  fair  construction  of  certain  expressions  of  Robert 
Mannyng  of  Brunne  (ft.  1330),  and  by  the  opening  lines  of  the 
work  itself1  as  it  appears  in  the  Auchinleck  MS.,  written  early 
in  the  fourteenth  century.  The  poem  contains  over  3,000  lines, 
and  is  written  in  a  stanza  of  eleven  lines,  with  a  "  bob-wheel " 
beginning  at  the  ninth,  the  previous  eight  lines  being  alternately 
rhymed  sixes  :  as  thus,  ab  ab  ab  ab  cbc.  Alliteration  is 
employed,  though  not  slavishly.  The  piece  is  highly  interesting 

1  "I  wasa[t  Erceldoune], 
With  Tomas  spak  y  thare  ; 
Ther  herd  y  rede  in  roune 
Who  Tristrem  gat  and  bare." 


8        LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

as  the  first  effort  in  English  to  render  in  verse  the  immortal 
story  of  Tristram  and  Ysonde,1  but  it  must  be  admitted  to  be 
the  feeblest  and  least  satisfactory  of  the  attempts  made  by 
English  writers  of  eminence  to  present  that  narrative  in  a 
poetical  form. 

More  mysterious  even  than  "  true  Thomas  "  is  "  Huchown 
of  the  Awle  Ryale,"  round  whose  identity  the  din  of  battle 
has  been  as  though  Mr.  Oldbuck  and  Sir  Arthur  Wardour 
were  taking  part  in  the  fray.2  What  admitted  and  ascertained 
facts  have  the  eager  combatants  to  go  upon  ? 

In  the  first  place,  Andrew  of  Wyntoun  makes  reference  to 
"  Huchown  off  the  Awle  Ryale,"  who,  he  declares,  with 
regard  to  a  particular  matter, 

"In  till  his  Gest  Hystorialle 
Has  tretyd  this  mar  cwnnandly 
Than  suffycyand  to  pronowns  am  I."  3 

A  few  lines  further  on,  he  returns  to  him,  urging  Huchown's 
authority  in  extenuation  of  an  alleged  mistake  on  his  own 
part  : — 

"  And  men  off  gud  discretyowne 
Suld  excuse  and  love  Huchowne, 
That  cunnand  was  in  literature. 
He  made  the  Gret  Gest  off  Arthure 
And  the  Awntyre  off  Gawane 
The  Pystyll  als  off  Swcte  Susane. 
He  was  curyws  in  hys  style, 
Fayre  off  facund  and  subtille, 
And  ay  to  plesans  and  delyte 
Made  in  metyre  mete  his  dyte, 
Lytill  or  nowcht  nevyrtheles 
Waverand  fra  the  suthfastness.'' 4 


1  There  was  a  French  version  of  the  tale  already  in  existence,  also  by  a 
Thomas,  the  date  of  which  is  circ.  1170. 

2  See  Neilson,  Huchown  of  the  Awle  Ryale,  Glasgow,  1902  ;  Athena'tnu, 
1900-1901. 

3  Orygynale  Cronykil,  bk.  v.,  11.  4294-96.  *  Ibid.  11.  4321-32. 


EARLY  SCOTS  POETRY:    1301-1475  9 

It  may  be  explained  that  the  Pystyll  off  Swete  Susane^  a 
religious  narrative  poem,  of  364  lines  in  alliterative  rhymed 
verse,  has  come  down  to  us  under  that  name  ;  that  the  Gest 
Hystorialle  or  Gret  Gest  off  Arthure  is  possibly  to  be  identi- 
fied with  the  Morte  Arthure^  a  purely  alliterative  metrical 
romance  of  4,346  lines  ;  and  that  the  Awntyre  off  Gawane  is 
believed  by  some  to  be  Gawayne  and  the  Green  Knight,  and  by 
others  to  be  the  Awntyrs  of  Arthure^  both  rhymed  alliterative 
romances,  the  former  of  2,530,  the  latter  of  715  lines.1 

In  the  second  place,  Dunbar  in  his  Lament  for  the  Makaris, 
after  enumerating  Chaucer,  the  Monk  of  Bury,  and  Gower  as 
instances  of  poets  whom  death  "  hes  done  petuously  devour," 
proceeds  to  supplement  his  melancholy  catalogue  as  follows  : — 

"The  gude  Syr  Hew  of  Eglintoun, 
And  eik,  Heryot  and  Wyntoun, 
He  hes  tane  out  of  this  cuntre  ; 
Timor  mortis  conturbat  me." 

Now,  of  Sir  Hew  of  Eglinton  we  know  that  he  was  born,  in 
all  probability,  prior  to  1321  ;  that  he  was  a  person  of  con- 
siderable importance  in  his  day  ;  that  he  was  hand-in-glove 
with  the  Steward  of  Scotland,  afterwards  Robert  II. ,  whose 
sister  he  married  en  secondes  noces  in  or  about  1360  ;  that  he 
more  than  once  represented  the  King  of  Scots  at  the  Court  of 
England  ;  that  he  was  conjoined  with  John  Barbour  as  auditor 
of  the  Exchequer  ;  that  he  died  about  the  end  of  1376  ;  and 
that  he  was  buried  in  the  Choir  of  Kilwinning  Abbey.  What 
poems  Sir  Hew  wrote,  Dunbar  omits  to  tell  us,  nor  do  we 
know  for  certain  from  any  other  source  of  information. 

Here,  then,  we  are  confronted  with  certain  poems  attributed 
to  a  person,Huchown,  as  to  whose  personality  and  history  we  are 
wholly  in  the  dark  ;  and  a  poet,  Sir  Hew  of  Eglinton,  worthy 

'  Mortc  Arthure,  ed.  Brock,  E.  E.  T.  S.,  1865;  ed.  Mrs.  Banks,  1900  ; 
Gawayne  and  the  Green  Knight,  ed.  Madden,  Bannatyne  Club,  1838  ;  ed. 
Morris,  E.  E.  T.  S.,  1864  ;  Awntyrs  of  Arthure  (together  with  the  Pistyllof 
Snsane)  in  Scottish  Alliterative  Poems,  ed.  Amours,  S.  T.  S.,  Edin.,  1897. 


io      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

to  be  named  in  the  same  breath  with  Chaucer  and  Gower,  as 
to  whose  writings  we  are  wholly  in  the  dark.  When  it  is 
recollected  that  Huchown  is  merely  a  variant  of  the  name  of 
Hugh  or  Hew,  and  that  the"  Awle  Ryale"  seems  to  be  by  no 
means  a  far-fetched  rendering  of"  aula  regis,"  the  king's  palace, 
we  cannot  wonder  that  Huchown  has  been  conjectured  by 
many  to  be  no  other  than  Sir  Hew  of  Eglinton. 

Mr.  Neilson  has  made  the  rehabilitation  of  Huchown  his 
peculiar  care,  and  by  a  .train  of  argument  extraordinarily 
elaborate,  ingenious,  and  learned,  has  sought  to  prove  that 
many  poems  whose  authorship  has  hitherto  remained  in  doubt 
are  properly  to  be  attributed  to  that  "  makar."  We  cannot 
here  follow  the  various  steps  in  a  long  process  of  reasoning, 
of  which  perhaps  the  worst  that  can  be  said  is  that  it  is  almost 
too  plausible  and  complete. x  If  Mr.  Neilson  is  right,  we  must 
ascribe  to  Huchown,  in  addition  to  the  poems  already  adverted 
to,  The  Wars  of  Alexander,12  an  alliterative  translation  from  the 
Latin  ;  The  Destruction  of  Troy,  3  an  alliterative  translation  from 
the  Latin  version  of  Guido  de  Colonna  (1287);  Titus  and 
Vespasian,*  an  alliterative  poem  drawn  from  various  sources  ; 
The  Par  lenient  of  the  Thre  Ages,$  Wynnere  and  IVastoure,^ 
and  Erkenwald,6  all  three  alliterative  allegories  ;  to  say  nothing 
of  The  Pear  1,7  a  rhymed  alliterative  allegory,  which  is  one 
of  the  finest  achievements  of  its  age  in  literature,  and  Cleanness 
and  Patience,*  which  have  alliteration  without  rhyme. 9 

1  It  must  suffice  to  note  that  the  basis  of  his  argument  is  the  MS.  T.  4.  i. 
in  the   Hunterian   Library  in   Glasgow  ;   and   that   in   corroboration   he 
adduces  MS.  U.  7.  25,  which  he  believes  to  be  no  less  interesting  a  docu- 
ment than  Huchown's  own  copy  of  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth. 

2  Ed.  Skeat,  E.  E.  T.  S.,  1886.  3  E.  E.  T.  S.,  1869-74. 

*  Ed.  Steffler,  Marburg,  1891.        s  Ed.  Gollancz,  Roxburghe  Club,  1897. 
6  Ed.  Horstmann,  Hcilbronn,  1881.  1  Ed.  Gollancz,  1891. 

8  Early  English  Alliterative  Poems,  ed.  Morris,  E.  E.  T.  S.,  1864. 

9  I  must   not   forget   Golagros   and  Gawaync,  an    alliterative    rhymed 
historical  romance,  which  it  has  been  customary  to  attribute  to  Clerk  of 
Tranent,  who  flourished  a  century  later.     See  Scottish  Alliterative  Poems, 
ed.  Amours,  S.  T.  S.,  1897. 


EARLY  SCOTS  POETRY:    1301-1475         11 

To  test  Mr.  Neilson's  conclusions  would  occupy  a  tolerable 
portion  of  an  expert's  lifetime  ;  and  the  only  criticism  which 
the  present  writer  would  presume  to  offer  of  his  methods  is 
that  he  appears  somewhat  to  ignore  the  "  common  stock " 
of  material  available  to  all  mediaeval  poets,  and  to  ride  some- 
what too  hard  the  parallel  passage  hobby,1  upon  the  staying 
power  of  which,  indeed,  an  important  part  of  his  argument 
depends.  In  the  early  ages  of  poetry,  the  bard  is  compelled 
to  eke  out  his  line  by  some  formal  and  conventional  phrase, 
such  as  "  soothly  to  say,"  or  "  as  trew  men  me  tald,"  or 
"  as  the  book  tells."  We  see  the  same  necessity  succumbed 
to  in  the  clichls  of  modern  amateur  and  illiterate  versifiers, 
or  of  inexpert  improvisatori.2  Huchown,  it  need  scarcely  be 
said,  was  infinitely  more  accomplished  than  such  persons. 
But,  when  alliteration  is  the  trick  of  the  craft,  the  craftsman 
becomes  even  more  tied  down  than  in  dealing  with  rhyme  to 
formulas,  to  strings  of  epithets,  to  stereotyped  verbs.  And 
without  venturing  seriously  to  impugn  the  results  at  which 
Mr.  Neilson  has  arrived,  we  may  be  allowed  to  hazard  the 
opinion  that,  while  in  some  instances  he  has  brought  to  light 
really  pregnant  coincidences,  in  others  the  resemblances  which 
he  builds  upon  can  suggest  no  valid  inference  whatever. 

Even  if  we  assume  that  Mr.  Neilson's  Huchown  canon 
is  sound  (and  it  were  idle  to  deny  that  there  is  a  very 
great  deal  to  be  said  in  its  favour),  it  does  not,  of  course, 
follow  that  Huchown  was  Sir  Hugh,  and  the  contention  that 
he  was  has  been  warmly  combated.  The  chief  arguments 
against  the  affirmative  have  been  based  upon  the  entire  absence 

1  There  is  an  amusing  instance  on  p.  61.    Minot's  "  When  thai  sailed 
westward "  is  paralleled  with  "  the  wind  rises  out  of  the  west "  of  the 
Mortc  Arthur.     The  fallacy  is  seldom  so  palpable,  but  in  many  cases  the 
thread  of  comparison  is  strained  to  breaking.      I  observe  that  the  point 
is  also  taken  by  a  reviewer  of  Mr.  Neilson's   work  in  the  Athen&um, 
November  22,  1902. 

2  Compare  the  "  I  think  you'll  confess,"  and   similar  tags,  by  dint  of 
which  the  rude  poet  of  the  music-halls  used,  twenty  years  ago,  to  achieve 
the  effect  of  rhyme. 


12      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

from  the  poems  attributed  to  him  of  any  hint  of  Scottish 
patriotism,  and  upon  the  peculiarities  of  the  dialect  in  which 
these  poems  are  written. 

The  fact  upon  which  the  first  point  is  made  must  be  frankly 
admitted.  Not  only  is  there  no  Scottish  bias  about  Huchown, 
but  he  actually  goes  out  of  his  way  to  celebrate  the  achieve- 
ments of  the  English  king.  Incidents  of  the  siege  of  Calais 
(so  Mr.  Neilson  tells  us)  are  incorporated  in  the  Titus ;  while 
the  battle  of  Crecy  supplies  the  military,  and  the  sea-fight  with 
the  Spaniards  off  Winchelsea  the  naval,  details  of  the  Morte 
Arthurs.  Hence,  it  is  inferred  by  some,  Huchown  must  have 
been  an  Englishman.  As  against  this  we  may  urge  that 
Huchown  is  never  claimed  by  any  English  poet  for  a  brother 
bard  ;  and  when  we  remember  that  the  function  of  Sir  Hugh 
in  the  foreign  politics  of  his  country  was  to  promote  the 
English  alliance,  and  to  cement  what  journalists  used  to  call 
an  entente  cordiale  with  the  English  court,  we  cannot  be 
surprised  that  in  his  writings  he  should  have  seized  the 
opportunity  of  being  complimentary  to  Edward  III.  Perhaps 
Huchown  was  the  first  illustrious  specimen  of  that  much- 
vilified  person,  the  Anglicised  Scot. 

From  the  language  of  his  poems  it  is,  unluckily,  impossible 
to  deduce  anything.  The  philologists  are  here  all  at  sea. 
Some  roundly  affirm  that  it  is  Northern  English,  filtered 
through  the  medium  of  a  Southern  scribe.  Others  are 
equally  positive  that  it  is  West  Midland  English,  filtered 
through  the  medium  of  a  Northern  scribe.1  Some,  in  other 
words,  declare  that  Huchown  was  a  Mr.  Barrie,  transcribed, 
say,  by  a  Mr.  Hardy,  others  that  he  was  a  Mr.  Hardy  tran- 
scribed by  a  Mr.  Barrie.  Where  doctors  thus  differ,  it  is  not 
for  ordinary  persons  to  pronounce  an  opinion.  We  may 
content  ourselves  with  pointing  out  that  the  presence  of 
Southern  elements,  even  in  a  considerable  degree,  in 

1  Mr.  Pollard  assures  us  that  Gawayne  and  the  Greue  Knight  is  in  the 
Lancashire  dialect  (Chambers's  Cvcl.  of  Literature,  1901,  i.  53). 


EARLY  SCOTS   POETRY:    1301-1475         13 

Huchown's  poems,  is  not  conclusive  against  his  identity 
with  a  Scottish  Sir  Hew.  It  is  unnecessary  to  conjecture 
that  the  court  of  King  Robert  II.  tried  to  imitate  English 
speech  and  English  ways.  It  is  enough  that  Sir  Hew  is 
believed  to  have  been  educated  in  England,  and  certainly 
spent  a  considerable  time  there  during  part  of  his  life.  It 
seems  not  impossible,  moreover,  that  Huchown's  style  and 
language  are  consciously  and  deliberately  archaic  and  peculiar. 
Alliteration,  though  highly  popular  during  the  third  quarter 
of  the  fourteenth  century,  to  which  the  Huchown  poems 
belong,  was  a  doomed  device  ;  and  for  the  recognised  literary 
medium  of  the  day  in  verse  we  must  turn  to  the  pages  of 
Barbour. 

The  poems  of  Sir  Hew  (for  meanwhile  the  hypothesis  so 
ably  championed  by  Mr.  Neilson  may  be  provisionally  accepted 
in  default  of  a  better1)  may  be  classified  into  historical,  like  the 
Alexander  or  the  Troy,  chivalrous,  like  the  Gawayne  romances, 
allegorical,  like  the  Parlement^  and  religious,  like  the  Pystyll  of 
Susane.  That  he  was  a  poet  in  the  true  sense  of  the  term  is  un- 
questionable ;  though  we  cannot  perhaps  join  in  the  rhapsodies 
in  which  Mr.  Neilson,  with  the  amiable  partiality  characteristic 
of  the  true  antiquary,  is  apt  to  indulge.  No  doubt  his  pen  was 
"  superbly  appointed " ;  no  doubt  he  possessed  "  a  glorious 
intellect " ,-  but,  at  the  risk  of  being  thought  cold,  we  must 
decline  to  subscribe  to  the  opinion  that  he  "ranks  among  the 
great  formative  forces  in  the  literature  of  the  English  tongue," 
and  that  "  no  less  than  Chaucer  he  set  his  seal  for  ever  on  the 
literary  art  of  his  own  generation  and  of  the  generations  to 
follow."  Unity  of  plot  was  certainly  not  his  strong  point,  and 
his  copious  moralising  and  didactic  vein  is  the  reverse  of  ex- 
hilarating. His  two  best  pieces  (for  in  the  absence  of  sub- 

1  It  is  right  to  mention  that  Mr.  Amours,  the  learned  editor  of  the  S.  T.  S. 
collection  of  Scottish  Alliterative  Poems,  does  not  believe  in  the  identity  of 
Sir  Hew  and  Huchown.  No  more  does  Mr.  Henry  Bradley,  whose  sug- 
gestion that  the  "Awle  Ryalc"  =  Oriel  College,  Oxford,  appears  the 
reverse  of  plausible. 


14      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

stantial  evidence  we  shall  assume  the  Pearl  to  be  none  of  his) 
are  probably  the  Morte  Arthure  and  the  Pystyll  of  Swete  Susane^ 
the  latter  being  a  paraphrase  of  the  story  of  Susanna  and  the 
elders,  in  stanzas  of  thirteen  lines,  rhymed  ab  ab  ab  ab  c  d  d  d  c. 
The  stanza  which  describes  the  leavetaking  of  Joachim  and 
Susanna  is  probably  the  best  known  passage  from  all 
Huchown's  works  ;  but  it  gives  so  favourable  a  notion  of 
his  powers  that  there  can  be  no  harm  in  once  more  repro- 
ducing it  : — 

"  She  fell  down  flat  on  the  floor,  her  fere  when  she  found, 
Carped  to  him  kindly,  as  she  full  well  couthe  : 
'  I  wis  I  thee  wrathed  never  at  my  witand, 
Neither  in  word  nor  in  work,  in  eld  nor  in  youth.' 
She  cowered  up  on  her  knees  and  kissed  his  hand — 
'  For  I  am  damned,  I  not  dare  disparage  thy  mouth.' 
Was  never  more  sorrowful  segge  by  sea  nor  by  sand  ; 
Ne  never  a  sorrier  sight  by  north  ne  by  south. 

Then  there 

They  took  the  fetters  off  her  feet, 
And  ever  he  kissed  that  sweet. 
'  In  other  worlds  shall  we  meet,' 
Said  he  no  mair."1 

A  greater  contrast  to  the  literary  ideals  and  methods  ot 
Huchown  can  scarcely  be  conceived  than  that  presented 
by  those  of  his  contemporary  and  fellow-auditor  of 
Exchequer,  John  Barbour  (1316  ?-96),  Archdeacon  of 
Aberdeen.  Mr.  Neilson,  indeed,  finds  traces  in  Barbour's 
work  of  the  intellectual  ascendancy  of  Huchown.2  I  confess  I 
can  see  none,  and  fail  to  find  the  passages  produced  in  evi- 
dence by  Mr.  Neilson  in  the  least  convincing.  Besides  a  Brut, 
a  Stuart  genealogy,  and  the  Brusy  upon  which  last  Barbour's 
fame  almost  entirely  depends,  there  have  been  attributed  to 
him  (erroneously,  according  to  Mr.  Skeat  and  Mr.  Metcalfe) 

1  From  The  Pystyll  of  Swete  Susane,  11.  248-60. 
*  Chamber's  Qycl.  of  English  Lit.,  1901,  i.  p.  179. 


EARLY  SCOTS  POETRY:    1301-1475         15 

certain  Legends  of  the  Saints,1  and  some  fragments  of  a  Troy 
poem,  translated,  like  Huchown's,  from  Guido,2  It  is  also 
suggested  by  Mr.  Neilson  that  to  him  we  owe  The  Bulk  of 
Alexander  the  Great^  the  manuscript  of  which  assigns  it  to  the 
year  1438.  To  enable  this  theory  to  hold  good,  it  has  to  be 
assumed  that  that  date  is  erroneous,  and  that  1378,  or  some 
such  other  year,  must  be  substituted  for  it.  To  the  present 
writer  it  seems  that  the  resemblances  in  phrase  and  tone 
between  The  fBulk  of  Alexander and  the  -Srz^may  be  adequately 
accounted  for  by  the  hypothesis  that  the  former  was  the  work 
of  an  enthusiastic  disciple  of  the  Archdeacon,  habituated  to 
and  mindful  of  his  master's  modes  of  thought  and  expression. 
To  be  dogmatic  on  the  subject  were  presumptuous.  It  may 
be,  after  all,  that  the  text  of  the  Brus  was  "  faked  "  by  some 
not  unskilful  scribe  in  the  fifteenth  century. 3 

The  Brus  (1376)4  is  a  narrative  in  rhymed  octosyllabics 
extending  to  nearly  14,000  lines,  and  divided  into  twenty 
books,  the  subject  being  the  exploits  of  the  remarkable  man 
who  at  once  vindicated  the  independence  of  Scotland,  and 
established  himself  securely  on  the  Scottish  throne.  Barbour 
calls  it  a  romance,  and  there  are  statements  in  it  manifestly 
erroneous  (the  confusion  between  the  two  Bruces,  grandfather 
and  grandson,  is  the  most  notorious  instance),  as  well  as  others 
which  historical  scepticism  would  bid  us  pause  before  accepting. 
But,  on  the  whole,  pace  Sir  Herbert  Maxwell,  there  is  no 
reason  to  question  his  substantial  accuracy  and  good  faith  ; 
and  he  is  the  source  whence  we  derive  our  knowledge  of  all 
those  pleasing  and  picturesque  traits  in  the  career  of  King 
Robert  L,  which  are,  or  ought  to  be,  familiar  to  every  child  in 

1  Ed.  Metcalfe,  S.  T.  S.,  1896.  They  run  to  over  33,000  lines  in 
octosyllabic  metre. 

-  Ed.  Horstmann,  1881-82. 

3  But  see  Brown,  The  Wallace  and  the  Bruce  Rc-studicd,  Bonn,  1900  ; 
Athciiaum,  Nov.,  1900 — Feb.,  1901. 

4  Ed.   Innes,   Spalding  Club,    1856  ;    ed.   Skeat,  S.  T.  S.,    1894.      See 
Jusserand,  Literary  History  of  the  English  People,  1895,  i.  361,  et  seq. 


1 6      LITERARY  HISTORY   OF  SCOTLAND 

Scotland.     The  Brus  is  better  entitled  than  any  other  work 
to  be  called  the  national  epic. 

That  there  should  be  a  want  of  artistic  unity  about  the  poem 
as  a  whole  was  an  almost  inevitable  consequence  of  Barbour's 
choice  of  a  subject.  He  cannot  be  said  to  be  strong  in  the 
matter  of  construction.  It  is  in  episodes  rather  than  in  plot 
that  he  shows  what  he  can  do  ;  and  his  episodes  are  truly 
admirable.  There  he  shows  fire,  enthusiasm,  "  gusto  "  ;  yet 
his  fervent  patriotism  is  never  disfigured  by  acerbity.  He  is 
astonishingly  fair  to  the  other  side,  and  displays  a  warm  appre- 
ciation of  chivalry  and  courtesy  wherever  he  finds  them. 
Nevertheless  there  is  no  touch  of  sentimentality  or  self-con- 
sciousness about  him  ;  and  the  simplicity  and  dignity  that 
mark  a  noble  spirit  are  reflected  in  his  style.  He  is  never 
"  aureate,"  and  his  best  passages  are  distinguished  by  an 
unaffected  straightforwardness  which  is  more  impressive  than 
the  most  elaborate  ornamentation.  His  apostrophe  to  Freedom 
is  famous  : — 


"  A  !  fredome  is  a  noble  thing 
Fredome  mayss  man  to  haiff  liking  ; 
Fredome  all  solace  to  man  giffis  : 
He  levys  at  ess  that  frely  levys  ! 
A  noble  hart  may  haiff  nane  ess, 
Na  ellys  nocht  that  may  him  pless, 
Gyff  fredome  failzhe  ;  for  fre  liking 
Is  zharnyt  our  all  othir  thing."  ' 


So  it  opens,  concluding  with  a  curious  demonstration  that, 
upon  the  whole,  to  be  a  slave  is  an  even  more  grievous  and 
objectionable  thing  than  to  be  a  married  man. 

Barbour's  comments  upon  the  events  and  actions  he  narrates 
are  usually  shrewd  and  to  the  point.  He  saw  life  steadily,  and 
would  not  have  dissented  from  the  view  that  virtue  is  a  happy 

1  The  Bruce,  bk.  i.  11.  225-32. 


EARLY  SCOTS  POETRY:    1301-1475         17 

mean.  So  at  least  he  regards  the  essential  quality  of  courage, 
with  respect  to  which  he  tells  us  : — 

"  Vorschip  extremyteis  has  twa  ; 
Fule-hardyment  the  formast  is, 
And  the  tothir  is  cowardiss, 
And  thai  ar  bath  for  to  forsak. 
Fule-hardyment  will  all  undertak, 
Als  weill  thingis  to  leiff  as  ta  ; 
Bot  cowardiss  dois  na  thing  sua, 
Bot  uterly  forsakis  all  ; 
And  that  war  voundir  for  to  fall, 
Na  war  fait  of  discrecione. 
For-thi  has  vorschip  sic  renoune, 
That  it  is  mene  betuix  thai  twa, 
And  takis  that  is  till  undirta, 
And  levis  that  is  to  leif  :  for  it 
Has  so  gret  varnasyng  of  wit, 
That  it  all  peralis  weill  can  se, 
And  all  avantagis  that  may  be."  ' 

The  mixture  of  daring  and  policy  which  he  saw  exemplified 
in  his  hero  must  have  possessed  a  strong  attraction  for  him. 
And  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  in  this  connection  that  he  was 
blessed  with  a  sense  of  humour,  not,  perhaps,  very  highly 
developed,  but  genuine  and  kindly  enough.  Here  is  an 
incident  in  the  harrying  of  the  Lothians  which  seems  to  have 
appealed  to  him  : — 

"  And  thai  of  the  host  that  falit  met, 
Quhen  thai  saw  that  thai  mycht  nocht  get 
Thair  vittalis  to  thame  by  the  se, 
Than  send  thai  furth  a  gret  menzhe 
For  till  forray  all  Lowdiane  ; 
Bot  cattell  haf  thai  fundyn  nane, 
Outane  a  kow  that  wes  haltand, 
That  in  Tranentis  corne  thai  fand  ; 
Thai  broucht  hir  till  thair  hoost  agane. 


1  The  Bruce,  bk.  vi.  11.  336-52. 
B 


i8      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

And  quhen  the  erll  of  Warane 
That  cow  saw  anerly  cum  swa, 
He  askit,  '  Gif  thai  gat  no  ma  ? ' 
And  thai  haf  said  all  till  him,  '  Nay.' 
'  Than,  certis,'  said  he,  '  I  dar  say 
This  is  the  derrest  beiff  that  I 
Saw  evir  yeit ;  for  sekirly 
It  cost  ane  thousand  pund  and  mar.'  "  ' 

The  finest  passages  in  the  Brus  are  justly  considered  to  be 
those  which  deal  with  the  battle  of  Bannockburn,  the  story  ot 
which  is  recounted  with  great  minuteness  of  detail,  and  with 
extraordinary  persistency  of  animation  and  high  emotion. 
Barbour  is  admitted  to  have  been  a  past-master  in  the  theory, 
though  not  in  the  practice,  of  the  art  of  war,  and  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  Scott  had  him  before  his  eyes,  not  only  in 
the  Lord  of  the  Isles,  where  he  chose  the  same  subject  as  his 
predecessor,  but  also  in  the  glorious  battle-piece  of  Marmion. 
In  the  Bannockburn  books  (xi.  to  xiii.)  the  most  celebrated 
episode  is  the  single  combat  between  Bruce  and  Sir  Henry  de 
Bohun.  Extracts  from  the  passage  which  describes  this 
momentous  duel  may  be  found  in  most  of  the  works  on 
Scottish  literature  in  which  Barbour  is  fully  dealt  with.  I, 
therefore,  select  in  preference,  to  illustrate  Barbour  at  his  best 
or  next  best,  the  lines  which  describe  the  King's  deathbed, 
and  his  memorable  Commission  to  "the  good  Lord  of 
Douglas  "  :— 

"  '  Lordingis/  he  said,  '  swa  is  it  gane 
With  me,  that  thar  is  nocht  hot  ane, 
That  is,  the  ded,  withouten  dreid, 
That  ilk  man  mon  thole  on  neid. 
And  I  thank  God  that  hass  me  sent 
Spass  in  this  liff  me  till  repent. 
For  throu  me  and  my  warraying 
Of  blud  thar  hass  beyne  gret  spilling, 


The  Bruce,  bk.  xviii.  11.  269-85. 


EARLY  SCOTS  POETRY:    1301-1475         19 

Quhar  mony  sakless  man  was  slayne  ; 
Tharfor  this  seknes  and  this  payne 
I  tak  in  thank  for  my  trespass. 
And  my  hert  fyschit  fermly  wass, 
Quhen  I  was  in  prosperite, 
Of  my  synnys  till  savit  be, 
To  travel  apon  Goddis  fayis. 
And  sen  he  now  me  till  hym  tais, 
That  the  body  may  on  na  viss 
Fulfill  that  the  hert  can  deviss, 
I  wald  the  hert  war  thiddir  sent, 
Quhar-in  consavit  wes  that  entent. 
Tharfor  I  pray  yow  evir-ilkane, 
That  yhe  amang  yow  cheiss  me  ane 
That  be  honest,  wiss,  and  wicht, 
And  of  his  hand  ane  nobill  knycht, 
On  Goddis  fayis  myne  hert  to  bere, 
Quhen  saull  and  corss  disseverit  er. 
For  I  wald  it  war  worthely 
Broucht  thar,  sen  God  will  nocht  that  I 
Have  power  thiddirward  till  ga.'  "  ' 

After  deliberation  the  Lords  resolve  that  the  "  douchty  lord 
Dowglass,  Best  schapen  for  that  travell  was,"  and  tell  this  to 
the  king,  who  is  delighted  with  their  choice. 

"  And  quhen  the  gud  Lord  of  Dowglass 
Wist  at  the  kyng  thus  spokyn  hass, 
He  com  and  knelit  to  the  kyng, 
And  on  this  viss  maid  him  thanking. 
'  I  thank  yow  gretly,  lorde,'  said  he, 
'  Of  mony  large  and  gret  bounte 
That  ye  have  done  till  me  feill  siss, 
Sen  first  I  come  to  your  serviss. 
Bot  our  all  thing  I  mak  thanking 
That  yhe  so  digne  and  worthy  thing 
As  your  hert,  that  illwmynyt  wes 
Of  all  bounte  and  worthynes, 
Will  that  I  in  my  zeemsell  tak, 
For  yow,  schir,  will  I  blithly  mak 


1  The  Bruce,  bk.  xx.  11.  167-95. 


20     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

This  travell,  gif  God  will  me  gif 
Laser  and  space  so  lange  till  lift.' 
The  kyng  him  thankit  tendirly  ; 
Thar  wes  nane  in  that  cumpany 
That  thai  ne  wepit  for  pite  ; 
Thair  cher  anoyus  wes  to  se."  ' 

The  passage  breathes  a  quieter  spirit  than  the  battle-scenes  to 
which  it  forms  a  noble  and  appropriate  sequel ;  but  no  one 
who  reads  it  will  probably  care  to  deny  that  the  man  who 
wrote  it  was  a  genuine  poet. 

The  width  of  the  gulf  which  separates  the  chronicler  who 
is  also  a  poet,  from  the  chronicler  who  is  not,  could  not  be 
better  emphasised  than  by  an  immediate  transition  from 
Barbour  to  Andrew  of  Wyntoun.  That  useful,  though  far 
from  inspiring,  person  (one  had  almost  whispered  "  hack ") 
became  Prior  of  St.  Serf's  Inch,  in  Lochleven,  in  1 395,  and  is 
believed  to  have  died  about  thirty  years  later.  His  Orygynale 
Chronykil2  is  usually  assigned  to  the  year  1424.  It  is  written 
like  the  Brus  in  the  octosyllabic  couplet. 

"Clerkis,"  so  Wyntoun  informs  us,  in  the  Prologue  to 
book  vi. — 

"  Clerkis  sayis  that  prolixyte, 
That  langsumnes  may  callyd  be, 
Gendrys  leth  mare  than  delyte." 3 

A  very  true  observation,  as  Wyntoun  himself  most  signally 
proves.  His  Chronykil  is  divided  into  nine  books  (in  honour  of 
the  nine  orders  of  the  Holy  Angels),  and  goes  back  to  the 
very  beginning  of  things.  Hence  the  epithet  Orygynale.  He 
was  a  keen  patriot,  and  his  object  (or  one  of  his  objects)  was  to 
trace  the  Scottish  nation  back  to  the  ancestor  of  all  mankind. 

1  The  Bruce,  bk.  xx.  11.  219-38. 

2  Ed.   Macpherson,   Edin.,    1795  ;  ed.  Laing,  3  vols.,  Edin.,    1872-79. 
Macpherson's   preface   is   still   the   best    introduction    to    the    study    of 
Wyntoun. 

3  Chronykil,  ed.  Laing,  vol.  ii.  p.  63,  Prologue  to  Book  IV.,  11.  1-3. 


EARLY  SCOTS   POETRY:    1301-1475         21 

As  an  historian,  he  may  be  disregarded  in  reference  to 
the  earlier  portion  of  his  work.  When  he  comes  to  real 
Scottish  history  he  may  be  credulous,  but  he  cannot  be 
neglected  or  thrust  aside.  He  professes  (doubtless  with  truth) 
to  have  consulted  MS.  authorities,  which  have  now  disappeared  ; 
and,  more  especially  with  regard  to  ecclesiastical  history,  the 
information  with  which  he  supplies  us  is  full,  and  probably 
trustworthy.  It  was  one  of  his  weaknesses  (as  compared  with 
B arbour,  upon  whom  he  draws  freely  for  his  "  period  ")  that 
he  was  too  much  of  the  cleric,  and  too  little  of  the  man  of  the 
world.  He  is  the  original  source  of  the  three  weird  sisters 
who  tempt  Macbeth,  by  their  greeting  or  chance  remarks,  to 
kill  his  uncle  Duncan.  Yet  in  his  eyes  Macbeth  appears  to 
be  excused  for  this  piece  of  villany,  because  subsequently— 

"  All  tyme  oysyd  he  to  wyrk 
Profytably  for  Haly  Kyrke." 

Wyntoun,  though  he  believed  Macbeth  to  have  been  a 
successful  king,  was  not  aware  that  the  story  with  which, 
through  Boece  and  Holinshed,  he  furnished  Shakespeare,  will 
not  stand  investigation. 

We  do  not  say  that  there  may  not  be  passages  in  Wyntoun 
in  which  he  rises  to  the  height  of  his  great  argument.  But 
they  are  assuredly  few  and  far  between.  Most  of  his  verse,  to 
be  quite  frank,  is  doggerel  ;  and  the  passage  we  present  is 
chiefly  interesting  because  it  introduces  us,  without  apology 
or  qualification,  to  our  old  friend  "perfidious  Albion."  It 
describes  the  capture  of  the  future  James  I.,  en  route  for 
France,  by  the  English,  off  the  Bass  Rock. 

"  It  is  off  Inglis  natioune 
The  commone  kend  conditioune 
Off  Trewis  the  wertew  to  foryett, 
Quhen  thai  will  thaim  for  wynnyng  set, 
And  rekles  of  gud  faith  to  be, 
Quhare  thai  can  thare  advantage  se  ; 


22      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Thair  may  na  band  be  maid  sa  ferm, 

Than  thai  can  mak  thare  will  thare  term. 

Set  thare  be  contrare  write,  wyth  seile, 

It  is  thare  vice  to  be  oure  lele. 

This  ilke  schip  was  tane,  but  dout, 

Or  evir  this  Trew  wes  endit  out. 

In  it  wes  nane,  that  than  suld  be 

Be  ony  lauch  enpresowne, 

Bot  as  symply  on  thare  wis 

Marchandis  pass  in  marchandis  ; 

Na  thare  wes  fundyn  nakyn  gere 

Off  wapynnis,  or  armowris  maid  for  were, 

That  mycht  be  knawyn  off  walew 

Agane  the  wertewis  of  the  trewe. 

Oure  Kingis  sone  yeit  nevyrtheles 

In  to  that  schip  thare  takyn  wes. 

Off  him  the  Ynglis  men  ware  blith, 

And  efftyr  that,  they  had  hym  swyth 

Till  Henry  King  off  Yngland 

The  Ferd,  intill  it  than  regnand. 

He  hym  resavit  with  honeste, 

And  welle  gert  hym  tretit  be. 

And  the  Erie  of  Orknay 

Wes  frethit  thare  to  pass  his  way, 

And  yong  Alexandir  of  Setone, 

That  efftyr  Lord  wes  off  Gordown, 

Than  ordanyt  wyth  oure  Prynce  to  pas, 

In  that  schip  tane  wyth  hym  was, 

Till  cum  hame  amang  the  lave 

Ynglis  men  ful  leve  hym  gave. 

Bot  oure  Prince  behovit  thare  still 

Bide  the  King  off  Ynglandis  will  : 

And  William  Giffarte  that  sqwyare  ; 

Bot  few  ma  than  bad  wyth  hym  thare." ' 

It  can  hardly   be   denied   that  the  effect  is  eminently  mono- 
tonous and  prosaic. 

After  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century  a  new  note  is 
heard  in  Scottish  poetry.  It  is  not  the  archaic  note  of 
Huchown  ;  nor  is  it  the  unsophisticated  note  of  Barbour. 

1  Chronykil,  ed.  Laing,  vol.  iii.  bk.  ix.  11.  2671-710. 


EARLY  SCOTS  POETRY:    1301-1475          23 

It  comes  from  England,  and  it  comes  from  Chaucer,  to 
whose  genius  the  Scottish  poets  for  a  century  and  a  half 
were  eager  (as  they  well  might  be)  to  pay  their  tribute 
of  respect  and  admiration. 

We  live  in  an  age  partly  sceptical,  partly  credulous  ;  and 
it  is  natural  that,  when  Bacon  is  believed  by  many  to  have 
written  the  plays  of  Shakespeare,  the  authorship  of  The 
Kingis  <j)uairl  [Book]  should  have  been  thought  by  a  few 
to  be  open  to  doubt.  We  do  not,  indeed,  rank  the  argu- 
ments against  the  traditional  view  in  the  latter  case  in  the 
same  class  with  the  considerations  advanced  in  the  former. 
Those  who  deny  that  The  Kingis  Quair  is  the  work  of 
James  I.  are  people  who  know  what  they  are  talking  about. 
The  Baconians,  in  the  matter  of  ratiocination  or  erudition, 
are,  if  we  may  venture  so  to  call  them,  the  merest  cyphers. 
But  the  anti-Jacobites  have  failed,  in  so  far  as  the  present 
writer  can  judge,  to  prove  their  negative,  and  to  upset  the 
testimony  of  tradition,  of  John  Major,  and  of  the  MS.  of  the 
poem  in  the  Bodleian.2 

We  shall,  therefore,  assume  that  the  author  of  The  Kingis 
£hiair  was  that  most  romantic  and  effective  of  all  the 
Stuarts,  James  I.,  who  was  born  in  1394,  was  kidnapped 
by  the  King  of  England  in  1406,  languished  in  captivity 
until  1424,  and  after  reigning  over  his  people  for  thirteen 
years,  was  assassinated  at  Perth  in  1437.  It  may  never  be 
legitimate  to  read  into  a  poet's  verse  the  facts  of  his  life,  yet 
there  is  a  strong  temptation  to  regard  The  Kingis  ^uair^  not 
as  allegory  pure  and  simple,  but,  as  a  reproduction  of  the 
author's  own  experience  when,  looking  down  from  the 

1  Ed.  Skeat,  S.  T.  S.,  1884.     Brown,  The  Authorship  of  the  Kingis  Quair, 
1896  ;  Rait,  The  Kingis  Quairc  and  the  New  Criticism,  1898  ;  and  above  all 
Jusserand,  Jacques  Premier  dEcossc  :  Fut-il  Poetc  ?    Etude  sur  I'authcn- 
ticite,  &c.,  Paris,  1897. 

2  An  extremely  lucid  statement  of  the  case  on  both  sides  will  be  found 
in  Mr.  Henderson's  Scottish  Vernacular  Literature,  1898,  pp.  95,  et  scq. 
Mr.  Henderson,  it  should  be  said,  is  strong  for  the  royal  authorship. 


24      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

window  of  one  of  his  prisons,  he  first  set  eyes  upon  his 
future  bride,  Lady  Joan  Beaufort. 

The  Kingis  Quair  (1423)  consists  of  some  1,400  lines 
in  stanzas  of  seven  lines,  rhymed  thus  :  ab  ab  bcc,  and  has 
been  well  described  by  Major  as  "  artificiosus  libellus"  Con- 
scious art  is  palpable  in  every  word  and  phrase,  and  the  very 
language  is  non-natural.  James  was  not  taken  captive  until 
he  had  attained  an  age  at  which  the  Northern  English  had 
become  thoroughly  ingrained  in  his  brain  and  tongue.  The 
English  of  London  and  Windsor — the  English  which  was 
now  fairly  establishing  itself  as  the  standard  dialect  of 
England — might  modify,  but  could  not  eradicate,  the  pecu- 
liarities of  his  Northern  speech.  His  Ballad  of  Good  Counsel, 
included  in  his  edition  by  Professor  Skeat,  is  good  Northern 
English.  But  his  literary  models — Chaucer  and  Gower,1  to 
whose  "  impnis "  (hymns  =  poems)  he  recommends  his 
"  buk  "  in  its  closing  stanza — used  the  London  English  as 
their  language.  The  result  in  The  King's  ®)uatr  is  a  dialect 
which  is  neither  one  thing  nor  another ;  a  dialect  purely 
artificial,  as  Professor  Skeat  puts  it,  and  such  as  no  man 
or  woman  ever  spoke.  The  highly  artificial  character  of  the 
poem  may,  in  the  age  which  witnessed  its  production,  have 
secured  the  admiration  of  connoisseurs.  That  James  was 
aware  of  and  admired  the  peculiar  technique  and  methods 
of  his  "maisteris  dere"  is  obvious  enough.  And  he  might 
have  appealed  to  the  taste  or  his  time,  not  by  reason  of  any 
originality,  but  in  virtue  of  his  superlative  skill  in  playing  a 
game  in  which  performers  of  no  mean  qualifications  were 
taking  an  active  part. 

Modern  admiration  of  The  Kingis  Ijhiair  is  based  on  no  such 
ground.  That  it  belongs  to  the  same  school  as  The  Flower 
and  The  Leaf  and  The  Court  of  Love  the  most  dense  can 
scarce  help  seeing  ;  nor  would  the  veriest  niggard  in  praise 

1  "  Superlative  as  poets  laureate, 

In  moralitee  and  eloquence  ornate." 


EARLY  SCOTS   POETRY:    1301-1475         25 

deny  these  poems  high  merit.  But  The  Kingis  £)uair  is 
admirable,  not  because  it  is  a  superior  exercise  (which  it 
certainly  is)  in  the  same  kind,  nor  because  it  is  free  from  the 
occasional  lapses  into  the  commonplace,  or  even  the  ludicrous, 
which  may  be  detected  in  its  models.  The  Kingis  Quair  is 
essentially  one  of  those  poems  which  compel  admiration  abso- 
lute, and  not  merely  admiration  comparative.  The  dreams  and 
reflections  of  the  sleepless  recluse  who,  chancing  to  cast  down 
his  eyes,  beholds  his  mistress  in  the  garden,  so  that  "  his  hert, 
his  will,  his  nature,  and  his  mind  "  are  "  changit  clene  ryght  in 
another  kind,"  make  too  direct  and  imperative  an  appeal  to  the 
human  heart  to  be  brushed  aside  by  the  strangeness  of  his 
modes  of  thought.  The  Cupids  and  the  Venuses  so  dear  to  the 
Middle  Ages  may  mean  little  for  us,  and  we  may  find  the 
caprices  of  Fortune,  and  the  inscrutable  movements  of  her 
wheel,  a  subject  too  hackneyed  to  admit  of  profitable  exposi- 
tion. But  in  reading  The  Kingis  Quair  all  sense  of  the 
incongruity  or  distastefulness  of  these  and  the  like  devices 
disappears  before  the  passionate  ardour,  the  noble  emotion, 
the  chivalrous  feeling,  which  are  manifest  in  every  line. 
Rarely  indeed  has  the  rapture  of  the  exultant  lover,  assured 
of  success  in  an  honourable  suit,  been  more  triumphantly 
expressed  than  in  these  lines  : — 

"  Blissit  mot  be  the  heye  goddis  all, 

So  fair  that  glitteren  in  the  firmament  ! 
And  blissit  be  thare  myght  celestial], 

That  have  convoyit  hale,  with  one  assent. 
My  lufe,  and  to  so  glade  a  consequent ! 
And  thankit  be  fortunys  exiltree 
And  quhele,  that  thus  so  wele  has  quhirlit  me. 

Thankit  mot  be,  and  fair  and  lufe  befall 
The  nychtingale,  that,  with  so  gud  entent, 

Sang  thare  of  lufe  the  notis  suete  and  small, 
Quhair  my  fair  hertis  lady  was  present, 
Hir  with  to  glad,  or  that  sche  forthir  went  ! 

And  thou  gerafloure,  mot  i-thankit  be 

All  othir  flouris  for  the  lufe  of  the  ! 


And  thankit  be  the  faire  castell  wall, 

Quhare  as  I  quhilom  lukit  furth  and  lent. 

Thankit  mot  be  the  sanctis  marciall, 
That  me  first  causit  hath  this  accident. 
Thankit  mot  be  the  grene  bewis  bent, 

Throu  quhom,  and  under,  first  fortunyt  me 

My  hertis  hele  and  my  comfort  to  be. 

For  to  the  presence  suete  and  delitable, 
Rycht  of  this  floure  that  full  is  of  plesance, 

By  processe  and  by  menys  favorable, 
First  of  the  blisfull  goddis  purveyance, 
And  syne  throu  long  and  trew  contynuance 

Of  veray  faith,  in  lufe  and  trew  service, 

I  cum  am,  and  yit  forthir  in  this  wise. 

Unworthy,  lo,  bot  onely  of  hir  grace, 

In  lufis  yok,  that  esy  is  and  sure, 
In  guerdoun  eke  of  all  my  lufis  space, 

She  hath  me  tak,  hir  humble  creature. 

And  thus  befell  my  blissfull  aventure, 
In  youth  of  lufe,  that  now,  from  day  to  day, 
Flourith  ay  newe,  and  yit  forthir,  I  say."  ' 

The  Middle  Ages  may  be  a  favourite  subject  of  ridicule 
(in  common  with  the  age  of  Homer  or  the  age  of  Plato) 
with  the  ignorant  and  the  purse-proud  ;  but  the  wealth  of  all 
the  millionaires  in  all  the  world  cannot  purchase  such  poetry 
as  this. 

In  addition  to  the  poem  his  description  of  which  so  aptly 
corresponds  with  The  Klngis  £)uair^  Major  ascribes  to  James  I. 
a  "  cantilena"  Tas  Sen,  which  has  never  been  satisfactorily 
identified,  and  another  poem  (to  which  he  applies  the  epithets 
jucundus  and  artificiosus\  At  Beltayne,  which,  it  seems 
scarcely  possible  to  doubt,  is  Peblis  to  the  Play.2  The  style 
and  tone  of  that  amusing  piece  are,  indeed,  vastly  different 
from  those  of  The  Kingis  Quair.  Hence  many  competent 

1  The  Kingis  Quair,  stt.  189-93. 

z  The  opening  line  of  Peblis  is  "  At  Beltane  quhen  ilk  bodie  bownis," 


EARLY  SCOTS   POETRY:    1301-1475         27 

critics,  including  Mr.  Skeat,  have  been  unwilling — or  unable — 
to  believe  that  it  is  rightly  attributed  to  James.  A  theory  has 
been  started  (based  upon  an  extremely  obscure  sentence  of 
Major's)  that  Peblis,  as  we  know  it,  is  merely  a  parody  upon 
the  original,  and  doubtless  more  refined,  poem  of  the  same 
name.  Closely  connected  with  this  question  is  the  problem 
of  the  authorship  of  Christis  Kirk  on  the  Green,1  which  the 
great  body  of  tradition  concurs  with  Bannatyne  in  ascribing 
to  James  also.  There  is  indeed  a  certain  amount  of  tradition 
to  the  effect  that  James  V.,  a  very  different  person,  was  the 
author,  and  this  hypothesis  has  been  welcomed  by  those  who 
have  rejected  the  first  James,  all  the  more  warmly  that  the 
character  of  the  "  glide  man  of  Ballengiech  "  appears  more 
consonant  with  the  free  and  joyous  nature  of  the  work  than 
that  of  his  progenitor.  In  such  cases  it  is  unwise  to  be  too 
positive,  but  we  may  be  content  to  follow  the  high  authority 
of  Mr.  Henderson,  who  maintains  the  earlier  authorship  both 
of  Peblis  and  of  Christis  Kirk,  a  poem  of  precisely  the  same 
type,  though  confessedly  posterior  in  date.  The  argument 
from  the  turn  of  the  King's  genius,  as  exhibited  in  his  £>uair, 
is  dangerous,  for  it  proves  too  much.  It  would  conclusively 
prove,  for  example,  that  Cowper  did  not  write  John  Gilpin. 
Nor  is  there  anything  in  the  language  or  versification  of  the 
poems  to  fix  them  to  the  sixteenth  instead  of  to  the  fifteenth 
century. 

The  poems  themselves,  apart  from  their  authorship,  are  01 
capital  importance  in  Scottish  literature  as  setting  a  fashion 
which  was  dutifully  followed  by  the  Scots  poets  down  to  the 
author  of  Anster  Fair.  They  give  a  partly  descriptive,  partly 
satirical  account  of  popular  manners,  tinctured  with  the  rough 
and  sardonic  humour  which,  in  an  exaggerated  and  almost 
wholly  detestable  form,  is  one  of  the  less  pleasing  characteristics 
of  Smollett's  heroes.  The  subject  of  the  one  is  the  town  of 

1  Both  Peblis  and  Christis  Kirk  will  be  found  in  almost  any  collection  of 
old  Scottish  poetry. 


28      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Peebles  (proverbially  the  abode  of  "  pleasure")  at  fair-time, 
when  every  one  resorts  to  it  for  a  "  ploy,"  or  play,  and  the 
subject  of  the  other  is  a  very  similar  one — a  rural  village 
en  fete,  with  abundance  of  noise  and  fighting  and  breaking  of 
heads  to  finish  up  with.  We  see  the  same  class  of  subject 
handled  in  exactly  the  same  way  in  the  Blythsome  Bridal,  in 
Fergusson's  Leith  Races,  and  in  Burns's  Halloween  and  Holy 
Fair.  Alliteration  is  used  by  no  means  sparingly,  and  in  form, 
as  Mr.  Henderson  well  says,1  Peblis  and  Christis  Kirk  form  "  a 
curious  blend  of  the  old  ballad  and  the  alliterative  romance." 
The  stanza  consists  of  eight  lines  of  "  double  common  metre  " 
(eights  and  sixes)  plus  a  bob-wheel,  the  "bob"  being  of  two 
syllables,2  two  rhymes  sufficing  for  the  conduct  of  the  whole 
stanza.  The  following  extract  may  convey  a  tolerably 
adequate  impression  of  the  manner  and  spirit  of  two  note- 
worthy performances  : — 

"  To  dans  thir  damysellis  thame  dicht, 
Thir  lassis  licht  of  laitis, 
Thair  gluvis  wes  of  the  raffel  rycht, 
Thair  schone  wes  of  the  straitis  ; 
Thair  kirtillis  wer  of  lynkome  licht, 
Weil  prest  with  mony  plaitis. 
They  wer  so  nyss  quhen  men  thame  nicht, 
They  squealit  lyk  ony  gaitis 

So  lowd 
At  Chrystis  kirk  of  the  grene  that  day. 

Of  all  thir  madynis  myld  as  meid 
Wes  nane  so  gympt  as  Gillie, 
As  ony  ross  her  rude  was  reid, 
Her  lyre  was  lyk  the  lillie  : 


1  Scottish  Vernacular  Literature,  p.  in. 

3  "  The  wheel  is  the  return  of  a  peculiar  rhythm  at  the  end  of  each 
stanza.  In  its  simplest  form  it  consists  of  two  short  lines  rhyming  with 
each  other.  The  bobwheel  is  a  wheel  beginning  with  a  short  abrupt  line 
or  bob  "  (Henderson,  ut  sup.  p.  29). 


EARLY  SCOTS  POETRY:    1301-1475         29 

Fow  yellow  yellow  wes  hir  head, 
But  scho  of  lufc  was  sillie, 
Thocht  all  her  kin  had  sworn  hir  deid, 
Scho  wald  haif  hot  sweit  Willie, 

Allone, 
At  Chrystis  kirk  of  the  grene. 

Scho  skornit  Jock  and  skraipit  at  him 

And  mvrionit  him  with  mokkis  ; 

He  wald  haif  luvit,  scho  wald  nocht  lat  him, 

For  all  hir  yalow  lokkis  ; 

He  chereist  hir,  scho  bad  ga  chat  him, 

Scho  compt  him  nocht  twa  clokkis ; 

So  schamefully  his  schort  goun  set  him 

His  lymmis  was  lyk  twa  rokkis, 

Scho  said, 
At  Chrystis  kirk  of  the  grene." 

There  is  certainly  little  trace  in  either  Peblis  or  Christis 
Kirk  of  the  Chaucerian  influence  predominant  in  The  Kingis 
£)uair.*  But  the  English  contagion  spread  from  the  throne 
downwards,  and  the  works  of  Robert  Henryson  2  (1425?- 
1506  ?)  bear  the  stamp  of  Chaucer  no  less  certainly  than  does 
the  masterpiece  of  the  King.  Henryson  is  said,  on  the  title-page 
of  the  earliest  edition  of  his  Fables,  to  have  been  schoolmaster 
of  Dunfermline  ;  it  is  conjectured  that  he  may  have  belonged 
to  the  family  of  Henderson  of  Fordell ;  and  we  know  that  he 
was  incorporated  in  the  recently  founded  University  of  Glas- 
gow in  1462.  Beyond  this,  nothing  is  known  of  his  career  ; 
but  his  poems  point  unmistakably  to  his  having  been  a  man  of 
superior  learning  and  refinement.  Hisfaruit  may  be  roughly 
set  down  as  having  been  the  third  quarter  of  the  fifteenth 
century. 

Of  his  shorter  poems,  by  far  the  most  celebrated  is  Robene 
and  Makyne,  a  pastoral  which  is  free  from  the  superfluous  and 

1  Mr.  Skeat  in  his  learned  introduction  to  that  poem  has  elaborated  this 
topic  fully. 

2  Poems  and  Fables,  ed.  Laing,  1865. 


30      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

irritating  accessories  of  the  conventional  Arcadia  on  the  one 
hand,  and  yet  avoids  on  the  other  the  buffoonery  and  horseplay 
which  reaction  against  an  outworn  tradition  has  often  tended 
to  beget.  With  perfect  simplicity  and  with  unostentatious 
humour  it  sets  forth  its  story — the  converse  of  that  of  Duncan 
Gray — how  "  Meg  grew  hale  as  he  grew  sick."  And  instead 
of  marrying  and  living  happy  ever  after,  the  shepherd  and  the 
shepherdess  part  : — 

"  Makyne  went  hame  blyth  anneuche 

Attour  the  holttis  hair  ; 
Robene  murnit,  and  Makyne  leuche, 

Scho  sang,  he  sichit  sair  : 
And  so  left  him,  baith  wo  and  wrench 

In  dolour  and  in  cair, 
Keepand  his  hird  under  a  heuch, 

Amangis  the  holtis  hair." 

In  quite  a  different  vein  is  The  Bludy  Serk  in  double  ballad 
metre,  two  rhymes  sufficing  for  -each  stanza  of  eight  lines. 
But  whatever  merit  it  may  possess  as  a  ballad  is  to  some  extent 
destroyed  when  we  make  the  disappointing  discovery,  in  the 
Moralitas  or  moral,  that  it  is  meant  for  an  allegory  of  the 
salvation  of  the  human  soul.  Henryson  was,  indeed,  prone 
to  moralising — one  of  the  literary  vices  of  his  time.  The 
contrast  between  youth  and  age  : — 

"  O  yowth,  be  glaid  into  thy  flowris  greene  ! 
O  yowth  thy  flowris  faidis  ferly  sone  !  " 

— the  resistless  importunity  of  death  : — 

"  Come  when  I  call,  thow  ma  me  nocht  deny, 
Thocht  thow  war  paip,  empriour,  and  king  all  thre  ;  " 

— these  are  obviously  congenial  topics,  which  only  his  masterly 
handling  can  deliver  from  the  tediousness  that  comes  of 
incessant  repetition.  He,  too,  like  everybody  else,  lived  in  a 
degenerate  age  : — 


EARLY  SCOTS  POETRY:    1301-1475         31 

"  For  now  is  exilde  all  aid  noble  corage, 

Lautee,  lufe,  and  liberalitee  : 
Now  is  stabilitee  fundyn  in  na  stage, 

Nor  degest  counsele  wyth  sad  maturitee, 

Peax  is  away,  all  in  perplexitee  ; 
Prudence,  and  policy,  ar  banyst  our  al  brinkis. 

This  warld  is  ver,  sa  may  it  callit  be, 
That  want  of  wyse  men  makis  fulis  sitt  on  bynkis. 

O,  whare  is  the  balance  of  justice  and  equitee  ?   ' 
Nothir  meryt  is  preifit,  na  punyst  is  trespas  ! 

All  ledis  now  lyvis  lawles  at  libertee, 

Noucht  reulit  be  reson,  mair  than  ox  or  asse  "  ' — 

and  so  forth,  and  so  forth.  Is  not  the  substance,  though  not 
the  form,  familiar  to  us  in  countless  jeremiads  of  our  own 
generation  r  The  most  marked  deviation  from  the  path  ot 
more  or  less  serious  moralising  is  the  poem  entitled  Sum 
Practysis  of  Medecyne,  written  in  an  elaborate  stanza,  with  a 
free  use  of  alliteration,  in  which  Henryson  for  once  gives  the 
rein  to  that  rollicking  and  boisterous  humour  of  which  most  of 
the  poets  his  compatriots  have  had  a  share.  A  flash  of  the 
same  spirit  appears  in  Kynaston's  story  of  his  last  illness  and 
death,  discreetly  referred  to  by  his  namesake,  Mr.  Henderson. 
Of  narrative  poetry  in  the  Chaucerian  manner  Henryson 
has  left  us  two  specimens,  the  Orpheus  and  Eurydice  (633  lines), 
and  the  Testament  of  Cresseid  (616  lines),  the  latter  of  which  is 
an  avowed  continuation  of  Chaucer's  Troilus  and  Cresseid. 
They  are  both  in  The  King's  £)uair  metre  (rhyme  royal),  and, 
if  comparisons  must  be  made,  the  Testament  appears  to  deserve 
the  preference  over  the  Orpheus.  It  deals  with  the  horrible 
fate  of  Cressida  after  her  desertion  by  Diomede,  smitten  by  the 
sentence  of  the  gods  with  leprosy  and  doomed  to 

"  go  begging  f  ra  hous  to  hous, 
With  cop  and  clapper  lyke  an  lazarous." 

There  are  many  striking  passages  in  the  poem  which  demon- 
1  The  Want  of  Wyse  Men. 


32      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

strate  Henryson's  versatility  :  such  as  the  picture  of  an  "  in- 
terior "  on  a  bitter  winter's  night,  when  the  author  describes 
how  he — 

"  tuik  ane  drink  his  spreitis  to  comfort," 
and— 

"  armit  him  weill  fra  the  cauld  thairout," 

before  taking  up  and  reading  glorious  Chaucer's  "  quair  "  of 
"  fair  Cresseid  and  lustie  Troylus "  ;  or  the  account  of  the 
descent  of  the  seven  planets  from  their  spheres,  to  pass  judg- 
ment upon  Cresseid,  each  being  differentiated  from  the  other 
by  minute  traits  of  appearance,  more  characteristic,  perhaps, 
of  men  than  of  gods.  Here  is  a  vignette  of  Saturn  : — 

"  His  face  frosnit,  his  lyre  was  lyke  the  leid, 

His  teith  chatterit,  and  cheverit  with  the  chin, 

His  ene  drowpit,  how,  sonkin  in  his  heid, 
Out  of  his  nose  the  meldrop  fast  can  rin, 

With  lippis  bla,  and  cheikis  leine  and  thin, 
The  iceschoklis  that  fra  his  hair  doun  hang, 

Was  wonder  greif:,  and  as  ane  speir  als  lang."  ' 

The  culminating  point  in  the  poem  comes  with  the  visit  of 
Troilus  to  the  lepers,  when  he  thinks  that  he  has  seen 
Cresseid's  face  before,  yet  fails  to  recognise  her,  although  he 
signals  her  out  among  the  other  lepers  by  an  unusually 
generous  alms.  But  the  episode  is  too  long  for  extraction 
here,  and  the  reader  must  be  content  with  two  stanzas  from 
the  complaint  of  Cresseid  (in  aab  aab  bah]  when  sentence  of 
leprosy  has  been  passed  upon  her  : — 

"  Quhair  is  thy  chalmer  wantounlie  besene, 
With  burely  bed,  and  bankouris  browderit  bene, 

Spycis  and  wyne  to  thy  collatioun, 
The  cowpis  all  of  gold  and  silver  schene, 


1  The  Testament  of  Cresseid,  11.  155-16. 


EARLY  SCOTS   POETRY:    1301-1475         33 

The  sweit  meitis  scrvit  in  plaittis  clene, 
With  saipheron  sals  of  ane  gude  sessoun  : 
Thy  gay  garmentis  with  mony  gudely  goun, 

Thy  plesand  lawn  pinnit  with  goldin  prene ; 
All  is  areir,  thy  greit  royall  renoun  ! 

Quhair  is  thy  garding  with  thir  greissis  gay, 
And  fresche  flowris,  quhilk  the  Quene  Floray 

Had  paintit  plesandly  in  everie  pane, 
Quhair  them  was  wont  full  merilye  in  May 
To  walk,  and  tak  the  dew  be  it  was  day, 

And  heir  the  merle  and  mavis  mony  ane, 

With  ladyis  fair  in  carrolling  to  gane, 
And  see  the  royal  rinks  in  thair  array, 

In  garmentis  gay,  garnischit  on  everie  grane." 

Noteworthy  as  the  Orpheus  and  the  Cresseid  undoubtedly 
are — significant  as  we  must  hold  them  to  be  of  the  degree  of 
technical  accomplishment  attained  by  the  Scottish  poets — 
Henryson's  most  successful  and  characteristic  work  is  to  be 
sought  in  his  version  of  The  Morall  Fabillis  of  Esope  the 
Phrygian^  one  of  the  happiest  performances  in  its  kind  which 
the  English  language  has  to  show,  and  distinguished  by  a 
humanity  and  a  tolerance  which  our  national  poetry,  in  so  far 
as  it  bears  to  be  a  "  criticism  of  life,"  has  sometimes  lacked. 
The  plot  of  the  1 Taill  of  the  Uplandis  Mous  and  the  Surges 
Mous^  for  example,  is  familiar  to  every  one,  but  the  inimitable 
happiness  of  its  adaptation  to  Scottish  life  and  manners,  and 
the  dexterous  mingling  of  the  animal  and  the  human  element, 
give  it  an  irresistible  claim  upon  our  attention.  The  mouse 
from  the  burrows  town  sets  out  for  the  country  to  pay  a  visit 
to  her  sister  : — 

"  The  hartlie  joy,  Lord  God  !  gif  ye  had  sene 

Was  kithit  quhen  that  thir  twa  sisteris  met  ; 
And  greit  kyndness  was  schawin  thame  betuene, 

For  quhylis  thay  leuch,  and  quhylis  for  joy  thay  gret, 
Quhylis  kissit  sweit,  and  quhylis  in  armis  plet ; 
And  thus  they  fure,  quhill  soberit  wes  thair  mude, 
Syne  fute  for  fute  into  the  chalmer  yude." 
C 


34      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

The  upland  mouse  entertains  her  sister  with  peas  and  nuts, 
but  the  latter  tells  her  outright — 

"  My  gude  Friday  is  better  nor  your  Face  "  [Easter]  ; 

and  invites  her  to  come  back  to  the  burrows  town.  There 
they  dine  sumptuously  "  into  ane  spence  with  vittell  greit 
plentie  "  ; 

"  Baith  cheis  and  butter  upone  thair  skeins  hie 
And  flesche  and  tische  aneuch,  baith  fresche  and  salt, 
And  sekkis  full  of  meill  and  eik  of  malt." 

The  banquet  is  rudely  interrupted  by  the  entrance  first  of  the 
spenser  [butler],  and  next  of  Gilbert,  or  Gib-Hunter,  "our 
jolie  cat,"  from  whose  clutches  the  country  mouse  escapes 
only  by  creeping  between  a  board  and  the  wall.  Like  a  wise 
mouse,  she  goes  home  without  delay.  The  poet  informs  us  that 
he  "  can  nocht  tell  how  efterwart  scho  fure."  "  Bot,"  he 
adds — 

"  Bot  I  hard  say,  scho  passit  to  hir  den 

Als  warme  als  woll,  suppose  it  wes  nocht  greit, 
Full  benely  stuffit,  baith  but  and  ben, 
Of  beinis  and  ruttis,  peis,  ry,  and  quheit ; 
Quhen  ever  scho  list,  scho  had  aneuch  to  eit, 
In  quyet  and  eis,  withoutin  ony  dreid, 
Bot  to  hir  sisteris  feist  na  mair  scho  yeid." 

Scarcely  inferior  to  this  excellent  fable  are  the  Wolf  and  the 
Lamb,  Schir  Chantecleir  and  the  Foxe,  and  The  Tod's  Confession 
to  Fre'ir  Wolf,  a  little  masterpiece  of  trenchant,  but  not  bad- 
tempered,  satire.  The  fox  is  bidden  by  his  confessor,  by  way 
of  penance,  to  "  forbeir  flesche  hyne  till  Pasche."  He  imme- 
diately proceeds  to  the  sea-side  with  the  virtuous  intention  of 
catching  fish.  At  the  sight  of  the  water,  however,  he 
exclaims — 

"  Better  that  I  had  bidden  at  hame 
Nor  bene  ane  lischar  in  the  Devillis  name. 

Now  mon  I  scraip  my  meit  out  of  the  sand, 
For  I  haif  nouther  boittis,  nor  net,  nor  bait." 


EARLY  SCOTS   POETRY:    1301-1475         35 

But  presently  he  espies  a  herd  of  goats,  from  among  which  he 
steals  "  ane  lytell  kid." 

"  Syne  ouer  the  heuch  unto  the  see  he  hyis, 

And  tuke  the  kid  rycht  be  the  hornis  twane, 
And  in  the  watter,  outher  twyis  or  thryis, 
He  dowkit  him,  and  till  him  can  he  sayne, 
'  Ga  down,  Schir  Kid,  cum  up,  Schir  Salmond  agane, 
Quhill  he  was  deid,  syne  to  the  land  him  dreuch, 
And  of  that  new  maid  Salmond  eit  aneuch." 

But,  indeed,  all  the  Fables  are  good,  and  stamp  Henryson  as 
a  master  of  fluent  and  easy  versification,  a  man  of  insight  into 
character,  and  the  possessor  of  the  same  wide  and  generous 
outlook  upon  men  and  life  which  are  not  the  least  among  the 
many  memorable  excellences  of  his  model,  Chaucer. 

A  very  different  stamp  of  poet  was  Harry  the  Minstrel, 
commonly  known  as  "  Blind  Harry,"  who  is  believed  to  have 
died  in  1492,  or  thereabouts,  and  whose  Wallace*  (circ.  1460) 
was,  in  one  form  or  another,  for  long  a  prime  favourite  of 
the  Scottish  peasantry.  It  was,  indeed,  the  Wallace  that 
"poured"  into  the  veins  of  Burns  "a  Scottish  prejudice, 
which,"  the  poet  predicted,  "  will  boil  along  there  till  the 
floodgates  of  life  shut  in  eternal  rest,"  which  unfortunately 
did  not  prevent  his  writing  what  he  conceived  to  be  literary 
English  prose,  and  which  certainly  helped  to  produce  such 
peculiar  results  as  Scots  Wha  Ha'e.  Harry  was  indeed  far 
from  being  an  illiterate  man.  He  had  his  pro  indiviso  share  in 
the  common  stock  of  the  Middle  Ages  ;  and  the  culture  of  the 
better  sort  of  itinerant  minstrel  was  probably  not  unlike  that 
of  the  journalist  of  our  own  day,  whose  functions  the  minstrel, 
or  "jongleur,"  to  a  certain  extent  anticipated  in  the  society  of 
a  more  primitive  age.  But  there  is  certainly  no  trace  in  Harry 
of  the  intellectual  qualities  or  attainments  which  distinguished 
men  like  Barbour  in  a  previous  generation,  and  men  like 

1  Ed.  Jamieson,  Edin.,  1820 ;  ed.  Moir,  S.  T.  S.,  Edin.,  1884-89. 


36      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Henryson  in  his  own.  His  command  of  technique  is  thought 
by  some  to  be  superior  to  Barbour's  (with  whose  Brus  the 
Wallace  challenges  instant  comparison),  and  it  may  be  that  he 
had  been  touched  to  some  extent  by  the  Chaucerian  influence. 
But  in  every  quality  that  goes  to  the  making  of  a  true  poet, 
Harry  is  painfully  inferior  to  the  Archdeacon  of  Aberdeen, 
and  it  may  be  questioned  whether  he  is  much  superior  to  the 
respectable  Wyntoun. 

The  Wallace  is  divided  into  eleven  books  (containing 
altogether  about  1 1,000  lines),  written  almost  wholly  in 
rhymed  heroics,  and  it  derives  its  importance  from  the  fact 
that  it  is  one  of  the  earliest  instances,  if  not  the  very  earliest, 
of  the  continuous  employment  of  that  measure  in  Scottish 
literature.  That  the  Minstrel  is  uncritical  as  an  historian  goes 
without  saying.  We  would  not  have  him  otherwise  in  the 
age  in  which  he  lived.  But  he  was  not  merely  uncritical  and 
credulous;  he  was  grossly  inaccurate  and  blundering.  What  is 
of  even  greater  moment,  from  our  point  of  view,  is  that  as 
a  poet  he  is  undeniably  tedious.  Hardly  a  spark  of  inspiration 
lights  up  his  bald  narrative,  and  the  only  emotion  which 
breathes  in  his  lines  is  an  acrid,  though  sincere,  patriotism,  as 
different  from  the  fine  feeling  which  animates  Barbour  as 
vinegar  is  from  wine.  In  Blind  Harry  we  get  the  harsh  note 
of  provinciality,  which  a  century  of  incessant  guerilla  warfare 
with  England  was  only  too  likely  to  bring  out.  The  Scots,  or 
some  of  their  mouthpieces,  have  put  on  the  airs  and  graces  or 
an  "  oppressed  nationality,"  and  no  longer  start  from  the 
assumption  of  their  equality  in  the  scale  of  national  existence 
with  their  "auld  enemies."  The  English  have  ceased  to  be 
worthy  opponents,  and  have  become  mere  monsters.  The  age 
of  chivalry  is  past,  and  its  lofty  ideals  of  bearing  and  conduct 
have  gone  with  it.1 

1  It  is  right  to  note  that  the  view  which  maintains  Barbour's  superiority 
to  Harry  as  a  poet  has  been  ably  controverted  by  Mr.  Craigie,  Scottish 
Review,  July,  1893. 


EARLY  SCOTS  POETRY:    1301-1475         37 

Here  are  some  of  the  hero's  minor  exploits  : — 

"  A  churl  thai  had  that  felloune  byrdyngis  bar  ; 
Excedandlye  he  wald  lyft  mekill  mar 
Than  ony  twa  that  their  amang  thaim  fand  ; 
And  als  be  wss  a  sport  he  tuk  in  hand  : 
He  bar  a  sasteing  in  a  boustous  poille  : 
On  his  braid  back  of  ony  wald  he  thoille, 
Bot  for  a  grot,  als  fast  as  he  mycht  draw. 
Quhen  Wallas  herd  spek  of  that  mery  saw, 
He  likyt  weill  at  that  mercat  to  be, 
.    And  for  a  strak  he  bad  him  grottis  thre. 
The  churl  grantyt,  of  that  proferr  was  fayn 
To  pay  the  silver  Wallas  was  full  bayne. 
Wallas  that  steing  tuk  wp  in  till  his  hand  ; 
Full  sturdely  he  coud  befor  him  stand, 
Wallas,  with  that,  apon  the  bak  him  gaif, 
Till  his  ryg  bane  he  all  in  sondyr  draif. 
The  carll  was  dede  :  of  him  I  spek  no  mar. 
The  Ingliss  men  semblit  on  Wallas  thair, 
Feill  on  the  feld  of  frekis  f echtand  fast  ; 
He  unabasyt,  and  nocht  gretlie  agast, 
Upon  the  hed  ane  with  the  steing  hitt  he, 
Till  bayn  and  brayn  he  gert  in  pecis  fle. 
Ane  other  he  straik  on  a  basnat  of  steille, 
.          The  tre  to  raiff  and  fruschit  eviredeille. 

His  steyng  was  tint,  the  Ingliss  man  was  dede  : 
For  his  crag  bayne  was  brokyn  in  that  stede. 
He  drew  a  suerde  at  helpit  him  at  neide, 
Throuch  oute  the  thikest  of  the  press  he  yeid  ; 
And  at  his  horss  full  fayne  he  wald  half  beyne. 
Twa  sarde  him  maist  that  cruell  war  and  keyne. 
Wallas  raturned  as  man  of  mekyll  mayne  ; 
And  at  a  straik  the  formast  has  he  slayne. 
The  tother  fled,  and  durst  him  nocht  abide  ; 
Bot  a  rycht  straik  Wallas  him  gat  that  tid  : 
In  at  the  guschet  brymly  he  him  bar  : 
The  grounden  suerd  throuchout  his  cost  it  schar. 
Fyve  slew  he  thar,  or  that  he  left  the  toune  : 
He  gat  his  horss,  to  Laglyne  maid  him  boune, 
Kepyt  his  child  and  leyt  him  nocht  abide  : 
In  saufte  thus  on  to  the  wod  can  ride."  ' 


1  Wallace,  bk.  ii.,  11.  29-68. 


38      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

This  may  be  thoroughly  satisfactory  and  businesslike,  but  it 
is  not  exhilarating. 

One  of  the  features  of  the  period  in  which  Henryson  and 
Blind  Harry  flourished  was  a  tendency  to  cast  back  to  allitera- 
tion. It  is  doubtful,  indeed,  whether  Golagros  and  Gawane J 
is  a  production  of  that  era  and  of  Clerk  of  Tranent,  or 
whether  it  must  not  be  referred  to  the  previous  century  and 
the  Huchown  cycle.  But  both  The  Buke  of  the  How/at  and 
The  Taill  of  Rauf  Coilzear  almost  certainly  belong  to  the 
second  half  of  the  fifteenth  century.  They  are  in  alliterative 
rhymed  stanzas  of  thirteen  lines — ab  ab  ab  ab  c  d  d  d  c. 

The  thread  on  which  hangs  the  Buke  of  the  How/at  (believed 
to  be  from  the  pen  of  Sir  Richard  Holland  and  obviously  of 
the  class  of  which  perhaps  the  most  familiar  representative  in 
English  is  the  Parlement  of  Foules]  is  the  hard  lot  of  the  Owl, 
which  is  morbidly  conscious  of  its  unprepossessing  appearance 
and  disagreeable  voice.  It  proceeds  to  lay  its  grievances  in 
form  before  the  Pope  of  the  bird-world,  to  wit,  the  Peacock, 
in  the  following  manner  : — 


"  Before  the  Pape,  when  the  pur  present  him  had, 
With  sic  courtassy  as  he  couth,  on  kneis  he  fell ; 
Said  :  '  Ave  Raby,  be  the  rud  I  am  richt  rad 
For  to  behald  your  halyness,  or  my  tale  tell  ; 
I  may  noch  suffyss  to  see  your  sanctitud  sad.' 
The  Pape  wyslie,  I  wiss,  of  worschipe  the  well, 
Gave  him  his  braid  benesoun,  and  baldly  him  bad 
That  he  suld  spedely  speik  and  spair  nocht  to  spell. 
'  I  come  to  speir,'  quoth  the  spreit,  '  in  to  speciall, 
Quhy  I  am  formed  so  fowle, 
Ay  to  howt  and  to  howle, 
As  ane  horrible  Owl, 
Ugsum  our  all. 


1  Golagros  and  the  poems  after  mentioned  will  be  found  in  Scottish 
Alliterative  Poems,  ed.  Amours,  S.  T.  S.,  Edin.,  1897. 


EARLY  SCOTS   POETRY:    1301-1475          39 

'  I  am  netherit  ane  Owll  thus  be  Natur, 

Lykar  a  fule  than  a  fowle  in  figur  and  face  ; 

Bysyn  of  all  birdis  that  ever  body  bure, 

Withoutin  causs  or  cryme  kind  in  this  case. 

I  have  appelit  to  your  presence,  precious  and  pur, 

Askis  helpe  in  till  haist  at  your  halyness, 

That  ye  wald  cry  apon  Crist  that  has  all  in  cur. 

To  schape  me  a  schand  bird  in  a  schort  space  ; 

And  till  accuss  Natur,  this  is  no  nay  : 

Thus,  throw  your  halyness,  may  ye 

Make  a  fair  foule  of  me, 

Or  elles  dredles  I  de 

Or  myne  end  daye."  ' 

A  general  gathering  and  feast  of  the  birds  is  held,  and 
among  others  to  arrive  is  the  R9ok,  who  turns  out  to  be  a 
Gaelic  bard.  We  have  already  referred  to  the  two  following 
stanzas  as  a  significant  indication  of  the  feelings  of  a  Scots 
poet  who  wrote  in  "  Inglise  "  towards  his  Celtic  fellow-crafts- 
man : — 

"  Sa  come  the  Ruke  with  a  rerd  and  a  rane  roch, 
A  bard  owt  of  Irland  with  Banachadee  ! 
Said  :  '  Gluntow  guk  dynyd  dach  hala  mischy  doch  ; 
Raike  hir  a  rug  of  the  rost,  or  scho  sail  ryive  the. 
Mich  macmory  ach  mach  mometir  moch  loch  ; 
Set  hir  doune,  gif  hir  drink  ;  quhat  Dele  als  the  ? ' 
O  Deremyne,  O  Donnall,  O  Dochardy  droch  ; 
Thir  ar  his  Irland  kingis  of  the  Irischerye  : 
O  Knewlyn,  O  Conochor,  O  Gregre  Makgrane ; 
The  Shenachy,  the  Clarschach, 
The  Ben  schene,  the  Ballach, 
The  Crekery,  the  Corach, 
Scho  kennis  thaim  ilk  ane. 

Mony  lesingis  he  maid  ;  wald  let  for  no  man 
To  speik  quhill  he  spokin  had,  sparit  no  thingis. 
The  dene  rurale,  the  Ravyn,  reprovit  him  than, 
Bad  him  his  lesingis  leif  befor  thai  lordingis. 


From  The  Bnkc  of  the  Howlat,  stt.  viii.  and  ix. 


40      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

The  barde  worth  brane  wod,  and  bitterly  couth  ban  ; 

'  How  Corby  messinger,'  quoth  he,  '  with  sorowe  now  syngis  ; 

Thow  ischit  out  of  Noyes  ark,  and  to  the  erd  wan, 

Taryit  as  a  tratour,  and  brocht  na  tythingis. 

I  shall  ryive  thee,  Ravyne,  baith  guttis  and  gall.' 

The  dene  rurale  worthit  reid 

Stawe  for  schame  of  the  steid  ; 

The  barde  held  a  grete  pleid 

In  the  hie  hall."  ' 

There  is  also  a  good  deal  of  rather  less  interesting  material 
in  a  poem  the  real  object  of  which  is  the  glorification  of  the 
House  of  Douglas  : — 

"  Off  the  douchty  Dowglass  to  dyte  me  I  dress  ; 
Thar  armes  of  ancestry  honourable  ay, 
Quhilk  oft  blythit  the  Bruse  in  his  distress  ; 
Tharfor  he  blissit  that  blud  bald  in  assay. 
Reid  the  writ  of  thar  werk,  to  your  witness  ; 
Furth  on  my  matir  to  muse  I  mufe  as  I  may. 
The  said  persevantis  gyde  was  grathit,  I  gess, 
Brusit  with  ane  grene  tre,  gudly  and  gay, 
That  bure  branchis  on  breid  blythest  of  hewe  ; 
On  ilk  beugh  till  embrace, 
Writtin  in  a  bill  was, 

0  Dowglass,  O  Dowglass, 
Tender  and  trewe  !"2 

So  sings  the  hardy  poet,  and  the  reader  of  Scottish  history 
is  aware  that  never  were  compliments  more  thoroughly  ill- 
deserved.  But  it  matters  not  to  us  to  what  faction  in  Scottish 
politics  the  author  of  the  Howlat  chose  to  attach  himself. 
Whether  he  was  a  loyal  subject  or  a  traitor,  a  plotter  or 
an  honest  man,  he  had  a  considerable  gift  of  poetry,  a 
more  than  respectable  sense  of  humour,  and  a  surprising 
command  of  an  extremely  complicated  and  artificial  mode  of 
expression. 

1  From  The  Buke  of  the  Howlat,  stt.  Ixii.  and  Ixiii. 

2  Ibid.,  st.  xxxi. 


EARLY  SCOTS  POETRY:    1301-1475          41 

We  may  almost  say  the  same  of  the  writer  of  Rauf  Coilzear, 
though  his  humour  is  of  a  broader  and  less  sophisticated 
type — savouring  almost  in  passages  of  the  "knockabout" 
comedian — and  he  gives,  upon  the  whole,  the  impression 
of  having  been  a  man  of  inferior  accomplishment  to  his 
rival  of  the  Howlat.  The  story  he  has  to  tell — and  he  tells 
it  in  great  detail  as  well  as  with  great  spirit — is  of  the 
familiar  "  Haroun  Alraschid "  variety,  and  is  perhaps  the 
origin  of  the  French  proverb,  "  Charbonnier  est  maitre  chez 
soi."  r  The  Emperor  Charlemagne  (if  we  may  be  permitted 
so  to  call  him),  otherwise  King  Charles,  is  driven  by  stress  of 
weather  to  take  refuge  in  a  collier's  hut,  where  he  is  taught 
manners  in  a  rude  but  effective  fashion,  and  where,  needless 
to  say,  he  is  regaled  with  the  best  of  everything,  including 
game  from  his  own  forests.  He,  of  course,  pretends  to  be 
merely  a  Court  official,  and  in  that  capacity  invites  the  collier 
to  come  and  see  him  at  the  palace.  The  collier  does  so, 
discovers  who  his  guest  truly  was,  and  is  made  a  knight. 
The  tale  is  put  into  a  Scottish  setting,  as  Mr.  Henderson 
points  out,  and  the  best  scenes  are  undoubtedly  those  which 
pass  under  the  collier's  roof.  These  are  far  better  than  merely 
mechanical  reproductions  of  conventional  situations,  and  the 
same  praise  may  be  awarded  to  the  character  of  the  collier 
himself,  which  I  venture  to  think  possesses  the  true  Scottish 
flavour.  Here  are  a  couple  of  stanzas  illustrating  his  resolute 
determination  to  be  supreme  in  his  own  house  : — 

"  Sone  was  the  Supper  dicht,  and  the  fyre  bet, 
And  thay  had  weschin,  I  vvis,  the  worthiest  was  thair ; 
'  Tak  my  wyfe  be  the  hand,  in  feir,  withoutin  let, 
And  gang  begin  the  buird,'  said  the  Coilzear. 
'  That  war  unsemand,  f  orsuith,  and  thy  self  unset ; ' 


1  It  will  be  observed  that  Rauf  in  point  of  plot  bears  a  strong  family 
resemblance  to  the  English  ballad  of  John  the  Revc,  with  which  it  is 
coupled  by  Dunbar  and  Douglas. 


42      LITERARY  HISTORY   OF  SCOTLAND 

The  King  profferit  him  to  gang,  and  maid  ane  strange  fair. 
'  Now  is  twyse,'  said  the  Carll,  '  me  think  thow  hes  forget.' 
He  leit  gyrd  to  the  King,  withoutin  ony  mair, 
And  hit  him  under  the  eir  with  his  richt  hand, 

Quhill  he  stakkerit  thair  with  all 

Half  the  breid  of  the  hall ; 

He  faind  never  of  ane  fall, 
Quhill  he  the  eird  fand. 

He  start  up  stoutly  agane,  uneis  micht  he  stand ; 

For  anger  of  that  outray  he  had  thair  tane. 

He  callit  on  Gyliane  his  wyfe  :  '  Ga,  tak  him  be  the  hand, 

And  gang  agane  to  the  buird,  quhair  ye  suld  air  have  gane.' 

'  Schir,  thou  art  unskilfull,  and  that  shall  I  warrand, 

Thow  byrd  to  have  nurtour  aneuch,  and  thow  hes  nane  ; 

Thow  hes  walkit,  I  wis,  in  mony  wyld  land, 

The  mair  vertew  thow  suld  have,  to  keip  the  fra  blame  ; 

Thow  suld  be  courtes  of  kynd,  and  ane  cunnand  Courteir. 

Thocht  that  I  simpill  be, 

Do  as  I  bid  the, 

The  hous  is  myne,  pardie, 
And  all  that  is  heir.' "  ' 

Both  Rauf  Coilzear  and  the  Howlat  announce  that  the  old 
metrical  romance  is  dead.  It  had  received  fair  warning  of  its 
doom  from  Sir  Thopas^  and  by  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century 
the  sentence  had  been  carried  into  execution.  Its  methods  and 
mannerisms  had  been  burlesqued  and  degraded  into  a  medium 
of  expression  for  ideas  which,  in  the  convenient  phrase  of  a 
later  century,  were  "  low."  How  "  low "  they  sometimes 
were  we  may  gather  from  certain  poems2  whose  author- 
ship is  unknown,  and  whose  precise  date  is  uncertain, 
but  which  may  without  any  gross  impropriety  be  referred 
to  the  period  we  are  now  dealing  with,  and  which,  in 
any  event,  enjoyed  abundant  fame  and  popularity  in  their 
day. 

The  longest  of  these  is  Colkelbiis  Sow,3  which,  including  the 

1  From  Rauf  Coilzear,  stt.  xii.  and  xiii. 

2  All  to  be  found  in  Laing's  Select  Remains,  ed.  Smart,  Edin.,  1885. 

3  Lning,  lit  sup.  p.  238. 


EARLY  SCOTS  POETRY:    1301-1475         43 

"  prohemium,"  extends  to  about  nine  hundred  lines,  of  which 
half  are  rhymed  sixes,  and  the  remainder  heroics.  It  professes 
to  trace  the  history  of  the  "penneis  thre"  for  which  the 
merry  man,  Colkelbie,  sold  his  "simple  blalc  sow,"  and  not 
the  least  interesting  portion  of  the  work,  from  the  point  of 
view  of  social  economy,  is  the  warm  encouragement  which 
the  third  part  gives  to  all  engaged  in  poultry  farming.  From 
a  literary  point  of  view,  undoubtedly  the  most  noteworthy 
passage  is  that  in  which  are  enumerated  the  names  of  the 
dances  played  by  the  minstrels  at  the  feast.  Taken  as  a  whole, 
the  piece  is  more  extravagant  than  amusing  ;  nor,  it  must 
honestly  be  owned,  is  much  diversion  to  be  reaped  from  King 
Berdok I  or  The  Gyre-Carlingf  surely  the  most  astounding 
lyric  with  which  the  tender  age  of  Royalty  was  ever  "  com- 
forted," if  Sir  David  Lyndsay  can  be  taken  to  imply  that  he 
recited  this  identical  tale  to  the  youthful  James  V.  The  Gyre- 
Carling,  in  truth,  is  only  worth  notice  because  it  happens  to 
be  old.  More  may  be  said  for  Sir  John  Rowir$  Cursing^ 
which  is  an  elaborate  mock-excommunication  or  commination 
in  octosyllabics  of  the  stealers,  holders,  concealers,  and  re- 
setters  or 

"  Fyve  fat  geiss  of  Schir  Johne  Rowlis, 
With  caponis,  henis,  and  uthir  fowlis." 

"  To  the  feynd  thair  saulis,  thair  craig  the  gallowis  "  is  a  concise 
summary  of  the  fate  to  which  Sir  John  would  consign  the 
miscreants  in  question  ;  but,  in  addition,  he  invokes  upon  their 
persons  in  this  world  almost  every  conceivable  disease  known 
to  the  faculty,  and  predicts  the  most  elaborate  and  exquisite 
tortures  for  them  in  the  next.  The  poem,  which  depends  for 
its  success  upon  exaggeration  and  over-emphasis,  is  a  little  too 
long,  and  winds  up  with  the  pious,  but  not  too  obviously 

1  Laing,  ut  sup.  p.  267.  2  Ibid.,  p.  271. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  208.    We  know  not  whether  this  Rowll  was  Dunbar's  "  Rowll 
of  Abirdene,"  or  ''gentle  Rowll  of  Corstorphyn,"  or  either  of  them. 


44      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

sincere,  prayer,  that    the    criminals    may  be    brought   in   due 
time  to  repentance,  and  learn  to 

"  forbeir 

Resset  or  stowth  of  uther  menis  geir ; 
And  als  again  the  geir  restoir 
Till  Rowle  as  I  hafe  said  befoir." 

Greatly  superior  in  point  and  vigour  is  Symmie  and  his 
BruderJ-  a  satire  in  the  Peblis  to  the  Play  vein,  upon  the 
begging  friars,  the  author  of  which  we  may  perhaps  conjec- 
ture to  have  been  a  Fife  man,  or  at  least  one  well  acquainted 
with  the  neighbourhood  of  St.  Andrews.  We  feel,  too,  that 
we  have  reached  much  better  work — work  with  some  appre- 
ciable and  intelligent  relation  to  human  life — when  we  come 
to  the  Wowing  of  Jok  and  Jynny  2  and  The  Wife  of  Auchter- 
muchty.3  But  here  we  are  within  hail  of  the  great  ballad  and 
folk-song  controversy,  the  due  consideration  of  which  must  be 
reserved  for  a  later  chapter.  Meanwhile  we  pass  on  to  the 
high  noon  of  the  Middle  Scots  period,  noting  as  a  link  between 
it  and  an  earlier  age  the  rhymed  alliterative  lyric,  Tayis  Bank, 
written  to  celebrate  the  perfections  of  Margaret,  daughter  of 
John,  Lord  Drummond,  and  mistress  of  James  IV.  The 
reader  may  not  object  to  see  this  chapter  brought  to  a  con- 
clusion with  a  short  specimen  of  this  ingenious  and  somewhat 
laboured  exercise  : — 

"  The  blosummes  that  wer  blycht  and  brycht, 

By  hir  wer  blacht  and  blew  ; 
Sche  gladit  all  the  foull  of  flicht 

That  in  the  forrest  flew  ; 
Scho  mycht  haif  confort  king  or  knycht 

That  ever  in  cuntre  I  knew, 
As  waill,  and  well  of  warldly  wicht 

In  womanly  vertew. 


1  Laing,  ut  sup.  p.  311.  2  Ibid.,  p.  355. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  333- 


EARLY   SCOTS   POETRY:    1301-1475          45 

Hir  cullour  cleir,  hir  countinance, 

Hir  cumly  cristall  ene, 
Hir  portratour  of  most  plesance 

All  pictour  did  prevene. 
Off  every  vertew  to  avance, 

Quhen  ladeis  prasit  bene, 
Rychttest  in  my  remembrance 

That  rose  is  rutit  grene."  ' 


1  Laing,  ut  sup. -p.  222,  11.  65-80. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE    GOLDEN    AGE    OF    SCOTTISH    POETRY 

THERE  is  no  more  brilliant  period  in  the  history  of  Scotland 
than  the  quarter  of  a  century  during  which  James  IV.  occupied 
the  throne  (1488-1513),  and  its  splendour  is  but  emphasised 
by  the  overwhelming  nature  of  the  catastrophe  with  which  it 
terminated.  In  every  department  of  national  life  substantial 
progress  was  made.  Strenuous  efforts  were  put  forth  to 
maintain  law  and  order,  and  even  in  the  highlands  the  power 
of  the  central  authority  made  itself  felt.  The  trade  and 
commerce  of  the  country  expanded  to  an  unprecedented 
extent,1  and  the  statute  by  which  sub-infeudation  was 
authorised,  and  so  encouraged,  marks  an  important  stage  in 
the  transition  from  a  purely  military  to  a  civil  state  of  society.2 
Arts  and  manufactures  were  diligently  fostered,  and  the  printing 
press  was  set  up  in  Scotland  for  the  first  time  by  Chepman  and 
Myllar  in  1507  under  the  express  authority  of  the  Crown. 
Education  became  an  object  of  solicitude  to  the  governing 

1  Ayala,  the  Spanish  ambassador,  reports  in  1498  that  Scotland  is  worth 
three  times  more  now  than  formerly,  on  account  of  foreigners  having 
come  to  the  country  and  taught  the  people  how  to  live.     See  The  Days  of 
James  IV.,  ed.  G.  Gregory  Smith,  1890,  which  furnishes  a  most  useful 
bird's-eye  view  of  the  King's  reign. 

2  Act,  1503,  c.  37  (91). 

46 


GOLDEN  AGE    OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY    47 

classes  ;  the  King's  College  was  founded  in  Aberdeen  in  1495  ; 
and  a  significant  enactment  of  the  legislature  provided  for  the 
eldest  sons  of  all  barons  and  freeholders  of  substance  being  sent 
to  the  grammar  schools  and  thereafter  to  the  schools  of  Art 
and  Law  in  order  that  they  might  be  qualified  for  the  task  of 
administering  justice  in  after  life.1  Some  years  later  an  attempt 
was  made  to  counteract  the  influence  of  the  barons  as  exercised 
in  their  own  courts  by  the  establishment  of  a  permanent 
tribunal  sitting  continually  in  Edinburgh  or  elsewhere,2  but 
the  successful  accomplishment  of  this  salutary  design  was 
deferred  until  1532.3 

While  her  domestic  affairs  were  in  this  satisfactory  train, 
Scotland  had  acquired  an  importance  in  the  eyes  of  Europe  to 
which  she  had  hitherto  been  unaccustomed.  Her  ships,  under 
captains  like  Sir  Andrew  Wood,  held  their  own  upon  the  seas 
even  against  the  ships  of  England,  and  the  foundations  were 
laid  of  a  maritime  power  which,  but  for  the  disaster  of  Flod- 
den,  might  have  attained  formidable  proportions.  National 
defence  on  land  was  no  less  assiduously  cared  for.  Pursuing 
its  traditional  policy,  the  Parliament  endeavoured  to  secure  that 
all  men  capable  of  bearing  arms  should,  according  to  their  rank 
and  station,  have  arms  to  bear,  and  to  that  end  enjoined 
"  wapinschaws "  to  be  held  in  each  sheriffdom  four  times  a 
year.4  Scotland,  in  short,  took  her  place  among  the  nations 
of  Europe,  played  her  part  in  their  high  politics,  and,  in  the 
words  of  Mr.  Mackay,  "  became  from  a  second-  almost  a 
first-class  power."  5  And  in  all  this  process  of  development 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  moving  spirit  was  the  King, 
though  he  was  fortunate  in  at  least  one  of  his  counsellors,  the 
wise,  public-spirited,  and  pious  William  Elphinstone,  Bishop 

1  Act,  1496,  c.  3  (1494,  c.  54).  2  Act,  1503,  c.  2  (58). 

Act,  1532.  c.  2  (1537,  cc.  6  et  scq.) 

4  Act  1491,  c.  13  (31  and  32).     The  same  Act  prohibited  football,  golf, 
or  "  other  sic  unprofitable  sports,"   which   were  obviously   serious  com- 
petitors  with  archery. 

5  Die.  Nat.  Bio*.,  art.  James  IV. 


48      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

of  Aberdeen.  Indomitable  energy  and  unquenchable  interest 
in  everything  around  him  were  the  keynotes  of  the  sovereign's 
character,  and  in  these  respects  he  suggests  a  resemblance  to 
one  of  his  remote  descendants.  His  intelligence  was  ever  alert, 
and  his  mind  receptive  of  new  ideas.  That  he  dabbled  in 
alchemy  and  lent  too  ready  an  ear  to  quacks  like  John  Damian, 
the  Dousterswivel  upon  whom  he  conferred  the  Abbey  of 
Tungland,  and  who  was  one  of  the  objects  of  Dunbar's  satire,1 
means  no  more  than  that,  in  the  language  of  our  own  day,  he 
was  keenly  interested  in  the  latest  discoveries  of  science,  and 
disposed  to  heap  rewards  upon  inventors.  To  quote  Mr. 
Mackay's  admirable  summary  once  more,  "  He  was  a  wise 
legislator,  an  energetic  administrator,  and  no  unskilful  diplo- 
matist, a  patron  of  learning,  the  Church,  and  the  poor." 2 
Had  his  impetuosity  been  tempered  by  calculation,  all  might 
have  been  well.  But  the  situation  in  which  he  found  himself 
placed  was  no  easy  one.  To  hold  the  balance  equally  between 
France  and  England,  and  to  play  off  the  one  country  against  the 
other,  were  tasks  which  might  have  tried  the  coolest  nerve, 
the  most  unwearying  patience,  and  the  steadiest  hand.  As  it 
was,  he  precipitated  his  country  and  his  people  into  an  abyss 
from  which  they  were  not  able  to  emerge,  and  then  only  after 
much  suffering  and  humiliation,  for  more  than  two  hundred 
years. 

Such  was  the  monarch  to  whose  Court  was  attached,  during 
almost  the  whole  of  his  career,  the  poet  who  by  common 
consent  is  justly  regarded  as  the  greatest  of  Burns's  predecessors. 
William  D unbar  3  (1460? — 1520?)  was  a  native  of  East 

1  A  ne  ballat  of  the  fcuycit  frcir  of  Tunglatid. 

2  Die.  Nat.  Biog.,  art.  James  IV.      We   may  compare  Lyndsay's   fine 
panegyric  on  James  in  the  Papyngo,  11.  486-506. 

3  Poems,     ed.     Schipper,    Vienna,     1891  ;     ed.    Small,     Gregor,    and 
Mackay,     S.  T.  S.,    3   vols.,    Edin.,  1893  :    this   latter  a   truly   admirable 
edition  and  the  one  always  cited  here.     See  also  Laing's  edition,  2   vols. 
Edin.,  1834.     Reference  may  also  be  made  to  Schipper's  William  Dunbar, 
sein  Leben  und  seine  gcdichte,  Berlin,  1884. 


GOLDEX  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY    49 

Lothian,  and  is  conjectured  to  have  been  descended  from  the 
once  powerful  Earls  of  Dunbar,  more  than  one  of  whom  were 
celebrated  for  their  defection  from  the  national  cause.1  It  is  not 
known  where  he  was  educated,  but  he  is  believed  to  be  the 
William  Dunbar  who  graduated  Bachelor  of  Arts  at  St. 
Andrews  in  1477,  and  Master  in  1479.  He  certainly  became 
a  novice  of  the  order  of  St.  Francis,  and  in  the  capacity  of  a 
begging  friar  travelled  over  the  whole  of  England  "  from 
Berwick  to  Kalice." 

"In  freiris  weid  full  fairly  haif  I  fleichit, 
In  it  haif  I  in  pulpit  gon  and  preichit 
In  Derntoun  kirk,  and  eik  in  Canterberry  ; 
In  it  I  past  at  Dover  our  the  ferry 
Throw  Picardy,  and  thair  the  people  teichit."  2 

But  the  experiment  was  apparently  not  a  success.  The  vision 
of  St.  Francis  which  appeared  to  him  exhorting  him  to  become  a 
monk,  turned  out  to  be  that  of  a  fiend  in  the  likeness  of  a  friar, 
and  vanished  away  "  with  stynk  and  fyrie  smowk."  Henceforth 
Dunbar  abandoned  all  thought  of  the  cowl,  and  he  joined  the 
ranks  of  the  secular  clergy  with  tolerable  prospects  of  pre- 
ferment. 

It  is  conjectured  that  he  acted  as  Secretary  to  an  Embassy 
from  the  Scottish  Court  to  that  of  France  in  1491,  and  in 
1500,  as  appears  from  the  Lord  High  Treasurer's  accounts, 
the  King  bestowed  upon  him  a  pension  of  j£io,  which  was 
raised  to  £20  in  1507,  and  to  ^80  in  1510.  In  short,  he 
seems  to  have  been  emphatically  bien  vu  in  the  highest 
quarters.  But  he  never  obtained  the  bishopric  which  his 
nurse  had  predicted  for  him  as  he  lay  on  her  knee,3  and  which 
he  suggested  to  St  Francis  as  a  preferable  alternative  to  the 

1  Walter  Kennedy  facetiously  avers  that  the  first  Dunbar  was 
"  generit  betuix  ane  sche  beir  and  a  deill."  He  adds  that  the  name 
was  originally  Dewlbeir,  not  Dunbar,  a  sufficiently  far-fetched  and 
feeble  pun.  See  The  Flyting,  11.  p.  257  et  seq. 

3  Ed.  S.  T.  S.  ttt  sup.,  ii.  p.  132,  11.  35-40. 

3  Ibid.,  ii.  p.  106,  1.  62. 

D 


50      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

friar's  habit.1  He  did  not  even  obtain  a  benefice,  and  he  had 
the  mortification  of  seeing  himself  outstripped  in  the  race  by 
persons  of  birth  and  breeding  inferior  to  his  own — "  upolandis 
Michell,"  who  has  "  twa  curis  or  thre,"  or  "Jolc  that  wes 
wont  to  keip  the  stirkis,"  and  can  now  "draw  him  ane  cleik 
of  kirkis."2 

It  was  not  for  want  of  pressing  his  claims  upon  the  King 
and  Queen  that  Dunbar  was  baulked  of  his  reward  ;  for  I 
confess  myself  unable  to  concur  in  the  ingenious  view, 
propounded  by  Mr.  Gregory  Smith,3  that  Dunbar  wrote  all 
his  petitions  and  complaints  "  with  his  tongue  in  his  cheek." 
It  is  true  that  he  sometimes  pleads  his  cause  with  a  well 
contrived  semblance  of  jocularity.  But  even  in  the  Petition 
of  the  Gray  Horse,  Auld  Dunbar,  and  God  gif  ye  war  yohne 
Thomsotinis  man — much  more  in  poems  such  as  Dunbar's 
Complaint^  Dunbar's  Remonstrance  to  the  King,  and  Of  the 
Warldis  Instabilitie — I  cannot  help  thinking  that  we  catch  the 
tones  of  anxious  sincerity,  and  that  Dunbar  really  "means 
business  " — though  doubtless  the  form  in  which  he  gives  vent 
to  his  aspirations  is  conventional  enough.  Despite,  then,  an 
importunity  by  no  means  maladroit,  he  was  doomed  to  remain 
on  at  Court  ;  and  the  demoralising  effect  which  the  attitude 
of  expecting  "  something  to  turn  up "  almost  invariably  pro- 
duces in  such  circumstances  is,  I  venture  to  think,  palpable 
enough  in  his  writings. 

Dunbar  was  a  member  of  the  Embassy  sent  by  James  to 
England  in  1501  to  negotiate  his  marriage  with  Margaret 
Tudor.  On  this  occasion,  he  composed  a  poem  in  the  literary 
dialect  of  England  in  honour  of  London,  which  is  as  handsome 
a  compliment  as  was  ever  paid  by  rhymer  to  a  great  city,  and 
for  which  he  received  a  gratuity  of  ^6  1 35.  4d.  from  Henry  VII. 
Here  are  two  stanzas  : — 

1  Ed.  S.  T.  S.,  ii.  p.  132,  1.  24. 

2  Ibid.,  ii.  p.  106,  11.  66  et  seq. 

3  The  Transition  Period  (in  Periods  of  European  Literature),  p.  55. 


GOLDEN  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY    51 

"  Gemme  of  all  joy,  jasper  of  jocunditie, 

Most  mighty  carbuncle  of  vertue  and  valour  ; 
Strong  Troy  in  vigour  and  in  strenuytie 

Of  royall  cities  rose  and  geraflour  ; 

Empresse  of  towries,  exalt  in  honour  ; 
In  beawtie  beryng  the  crone  imperiall  ; 

Swete  paradise  precelling  in  pleasure  : 
London,  thow  art  the  floure  of  Cities  all. 


Strong  be  thy  wallis  that  about  the  standis  ; 

Wise  be  the  people  that  within  the  dwellis  ; 
Fresh  is  thy  river  with  his  lusty  strandis  ; 

Blith  be  thy  churches,  wele  sownyng  be  thy  bellis  ; 

Rich  be  thy  merchauntis  in  substaunce  that  excellis  ; 
Fair  be  their  wives,  right  lovesom,  white  and  small ; 

Clere  be  thy  virgyns,  lusty  under  kellis  ; 
London,  thow  art  the  flour  of  Cities  all."  ' 

On  the  Princess  Margaret's  arrival  in  Scotland  and  her 
marriage  to  the  King  in  1503,  it  was  Dunbar's  duty  to 
welcome  her  in  an  appropriate  manner  ;  and  this  he  did  in 
the  short  poem  beginning  : — 

"  Now  fayre,  fayrest  off  every  fayre, 
Princes  most  plesant  and  preclare, 
The  lustyest  one  alyue  that  bene, 

Welcum  of  Scotland  to  be  Queene  !  "  2 

as  well  as  in  The  Thistle  and  the  Rose^  one  of  his  most  cele- 
brated pieces,  in  which,  through  the  mask  of  "  Dame  Natur," 
he  solemnly  warns  the  royal  bridegroom  to  be  "  discreit " — 

"  Nor  hald  non  udir  flour  in  sic  denty 
As  the  fresche  Ross,  of  cullour  reid  and  quhyt  ; 
For  gif  thow  dois,  hurt  is  thyne  honesty, 
Conciddering  that  no  flour  is  so  perfyt, 
So  full  of  vertew,  plesans,  and  delyt, 
So  full  of  blisful  angeilik  bewty, 
Imperiall  birth,  honour,  and  dignite."  3 


Ed.  S.  T.  S.,  ii.  p.  276,  11.  17-24,  41-48.  *  Ibid,,  ii.  p.  279. 

3  Ibid.,  ii.  p.  187,  11.  141  d  seq. 


52      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

In  1511  he  accompanied  the  Queen  on  her  pilgrimage  to  the 
North  of  Scotland,  and  celebrated  her  visit  to  Aberdeen  by  a 
poem,  which,  after  describing  the  masque  or  pageant  that  greeted 
the  Queen's  entrance  into  the  town,  winds  up  as  follows  : — 

"  O  potent  princes,  pleasant  and  preclair, 

Great  caus  thow  hes  to  thank  this  nobill  toun, 
That  for  to  do  the  honnour,  did  not  spair 

Thair  geir,  riches,  substance,  and  persoun, 

The  to  ressave  on  maist  fair  fasoun  ; 
The  for  to  pleis  thay  socht  all  way  and  mein  ; 

Thairfoir,  sa  lang  as  quein  thow  beiris  croun, 
Be  thankfull  to  this  burgh  of  Aberdein."  ' 

It  is  impossible  to  avoid  the  observation  how  Dunbar's  compli- 
mentary language  with  respect  to  London  and  Aberdeen 
contrasts  with  his  aspersions  upon  the  Scottish  capital,  which 
he  appears  to  have  found  no  less  destitute  of  any  but  natural 
amenity  than  most  other  critics  : — 

"  May  nane  pas  throw  your  principall  gaittis, 
For  stink  of  haddockis  and  of  scaittis  ; 
For  cryis  of  carlingis  and  debaittis  ; 
For  fensum  flyttingis  of  defame  ; 

Think  ye  nocht  schame, 
Befoir  strangeris  of  all  cstaittis 
That  sic  dishonour  hurt  your  name  ! 

Your  stynkand  styll  that  standis  dirk, 
Haldis  the  lycht  fra  your  parroche  kirk  ; 
Your  foirstairis  makis  your  housis  mirk, 
Lyk  na  cuntray  bot  heir  at  name  : 

Think  ye  nocht  schame, 
Sa  litill  polesie  to  wirk 
In  hurt  and  sklander  of  your  name  ! "  2 

Before  the  visit  to  Aberdeen,  Dunbar  had  appeared  in  print. 
Seven  poems  from  his  pen  formed  part  of  a  volume  printed  by 
Chepman  and  Myllar  in  1508,  a  single  mutilated  copy  of 

1  Ed.  S.  T.  S.,  ii.  p.  251,  11.  65  et  seq. 
1  Ibid.,  ii.  p.  261,  11.  8  et  seq. 


GOLDEN  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY    53 

which,  discovered  in  Ayrshire  towards  the  close  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  is  preserved  in  the  Advocates'  Library.1 
Down  to  the  year  of  Flodden,  we  keep  touch  of  Dunbar 
through  the  Treasurer's  accounts.  These  have  perished  for 
the  following  years,  1513-15,  and  thenceforward  the  poet's 
name  does  not  appear  in  them.  But  it  seems  probable  that  he 
survived  till  about  1520,  and  it  is  to  the  last  period  of  his  life 
that  the  bulk  of  his  religious  poetry  is  generally  ascribed.  In 
this  department,  his  best  work  may  perhaps  be  found  in 
The  Merle  and  the  Nightingale  f  with  its  text,  "  All  luve  is  lost 
bot  upone  God  allone,"  and  in  the  Easter  Hymn,  from  which 
I  excerpt  the  opening  verse  : — 

'•  Done  is  a  battell  on  the  dragon  blak, 
Our  campioun  Chryst  confoundit  hes  his  force  ; 
The  gettis  of  hell  ar  brokin  with  a  crak, 
The  signe  triumphall  rasit  is  of  the  croce, 
The  divillis  trymmillis  with  hiddouss  voce, 
The  saulis  ar  borrowit,  and  to  the  bliss  can  go, 
Chryst  with  his  blud  our  ransonis  dois  indoce  ; 
Surrexit  dominus  de  sepulchre."  3 

It  is  permissible  to  form  from  his  works  a  conjecture  as 
to  Dunbar's  character  and  temperament.  We  may  question 
whether  he  had  the  genuine  religious  instinct,  without  throw- 
ing doubt  upon  the  sincerity  of  the  feeling  to  which  his  hymns 
give  expression,  and  without  relying  exclusively  upon  Kynd 
Kittok  and  the  Dregy^  in  which  the  license  usually  extended  to 
a  Churchman  in  such  matters  is  pushed  to  the  point  of 
blasphemy.  But  it  is  clear  that  he  was  inclined  to  take 
gloomy  views,  and  perhaps  his  own  scant  measure  of  success  in 
life  aggravated  a  constitutional  tendency.  Like  most  of  his 

1  The  seven  pieces  in  question  are,  The  Goldyn  Tatge,  The  Flyting,  The 
Tun  Mar iit  Wemen,  Lament  for  the  Makaris,  Kynd  Kittok,  The  Testament 
of  Mr.  Andro  Kennedy,  and  The  Ballad  of  Lord  Bernard  Stewart.     The 
text  of  the  remainder  of  Dunbar's  works  is  derived  almost  entirely  from 
the  Maitland  and  the  Bannatyne  MS. 

2  Works,  ii.  p.  174.  '  Ibid.,  ii.  p.  156. 


54      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

contemporaries,  he  was  deeply  impressed  by  the  facts  that  man 
is  mortal,  and  that  "all  erdly  joy  returnis  in  pane."1  We 
can  well  believe  that  he  speaks  truth  when  he  declares  on  his 
sick-bed,  "  timor  mortis  conturbat  me"  2  He  endeavours  upon 
occasion  to  cheer  up,  and  philosophises  to  the  refrain,  "  For  to 
be  blyth  me  think  it  best."  3  But  a  man  in  really  good  spirits 
does  not  find  it  necessary  thus  to  enunciate  a  laboured 
optimism.  In  his  less  depressed  moments,  he  delights,  like 
most  of  his  contemporaries,  in  being  gnomic  and  sententious. 
He  is  clear  that  there  should  be  discretion  in  asking,  in  giving, 
and  in  taking4  ;  he  points  out  that  "  he  rewlis  weill  that  weill 
himself  can  gyd  ; "  5  and  he  discourses  on  the  text,  "  he  hes 
aneuch  that  is  content."  6  Probably  he  enforced  these  and 
similar  maxims  more  powerfully  by  his  verse  than  by  his 
conduct.  At  times,  it  is  true,  his  mirth  becomes  riotous,  but 
a  tincture  of  the  sardonic  is  never  wholly  absent,  and  he  is  not 
conspicuous  for  the  qualities  which  are  summed  up  in  the 
expression  ban  enfant.  In  one  of  his  milder  moods  he  has 
given  us  a  fine  poem  In  prays  of  WomenJ  Whoever 
disparages  women,  he  declares,  "  exylit  he  suld  be  of  all  gud 
company."  But  the  best  commentary  upon  this  chivalrous 
sentiment  is  furnished  by  The  Tua  Marlit  Wemen  and  the  IVedo* 
Thir  ladyis  fair  that  makis  repair,*)  This  long  Lentern  mafcs  me 
lene™  and  the  Ballate  against  evil  women.11  He  is  disposed  to 
think  that  the  times  are  out  of  joint,  and  he  has  formulated  a 
sweeping  indictment  against  the  society  of  his  own  age.12  But 
this  loses  something  of  its  sting  when  we  remember  that  similar 
charges  have  been  brought  against  every  generation  in  the 
world's  history. 

1  Works,  ii.  p.  76.  2  Ibid.,  ii.  p.  48.  3  Ibid.,  ii.  p.  110. 

4  Ibid.,  ii.  pp.  84  ct  scq.  5  Ibid.,  ii.  p.  98.  6  Ibid.,  ii.  p.  230. 

?  Ibid.,  ii.  170.  8  Ibid.,  ii.  p.  30.  9  Ibid.,  ii.  p.  168. 

10  Ibid.,  ii.  p.  160.  "  Ibid.,  ii.  p.  266. 

12  See  the  poem,  Dcvorit  with  Dremc,  vol  ii.  p.  81.  Agreeably  to  pre- 
cedent, he  makes  a  furious  onslaught  on  the  prevailing  fashions  in 
women's  dress  in  11.  71  ct  scq. 


GOLDEN  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY     55 

Though  the  bulk  of  Dunbar's  work  as  it  has  reached  us  is 
not  large,  there  is  great  variety  in  his  subjects  and  in  his  modes 
of  treatment.  His  range  extends  from  devotion  to  buffoonery, 
from  courtly  panegyric  to  scurrilous  invective.  And  whatever 
he  touches  is  handled  with  the  success  which  comes  of  the 
poet's  complete  control  of  his  medium  of  expression.  There 
is  nothing  in  Dunbar  of  the  tyro  or  the  fumbler.  He 
never  appears  to  be  tentatively  groping  for  new  effects.  He 
approaches  his  work  with  perfect  confidence  in  his  own  accom- 
plishment, and  that  confidence  is  never  betrayed  by  the  result. 
In  a  word,  he  was  a  conscious  and  consummate  artist,  whose 
"  finish  "  is  comparable,  without  exaggeration,  to  that  of  Virgil, 
or  Pope,  or  Tennyson.  One  only  of  his  critics  will  allow  him 
no  merit.  But  it  is  unnecessary  to  take  Mr.  Lowell  quite 
seriously  upon  this  topic.1  Dunbar  would  possibly  have 
failed  as  signally  to  appreciate  Hosea  Biglow  as  Lowell  to 
appreciate  Dunbar.  Perhaps,  too,  we  may  surmise  that  some 
one  had  been  urging  him  with  more  zeal  than  discretion  to 
read  and  enjoy  Dunbar.  Such  recommendations  are  apt,  if 
persistently  repeated,  to  fail  of  their  purpose.  Inasmuch, 
however,  as  Mr.  Lowell  would  seem  to  have  read  compara- 
tively little  of  his  author,2  his  judgment  need  not  disconcert 
us.  Nor  need  any  one  be  alarmed  by  the  idea  that  Dunbar 
is  crabbed  or  difficult  reading.  At  first,  no  doubt,  the 
beginner's  progress  will  be  slow,  and  a  glossary  will  always 
prove  a  useful,  if  not  an  indispensable,  companion.  But  a  very 
moderate  amount  of  perseverance  will  sufficiently  familiarise 
the  student  with  the  poet's  vocabulary  and  syntax  to  enable 


1  The  view  of  Mr.  Courthope  (History  of  English  Poetry,  vol.  i.  pp.  370-74), 
deserves  more  serious  consideration,  but  I  cannot  forego  the  opportunity  of 
subscribing,  \vith  all  deference,  to  Mr.  Henderson's  dissent  from  a  judg- 
ment which  practically  ignores  the  most  characteristic  portion  of  Dunbar's 
work  and  the  most  salient  aspect  of  his  genius. 

2  Teste  Mr.  O.  Smeaton  in  his  William  Dunbar  (Famous  Scots  Series^ 
Edin.,  1891,  p.  125. 


56      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

him  to  enjoy  as  well  as  to  read  ;  and  a  quarter  of  an  hour's 
application  should  get  him  well  "  into  the  swing  of  it." 

At  intervals  in  the  literary  history  of  every  nation  there  is 
a  tendency  for  the  prevailing  poetical  convention  to  become 
rigid,  and  for  the  current  poetical  dialect  to  become 
stereotyped.  Such  a  tendency  is  strongly  apparent  in  the 
Scottish  literature  of  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  and  the  beginning 
of  the  sixteenth  century.  When  a  poet  was  taking  himself 
seriously,  when  he  was  tuning  his  lyre  to  really  important 
themes,  only  one  style  was  possible  for  him — the  "  aureate  " 
style.  To  Dunbar,  Homer's  style  seemed  "aureate,"  and  both 
Homer  and  Cicero  are  spoken  of  by  him  as  having  had 
"  aureate  tongues."  It  is  difficult  to  exhaust  the  full  meaning 
which  the  epithet  "  aureate "  possessed  for  Dunbar  and  his 
contemporaries.  Perhaps  among  other  things  it  con- 
noted the  idea  of  achieving  by  means  of  language  an  effect 
analogous  to  that  produced  in  paint  by  bright  and  vivid 
colouring.  Certainly  nothing  commonplace  was,  in  their 
opinion,  good  enough  for  high  poetry.  Only  in  the  tints  of 
the  ruby,  the  sapphire,  or  the  beryl,  only  in  the  red  gleam  of 
gold  or  the  brilliant  and  variegated  hues  of  enamel,  could 
metaphors  be  found  by  which  the  beauties  of  Nature  or  the 
excellences  of  an  individual  might  be  adequately  depicted. 
But  the  most  obvious  manifestation  of  the  striving  after  the 
" aureate"  was  a  species  of  euphuism,  of  which  a  couple  of 
lines  from  Sir  David  Lyndsay  will  serve  to  convey  a  clearer 
idea  than  pages  of  exposition — 

"  O  potent  prince  of  pulchritude  preclair, 
God  Cupido  preserve  your  celsitude  !  " 

The  trick  is  essentially  of  the  same  kind  with  the  device  of 
"  poetical  diction  "  as  practised  by  the  poets  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  though  it  is  only  on  rare  occasions  that  we  come 
across  expressions,  like  "  the  goldyn  candill  matutyne  "  T  as  an 

1  The  Goldyn  Targe,  Dunbar,  vol.  ii.  p.  I,  1.  4. 


GOLDEN  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY    57 

equivalent  for  the  sun,  which  directly  remind  us  of  the  "  fleecy 
cares"  and  "gelid  pools"  of  that  later  age.1  Most  persons  will 
probably  agree  that  the  thing  may  be  overdone.  But  the 
search  for  the  recondite  and  the  predilection  for  the  far-fetched 
are  not  necessarily  signs  of  poetical  degeneration  or  decadence. 
They  may  merely  mean  that  the  artist  has  attained  to  full  self- 
consciousness,  and  has  grasped  the  principle  that  the  ordinary 
speech  of  every-day  life,  unordered  and  unsifted,  will  not  do 
for  literature.  Certainly,  of  Dunbar's  "full-dress"  poems  we 
may  say  that  they  are  very  pleasing  specimens  of  their  sort. 
They  comprise  the  London  and  Aberdeen  poems  already 
referred  to,  The  Thistle  and  the  Rose  (a  somewhat  confused 
allegory,  commemorated  in  a  well-known  couplet  of  Lang- 
horne's),  a  Ballad  on  Lord  Bernard  Stewart ,  and  The  Goldyn 
Targe,  which,  although  allegorical,  has  the  rare  merit  of  not 
being  tedious.  The  two  penultimate  stanzas  expound  so 
clearly  Dunbar's  literary  ideals,  and  so  frankly  indicate  his 
models,  that  they  are  worth  quoting  : — 

"  O  reuerend  Chaucere,  rose  of  rethoris  all, 

As  in  cure  tong  ane  flour  imperiall, 

That  raise  in  Britane  ewir,  quho  redis  rycht, 

Thou  beiris  of  makaris  the  tryumph  riall  ; 

Thy  fresch  anamalit  termes  celicall 

This  mater  coud  illumynit  haue  full  brycht  : 
Was  thou  noucht  of  oure  Inglisch  all  the  lycht, 

Surmounting  ewiry  tong  terrestriall, 

Alls  fer  as  Mayes  morow  dois  mydnycht  ? 

O  morall  Gower,  and  Ludgate  laureate, 
Your  sugurit  lips  and  tongis  aureate, 

Bene  to  oure  eris  cause  of  grete  delyte ; 
Your  angel  mouthis  most  mellifluate 
Our  rude  langage  has  clere  illumynate, 


'  Another  curious  coincidence  between  the  two  periods  is  found  in  their 
common  abuse  of  the  personification  of  abstract  qualities. 


58      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

And  faire  our-gilt  oure  speech,  that  imperfyte 
Stude,  or  your  goldyn  pennis  schupe  to  wryte  ; 
This  He  before  was  bare,  and  desolate 

Off  rethorike,  or  lusty  fresch  endyte."  ' 

Few  probably  will  have  any  hesitation  in  admitting  that  the 
pupil  surpassed  two  of  his  masters.  The  third  indeed  he 
could  never  hope  to  rival,  unless  in  mere  technical  dexterity. 
But  the  point  of  interest  is  that  it  is  precisely  for  their  tech- 
nical or  rather,  perhaps,  verbal  dexterity — for  the  success  with 
which  they  have  "enamelled  "  and  "  illuminated  "  and  "over- 
gilt "  our  English  tongue — that  Dunbar  singles  them  out  for 
what  I  venture  to  think  is  meant  for  sincere  and  unqualified 
praise.  In  many  of  his  other  poems  he  owes  little  or  nothing  to 
this  trio.2  But  their  example  was  so  intelligently  followed  by 
him  in  this  class  of  work  that  his  set-pieces  cannot  with  justice 
be  accused  of  being  no  better  than  the  professional  exercises  of 
a  hired  poet. 

It  is  a  far  cry  from  the  "  aureate  "  style  to  the  vers  de  societe 
or  jeux  d' esprit  which  Dunbar,  we  may  conceive,  composed  for 
the  delectation  of  the  private  circle  of  the  Court,  both  before 
and  after  the  King's  marriage.  In  view  of  the  verses  To  the 
6>ueneJ>  it  may  seem  vain  to  draw  distinctions  in  point  of 
delicacy.  But  pieces  like  The  Wowing  of  the  King  quhen  he  wes 
in  Dunfermeling^  and  Ane  brash  of  WowingJ>  a  gross  though 
highly  characteristic  performance,  may  be  attributed  with  more 
propriety  as  well  as  plausibility  to  the  King's  bachelor  days.  Of 
the  rest  (which  include  the  poems  on  James  Dogy6  the  keeper 
of  the  Queen's  wardrobe,  and  the  spirited  Dance  in  the  £htenis 
Chalmer7\  the  lines  Of  ane  Blak-Moir*  "My  ladye  with  the 

1  The  Goldyn  Targe,  Dunbar,  ii.  p.  10. 

-  Dunbar's  heavy  obligation  to  Chaucer  is  fully  considered  in  Chambers' s 
Cydopccdia  of  Literature  (ed.  1901,  vol.  i.  p.  194),  in  an  able  article  with 
almost  all  the  critical  views  expressed  in  which  I  have  the  misfortune  to 
differ.  3  Works,  ii.  p.  203. 

4  Ibid.,ii.  p.  136.  s  Ibid.,n.  p.  247.  6  Ibid.,  ii.  p.  195  et  scq. 

^  Ibid.,  ii.  p.  199.  8  Ibid.,  ii.  p.  201. 


GOLDEN  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY    59 

mekle  lippis,"  are  perhaps  the  most  amusing.  The  Turnament 1 
between  the  soutar  and  the  tailor  is  more  boisterous  than 
entertaining,  and  its  humour  is  essentially  primitive.  But 
unquestionably  the  happiest  of  Dunbar's  essays  (if  Dunbar's  it 
be)  in  broad  extravaganza  is  the  Ltttill  Interlud  of  the  Droichis 
[Dwarfs]  part  of  the  play,2  a  speech  which  some  suppose  that 
he  himself  may  have  recited  in  character,  and  which  has  a 
peculiar  interest  as  practically  the  only  fragment  that  has  come 
down  to  us  (with  the  exception  of  Sir  David  Lyndsay's  Three 
Estaittis}  of  the  Scottish  pre-Reformation  drama.  Here  are 
two  verses  in  which  the  dwarf  traces  his  illustrious  pedigree  : — 

"  My  foir  grandschir,  hecht  Fyn  Mackcowll, 
That  dang  the  Devill  and  gart  him  yowll, 
The  skyis  raind  quhen  he  wald  scowle, 

He  trublit  all  the  air  : 
He  gat  my  gudschir  Gog  Magog, 
He,  quhan  he  dansit,  the  warld  wad  schog  ; 
Ten  thowsand  ellis  yeid  in  his  frog 
Off  H eland  plaidis  and  mair. 

And  yit  he  wes  of  tendir  yowth  ; 
Bot  eftir  he  grew  mekle  at  fowth, 
Ellevin  myle  wyd  mett  was  his  mowth, 

His  teith  wes  ten  myle  squair. 
He  wald  upoun  his  tais  up  stand, 
And  tak  the  starni's  doun  with  his  hand, 
And  sett  thame  in  a  gold  garland. 

Aboif  his  vvyvis  hair."  3 

In  pure  narrative  Dunbar  has  left  us  nothing  except  the 
Freiris  of  Berwik  4  (which  may  well  be  his)  a  poem  of  nearly  600 
lines  in  rhymed  heroics,  on  one  of  those  stock-themes  dero- 
gatory to  the  character  of  the  clergy  in  which  the  age  took  so 
much  pleasure.  The  Tua  Mar'ilt  Wemen  and  the  WedoJ>  his  next 
longest  piece,  written  in  alliterative  unrhymed  verse,  is  rather 
dramatic  than  narrative,  and  rather  satirical  than  dramatic.  It 
deals  with  the  everlasting  subject  of  conjugal  infidelity,  and  the 

1   Works,  ii.  p.  122.  2  Ibid.,  ii.  p.  314.  3  11.  33-48. 

4  Ibid.,  ii.  p.  285.  s  Ibid.,  ii.  p.  30. 


60      LITERARY  HISTORY   OF  SCOTLAND 

first  woman  sets  forth  the  arguments  for  the  dissolubility  or 
marriage  from  her  point  of  view  with  a  force  and  an  out- 
spokenness which  the  newest  of  "new  women"  might  envy. 
Some  critics  are  disposed  to  consider  The  Tua  Marnt  Wemen 
among  the  very  best  of  Dunbar's  work  ;  and  I  should  be  the 
last  person  to  disparage  its  power,  or  the  easy  command  it 
displays  of  a  difficult  and  complicated  scheme  of  versification. 
But  I  own  to  thinking  it  monotonous,  and  the  satire  seems  to 
me  too  violent  and  indiscriminate  to  convince  or  to  convert. 
It  would  be  impossible  to  quote  faithfully  from  the  more  tren- 
chant portions  of  the  poem,  but,  in  order  to  exhibit  the  nature 
of  the  metre,  a  few  lines  are  submitted  in  which  the  three 
heroines  are  presented  sitting  at  a  marble  table  on  which  stand 
rows  of  royal  cups  full  of  rich  wines  : — 

"  I  saw  thre  gay  ladeis  sit  in  ane  grene  arbeir, 

All  grathit  in  to  garlandis  of  fresche  gudelie  flouris  ; 

So  glitterit  as  the  gold  wer  thair  glorius  gilt  tressis, 

Quhill  all  the  gressis  did  gleme  of  the  glaid  hewis  ; 

Kemmit  was  thair  cleir  hair,  and  curiouslie  sched 

Attour  thair  schulderis  doun  schyre,  schyning  full  bricht  ; 

With  curches,  cassin  thame  abone,  of  kirsp  cleir  and  thin  ; 

Thair  mantillis  grein  war  as  the  gress  that  grew  in  May  sessoun, 

Fetrit  with  thair  quhyt  iingaris  about  their  fair  sydis  : 

Off  ferliful  fyne  favour  war  thair  faceis  meik, 

All  full  of  flurist  fairheid,  as  flouris  in  June  ; 

Quhyt,  seimlie,  and  soft,  as  the  sweit  lillies  ; 

New  upspred  upon  spray,  as  new  spynist  rose, 

Arrayit  ryallie  about  with  mony  rich  wardour, 

That  nature,  full  nobillie  annamalit  fine  with  flouris 

Of  alkin  hewis  under  hewin,  that  ony  heynd  knew." ' 

One  of  the  most  extraordinary  productions,  from  the  modern 
point  of  view,  of  Dunbar's  youth  is  the  duet  of  vituperation  and 
abuse  in  which  he  took  part  with  Walter  Kennedy  (1460  ?— 
1 508  ?).2  The  F/yting,a&  it  is  called,  between  the  two  is  not  wholly 

1  11.  17-32. 

2  Some  of   Kennedy's  other  pieces,  which,  in  spite  of  a  homely  and 
forcible  manner  of  driving  home  religious  truths,  do  not  seem  to  call  for 
more  ample  notice,  will  be  found  in  Laing's  edition  of  Dunbar. 


GOLDEN  AGE    OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY    61 

without  precedent  or  parallel,1  nor  was  it  destined  to  lack  the 
approval  of  which  imitation  is  the  surest  proof  (see  post,  p.  215). 
It  is  simply  a  competition  in  invective,  and  the  fertility  of 
invention  which  the  competitors  display  is  truly  astonishing. 
How  far  such  a  contest  implied  serious  enmity  on  the  part  of 
the  combatants  is  an  open  question.  It  has  been  inferred 
from  Dunbar's  allusion  to  Kennedy  in  the  Lament  for  the 
Makarh 2  that  the  rivals  were  on  excellent  terms.  On  the 
other  hand,  a  perusal  of  the  Flyting  rather  leaves  the  im- 
pression that  this  was  not  exactly  a  "  friendly  "  sparring  match, 
but  that  the  hearts  of  both  were  in  their  work.  We  may 
note,  for  example,  that,  while  Dunbar  taunts  Kennedy  with 
his  Celtic  descent,  Kennedy  has  no  scruple  in  taunting  Dunbar 
with  his  poverty  as  contrasted  with  his  own  wealth — a  topic 
which,  according  to  modern  notions,  is  quite  inconsistent  with 
the  theory  of  friendship  or  good  will. 3  However  that  may  be, 

1  See  Mackay,  Introduction,  i.  p.  cix.     One  celebrated  specimen  of  fly- 
ting  is  commemorated  in  Douglas's  lines — 

••  And  Poggius  stude  with  mony  girne  and  grone, 
On  Laurence  Valla  spittand  and  cryand  fy." 

(The  Police  of  Honour,  Douglas's  Works,  ed.  Small,  i.  p.  47.) 
*  Works,  ii.  p.  51,  11.  89  et  seq. 
3  Thus  Dunbar  to  that  "  Ersch  Katherane,"  Kennedy  : — 

•'  Forworthin  fule,  of  all  the  warld  reffuse, 

Quhat  ferly  is  thocht  thow  rejoys  to  flyte  ? 
Sic  eloquence  as  thay  in  Erschry  use, 
In  sic  is  set  thy  thraward  appetyte  ; 
Thow  hes  full  littill  feill  of  fair  indyte  : 
I  tak  on  me  ane  pair  of  Lowthiane  hippis 
Sail  fairar  Inglis  mak,  and  mair  parfyte, 
Than  thow  can  blabbar  with  thy  Carrick  lippis." 

The  Flyting,  11.  105-12. 
And  thus  Kennedy  to  Dunbar  : — 

'•  Thow  has  a  tome  purs,  I  have  stedis  and  takkis, 
Thow  tynt  cultur,  I  naif  cultur  and  pleuch, 
Substance  and  geir,  thou  has  a  wedy  teuch 
On  Mount  Falconn,  about  thy  crag  to  rax." 

Ibid.,  11.  365-68. 


62      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

there  is  certainly  no  want  of  energy  or  noise  in  the  fray. 
Where  the  two  parties  seem  so  bent  upon  winning  the  victory, 
and  so  little  fastidious  in  their  choice  of  weapons,  the  selection 
of  a  continuous  passage  is  almost  impossible  ;  but  the  following 
stanza,  while  believed  to  be  free  from  serious  offence,  will  show 
what  Dunbar  is  like  when  he  is  thoroughly  roused  up,  and  has 
warmed  to  his  task  : — 

"  Mauch  rauttoun,  vyle  buttoun,  peilit  gluttoun,  air  to  Hilhouse; 

Rank  begar,  ostir  dregar,  foule  fleggar  in  the  flet ; 
Chittirlilling,  ruch  rilling,  lik  schilling  in  the  milhousc  ; 

Baird  rehator,  theif  of  natour,  fals  tratour,  feyndis  gett ; 

Filling  of  tauch,  rak  sauch,  cry  crauch,  thow  art  our  sett  ; 
Mutton  dryver,  girnall  ryver,  jad-swyver,  fowll  fell  the  ; 

Herretyk,  lunatyk,  purspyk,  carlingis  pet, 
Rottin  crok,  dirtin  dok,  cry  cok,  or  I  sail  quell  the."  ' 

The  scheme  of  the  Flyting  may  not  be  very  attractive  to  readers 
of  the  present  day.  But  we  cannot  help  raising  hands  of 
amazement  and  admiration  at  the  immense  spirit  and  "  go  " 
of  lines  such  as  these,  with  their  almost  more  than  Aristophanic 
lavishness  of  scurrility. 

Of  Dunbar's  moral  and  reflective  poems  the  most  im- 
pressive and  beautiful  is  his  celebrated  Lament  for  the 
Maf(arts  quhen  he  was  seik.z  The  text  is  no  new  one,  but 
rarely  has  a  better  sermon  been  preached  upon  it.  The  poet 
begins  by  telling  us  how  he  is  troubled  with  great  sickness,  and 
he  gives  utterance  to  the  gloomy  reflections  to  which  such  a 
misfortune  naturally  gives  rise  : — 

"  Onto  the  ded  gois  all  Estatis, 
Princis,  prelotis,  and  potestatis, 
Baith  riche  and  pur  of  all  degre  ; 
Timor  mortis  conturbat  me."  3 

All  sorts  and  conditions  of  men,  he  points  out,  must  yield  to 
1  The  Flyting,  11.  241-48.  2  Works,  ii.  p.  48.  3  n.  17-20. 


GOLDEN  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY    63 

that   "strang  unmercifull  tyrand "  who  spares  not  the   babe, 
"full  of  benignite,"  at  its  mother's  breast. 

"He  takis  the  campion  in  the  stour, 
The  capitane  closit  in  the  tour, 
The  lady  in  bour  full  of  bewte  ; 
Timor  mortis  conturbat  me. 

"  He  spajris  no  lord  for  his  piscence, 
Na  clerk  for  his  intelligence  ; 
His  avvfull  strak  may  no  man  fle  ; 
Timor  mortis  conturbat  me. 

"  Art — magicianis  and  astrologgis, 
Rethoris  logicianis,  and  theologgis, 
Thame  helpis  no  conclusionis  sle  ; 
Timor  mortis  conturbat  me."  * 

He  presently  passes  on  to  men  of  his  own  calling  : — 

"  I  see  that  makaris  amang  the  laif 
Playis  heir  ther  pageant,  syne  gois  to  graif  ; 
Sparit  is  nocht  ther  faculte  ; 

Timor  mortis  conturbat  me." 2 

And  then  he  proceeds  to  enumerate  a  number  of  poets, 
from  Chaucer  to  Kennedy,  whom  death  has  cut  off.3  The 
concluding  verses  are  melancholy  in  the  extreme  : — 

"  Sen  he  has  all  my  brether  tane, 
He  will  naught  let  me  lif  alane, 
On  forse  I  man  his  nyxt  pray  be ; 
Timor  mortis  conturbat  me. 


1  11.  29-40.  2  11.  45-48. 

3  In  this  list,  which  is  of  the  great  value  to  the  historian  of  Scottish 
literature,  Dunbar  refers  to  the  following  "Makaris"  in  addition  to  those 
who  are  elsewhere  mentioned  in  this  work  :  Heryot  ;  John  Clerk  (the 
reputed  author  of,  inter  alia,  The  Wowing  of  Jok  and  Jynny);  James  Afflek  ; 
Mungo  Lockhart  ;  Clerk  of  Tranent  ;  Sandy  Traill  ;  Patrick  Johnstoun  (to 
whom  has  been  attributed  The  Three  Deid  Pows,  with  which  the  Maitland 
MS.  credits  Henryson) ;  Mersar  (author  of  The  Perell  of  Paramours,  and 
probably  of  two  specimens  of  the  "  aphoristic  love  ballad  ")  ;  Roull  of 
Aberdeen  (?),  or  Corstorphine  (?)  ;  Sir  John  the  Ros  ;  Stobo  ;  and  Quintyne 
Schaw  (cousin  of  Walter  Kennedy,  and  author  of  Advycc  to  a  Courtier). 


64      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Sen  for  the  deid  remeid  is  non, 
Best  is  that  we  for  dede  dispone, 
Eftir  our  deid  that  lit  may  we  ; 
Timor  mortis  conturbat  me."  ' 

Admirable  as  this  fine  poem  is — and  it  ranks  with  the  very 
choicest  of  Dunbar's  achievement— his  strength  lies  mainly  in 
satire.  It  is  not  the  formal  satire  of  a  Juvenal,  but  a  more 
brisk  and  nimble,  a  less  measured  and  stately  sort,  founded 
upon  a  shrewd  observation  of  individual  peculiarities  and  weak- 
nesses, and  possessed  of  a  distinctive  flavour  which  is  quite 
unmistakable.  In  satire  of  a  general  scope  he  does  not  pre- 
eminently excel,  except  possibly  in  the  poem,  This  nycht  in  my 
sleip  I  wes  agast,2  which  is  extremely  good.  We  have  already 
alluded  to  his  wholesale  attack  upon  contemporary  manners  in 
Devorit  with  Dreme.  Dunbar  requires  some  particular  set  of 
facts  or  persons  to  be  present  to  his  mind  before  he  can  exert 
his  powers  to  their  utmost.  Thus  the  Tidings  from  the  Session  3 
has  a  "  backbone  "  in  it  which  the  last-mentioned  piece  lacks, 
though  it  would  be  rash  to  infer  that  the  Session  was  hopelessly 
corrupt  and  incapable. 

"  Sum  castis  summondis,  and  sum  exceptis  ; 
Sum  standis  besyd  and  skaild  law  keppis  ; 
Sum  is  continwit,  sum  wynnis,  sum  tynis  ; 
Sum  makis  him  mirry  at  the  wynis  ; 
Sum  is  put  owt  of  his  possessioun  ; 
Sum  herreit,  and  on  creddens  dynis  : 
Sic  tydingis  hard  I  at  the  Sessioun." 4 

Is  there  any  law  court  in  the  world  of  which,  mutatis 
mutandis^  these  lines  would  not  stand  for  a  fair  satirical 
description  ? 

It  is  true  that  in  The  Dance  of  the  Sevin  deidly  Synnis  5  he 
appears  to  have  no  special  individuals  in  view.  But,  thanks 

1  11.  93-100.          2  Works,  ii.  p.  144.          3  Ibid.,  ii.  p  78.          4  11.  29-35. 
5  Works,  ii.  p.  117. 


GOLDEN  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY    65 

partly  to  the  vogue  of  Allegory,  partly  to  the  vogue  of  the 
Miracle  Play  and  the  Masque,  Dunbar  is  able  to  personify 
Pride,  Ire,  Envy,  Avarice,  and  the  rest,  with  extraordinary 
vividness.  Besides,  he  is  also  able  to  wind  up  with  a  fling  at 
the  Highlanders,  as  thus  : — 

"Then  cryd  Mahoun  for  a  Heland  padyane  ; 
Syne  ran  a  feynd  to  feche  Makfadyane, 

Far  northwart  in  a  nuke  ; 
Be  he  the  correnoch  had  done  schout, 
Erschemen  so  gadderit  him  abowt, 

In  Hell  grit  rowme  thay  tuke. 

Thae  tarmegantis,  with  tag  and  tatter, 
Ffull  lowd  in  Ersche  begowth  to  clatter, 

And  rowp  lyk  revin  and  ruke  : 
The  Devill  sa  devit  wes  with  thair  yell 
That  in  the  depest  pot  of  hell 

He  smorit  thame  with  smuke." 

This  is  precisely  the  vein  of  Tarn  o1  Shanter.  But  indeed 
the  jesting  and  ironical  spirit  in  which  Dunbar  almost  in- 
variably treats  Mahoun  is  indistinguishable  from  that  in  which 
Burns  handles  the  same  personage. 

The  Dance,  then,  is  one  of  Dunbar's  masterpieces.  If  a  class 
list  must  be  made,  The  Freiris  of  Berwik  is  probably,  the 
Lament  for  the  Makaris  is  certainly,  another.  But  the  poem 
which  I  should  be  disposed  to  place  highest — if  not  in  respect 
of  beauty  or  accomplishment,  nevertheless  in  respect  of  signi- 
ficance and  depth — is  the  curious  Testament  of  Mr.  Andro 
Kennedy^-  the  work  of  a  Browning,  as  it  were,  born  out  of 
due  time.  The  "  Testament "  was  a  well-known  literary 
convention  of  the  Middle  Ages,  whereby  an  author  was 
enabled  to  put  such  sentiments  as  he  desired  to  give  utter- 
ance to  into  the  mouth  of  some  person,  real  or  imaginary. 
Here  the  device  is  used  to  enable  opinions  to  be  expressed 

1  ii-  P-  54- 
E 


66      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

which  would  not  have  misbecome  the  boldest  and  most 
liberal  thinkers  among  the  crew  that  gathered  at  Poosie 
Nancy's.  Kennedy  seems  to  have  been  a  free-living  phy- 
sician, and  in  this  Testament  he  is  made  to  bequeath  his  soul 
to  "  my  lordis  wyne  cellair,"  and  his  "  corpus  ebriosum  "  to 
the  town  of  Ayr,  to  be  placed  upon  a  midden  where  draff  is 
in  the  habit  of  being  deposited.  It  is  unnecessary  to  enumerate 
all  his  other  bequests.  Suffice  it  to  quote  the  two  concluding 
verses  : — 

"  In  die  meae  sepulturae 

I  will  nane  half  hot  our  awne  gyng  ; 
Et  duos  rusticos  de  rure 

Berand  a  barell  on  a  styng  ; 
Drynkand  and  playand  cop  out,  evin, 

Sicut  egomet  solebam  ; 
Singand  and  gretand  with  hie  stevin, 

Potum  meum  cum  flctu  miscebam. 

"  I  will  na  priestis  for  me  sing, 

Dies  ilia,  Dies  irae  ; 
Na  yit  na  bellis  for  me  ring, 

Sicut  semper  solet  fieri ; 
Bot  a  bagpipe  to  play  a  spryng, 

Et  unum  ail  wosp  ante  me  ; 
In  stayd  of  baneris  for  to  bring 

Quatuor  lagenas  ceruisie, 
Within  the  graif  to  set  sic  thing, 

In  modum  crucis  juxta  me, 
To  fle  the  fends,  than  hardely  sing 

De  terra  plasmasti  me."  ' 

It  would  be  both  unfair  and  unintelligent  to  imagine  that 
these  are  the  sentiments  of  Dunbar  himself,  though  at  one 
time  he  seems  to  have  been  suspected  of  dabbling  in  the 

1  11.97-116.  On  the  singular  mixture  of  the  Latin  and  Scots  tongues 
(which  is  not,  strictly  speaking,  to  be  termed  "  macaronic "),  see  Mr. 
Grcgor's  note  in  the  S.  T.  S.  ed.  of  Dunbar,  iii.  p.  99.  It  seems  tolerably 
clear  that  the  idea  of  such  a  medley  came  from  the  preacher's  habit  of 
quoting  the  Vulgate  and  then  explaining  the  passages  so  quoted  in  the 
vernacular. 


GOLDEN  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY    67 

heresies  of  the  Lollards.  The  whole  piece  is  essentially  a 
dramatic  soliloquy.  But  it  is  a  striking  illustration  of  the 
lengths  to  which  it  was  possible  to  go  in  the  direction  of  "  free 
thinking"  in  the  era  before  the  Reformation.1  A  poet  who 
had  ventured  upon  corresponding  deviations  from  the  narrow 
path  of  Protestant  orthodoxy  during  the  supremacj  of  the 
Saints  would  have  been  sorely  shent  for  his  pains. 

The  most  abiding  impression  left  upon  the  mind  by  a 
reviewal  of  Dunbar's  poems  as  a  whole  is  that  of  his  immense 
resources  and  of  his  splendid  prodigality  in  employing  them. 
Never  was  poet  less  parsimonious  of  his  means,  less  troubled 
with  care  for  the  morrow.  He  squanders  his  treasure  with  a 
princely  generosity,  yet  he  never  reaches  the  bottom  of  his 
purse.  To  rhyme  he  adds  abundant  alliteration,  and,  when 
pure  alliteration  is  his  choice,  he  must  needs,  of  his  bounty, 
provide  a  very  superfluity  of  the  device,  carrying  on  the  use  of 
the  same  letter  to  a  second  line,  and  supplying  an  even  larger 
number  of  alliterating  syllables  in  one  line  than  the  rules  of  the 
metre  require.2  The  more  tasks  of  this  nature  he  sets  himself, 
the  more  adequately  he  performs  them  ;  the  more  formidable 
the  obstacles  he  places  in  his  own  path,  the  more  triumphantly 
he  surmounts  them  ;  the  heavier  the  fetters  with  which  he 
loads  himself,  the  more  graceful  and  easy  becomes  his  every 
movement.  His  vocabulary  is  practically  inexhaustible. 3  In 
pieces  like  the  Brash  of  Wowing  and  the  Flyting^  he  pours  out 
a  perfect  torrent  of  words,  and  leaves  you  wondering  that  the 
stream  should  ever  cease.  But  it  is  in  the  command  of  every 


1  It  will  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  Testament  was  included  in  Chepman 
and  Myllar's  volume  of  1508. 

2  For   a  detailed  study  of  Dunbar's   versification,  consult   Mr.  G.  P. 
M'Xeill's   learned  and  elaborate  excursus  on  the  subject  in  the  S.  T.  S. 
ed.  of  Dunbar,  i.  p.  clxxii.     See  also  Schipper,  Altctiglischc  Metrik,  Bonn, 
1882-88,  and  the  same  author's  Grnndriss  tier  Englisclien  Metrik,  1895. 

3  Lyndsay,  in  the  Prologue  to  his  Papyngo  (1.  17)  speaks  of  "Dunbar 
quhilk  language  had  at  large,"  but  he  obviousty  has  in  mind  the  "  aureate  " 
poems,  for  he  proceeds  to  cite  as  an  instance  the  Goliiyn  Targe. 


68      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

sort  of  measure  that  Dunbar's  mastery  of  his  craft  is  most  note- 
worthy. The  extracts  which  have  been  already  submitted  will 
have  enabled  the  reader  to  form  some  notion  of  his  gift  in  this 
respect.  But  to  appreciate  his  astonishing  versatility  we  must 
go  to  his  collected  works.  No  sort  of  metre,  however  difficult 
— no  interweaving  of  rhymes,  however  intricate — can  appal 
Dun  bar.  Here  is  a  verse  from  Am  ballat  of  our  Lady  : — 

"  Hail,  sterne  supcrne  !  Hail,  in  eterne, 

In  Godis  sycht  to  schyne  ! 
Lucerne  in  derne,  for  to  discerne 

Be  glory  and  grace  devyne  ; 
Hodiern,  modern,  sempitern, 

Angelicall  regyne  ! 
Our  tern  infern  for  to  dispern, 

Helpe  rialest  rosyne. 

Aue  Maria,  gratia  plena  ! 

Haile,  fresche  flour  femynyne  ! 
Zerne  ws,  guberne,  wirgin  matern, 

Of  reuth  baith  rute  and  ryne."  J 

Here  too  is  a  specimen  of  the  Epitaph  on  Donald  Oure,  or 
Donald  Dubh  :— 

"  In  vice  most  vicius  he  excellis, 
That  with  the  vice  of  tressone  mellis ; 
Thocht  he  remissioun 
Haif  for  prodissioun, 
Schame  and  susspissioun 
Ay  with  him  dwellis. 


The  fell  strong  tratour,  Donald  Owyr, 
Mair  falsett  had  nor  udir  f owyr  ; 

Rownd  ylis  and  seyis 

In  his  suppleis, 

On  gallow  treis 

Yitt  dois  he  glowir." 2 


Works,  ii.  p.  269.  "  Ibid.,  ii.  p.  190. 


GOLDEN  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY    69 

And  here  are  two  fragments  from  the  Dregy  *  which  suffi- 
ciently evince  his  mastery  of  the  most  intractable  French 
models  : — 

"  God  and  Sanct  Jeill  heir  yow  convoy 
Baith  sone  and  weill,  God  and  Sanct  Jeill 
To  sonce  and  seill,  solace  and  joy, 
God  and  Sanct  Geill  heir  yow  convoy. 
Out  of  Strivilling  [Stirling]  panis  fell 
In  Edinburght  joy  sone  mot  ye  dwell 

Cum  hame  and  dwell  no  moir  in  Strivilling  ; 
Frome  hiddouss  hell  cum  hame  and  dwell, 
Quhair  fische  to  sell  is  non  hot  spirling ; 
Cum  hame  and  dwell  no  moir  in  Strivilling." 

It  may  safely  be  asserted  that  not  one  of  Dunbar's  con- 
temporaries who  wrote  in  the  literary  dialect  of  the  Southern 
portion  of  the  island  could  boast  anything  like  the  dexterity 
and  nimbleness  with  which  his  fingers  swept  the  keys.  Such 
performance  as  those  just  cited  may  be  open  to  the  objection  of 
being  mere  tours  de  force ;  but,  at  least,  the  tours  de  force  are 
superbly  executed. 

It  is  singular  that  Dunbar's  supreme  excellence  in  his  art  did 
not  prevent  his  writings  from  falling  for  a  long  period  into 
oblivion.  While  Sir  David  Lyndsay's  works  were  reprinted  or 
re-issued  several  times  in  the  course  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
and  while  they  lingered,  at  all  events  as  a  tradition,  in  the 
memory  of  the  people,  D unbar  was  forgotten,  and,  but  for  the 
labours  of  George  Bannatyne  and  other  diligent  scribes,  his 
writings  might  have  perished.  No  doubt  he  was  unfor- 
tunate in  not  living  to  see  the  revival  of  printing  in  Scotland — 
an  art  of  which  the  practice  was  all  but  suspended  for  twenty 
years.  But  it  may  be  suspected  also  that  the  populace  found 
more  to  interest  it  in  the  works  of  Lyndsay  than  in  those  of  the 

1  ii.  p.  112. 


70      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

older  poet,  who  had  written  chiefly  for  the  Court,  and 
it  is  indisputable  that  the  former  supplied  much  stronger 
meat  than  the  latter  to  a  generation  whose  appetite  had 
been  sharp  set  by  the  vigorous  and  exhausting  controversies  ot 
the  Reformation.  To  Allan  Ramsay  belongs  the  enviable 
honour  of  having  been  the  first  to  deterrer  Dunbar  ;  and  since 
1724  the  reputation  of  the  great  poet  has  been  satisfactorily  and 
completely  rehabilitated,  no  one  having  contributed  more  to 
that  end  than  Thomas  Warton.  With  such  of  his  work  as  was 
printed  in  The  Evergreen  and  by  Lord  Hailes,  Burns  was  doubt- 
less familiar,  although  he  does  not  appear  to  have  been  conscious 
of  being  specially  influenced  by  it.  But  the  similarity  of  tone 
and  spirit,  and  even  to  some  extent  of  method,  between  Dunbar 
and  Burns,  with  nearly  three  centuries  of  time  to  separate  them 
is  not  the  least  remarkable  phenomenon  in  Scottish  literature, 
and  entirely  justifies  the  contention  of  those  who  insist  upon 
the  essential  indivisibility  of  the  Scottish  vernacular  school  of 
poetry.1  Though  Scott  wrote  of  Dunbar  enthusiastically  in  his 
later  years,  there  is  no  trace  in  his  verse  of  Dunbar's  immediate 
influence  ;  but  at  a  subsequent  date  in  the  nineteenth  century 
it  emerges  in  a  quarter  where  its  presence  might  naturally  have 
bedh  looked  for,  but  has  perhaps  not  been  generally  recognised. 
On  the  literary,  as  on  the  artistic,  side  of  what  is  conveniently 
known  as  the  pre-Raphaelite  movement  there  were  many 
agencies  at  work  ;  and  no  one  who  is  familiar  with  the  first 
series  of  Mr.  Swinburne's  'Poems  and  Ballads  can  help  conjectur- 
ing that  in  his  case  one  of  the  most  potent  and  stimulating  was 
the  work  of  William  Dunbar. 

Gavin  Douglas  2  (1475-1522),  a  poet  whose  fame,  curiously 
enough,  has  almost  equalled  that  of  Dunbar,  was  a  son  of 
Archibald,  Earl  of  Angus,  well  remembered  by  his  nickname 
of  "  Bell-the-Cat."  Educated  at  St  Andrews,  where  he  took 

1  See  Henley,  Essay,  in  Centenary  Edition  of  Burns,  vol.  iv.  p.  265. 

2  The   only  complete  edition   of   Douglas's    works  is  that   edited  by 
Small,  4  vols.,  Edin.,  1874. 


GOLDEN  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY    71 

his  Master's  degree  in  1494,  he  entered  the  Church,  and 
from  the  cure  of  Monymusk  in  Aberdeenshire  was  translated 
to  the  doubtless  more  lucrative  benefices  of  East  Linton  and 
Prestonkirk  in  the  Lothians.  In  1501,  he  was  appointed 
Provost  of  the  important  collegiate  Church  of  St.  Giles  in 
Edinburgh,  and  in  the  same  year  he  wrote  his  Police  of  Honour. 
We  know  little  of  his  history  during  the  succeeding  years,  but 
it  seems  not  improbable  that  much  of  his  time  was  devoted 
to  literature.  He  is  said  to  have  translated  Ovid,  though  no 
fragment  of  the  work  has  been  preserved,  and  there  are  ascribed 
to  him  certain  "  Aureae  narrationes  " — historical  tractates,  it 
would  appear — as  well  as  certain  sacred  dramas,  which  are 
equally  unknown  to  posterity.  But  his  King  Hart,  a  character- 
istic piece  of  allegory,  has  survived  the  chances  of  time,  and  so 
has  a  short  poem  alleged  to  be  his,  entitled  Conscience,  the 
familiar  theme  of  which  is  the  maladministration  of  patronage  in 
the  Kirk. 

In  July,  1513,  appeared  Douglas's  magnum  opus,  his  trans- 
lation of  the  Aeneid,  which  had  occupied  him  a  year  and  a  half 
in  composition.  It  was  his  intention,  on  the  completion  of 
this  undertaking,  to  "  direct  "  his  "  labours  evermoir  Unto 
the  commonwelth  and  Goddis  gloir " ;  in  other  words,  to 
devote  himself  to  politics.  The  disaster  of  1513  opened  up 
what  must  have  seemed  to  his  ambition  a  most  promising 
avenue.  As  a  Lord  of  the  Council  and  Provost  of  St.  Giles  he 
was  in  constant  attendance  upon  the  widowed  Queen,  and  it 
is  a  very  natural  supposition  that  the  marriage  which  she 
contracted  with  his  nephew,  the  young  Earl  of  Angus,  within 
a  year  of  Flodden  was  in  part  of  his  contriving.  That  alliance 
once  cemented,  and  the  power  of  the  Douglases  established 
upon  an  apparently  solid  foundation,  it  must  have  looked  as  if 
the  ball  were  now  fairly  at  his  feet.  But  everything  went 
wrong.  The  rich  Abbey  of  Arbroath,  and  the  still  richer 
Archbishopric  of  St.  Andrews,  were  snatched  from  his  very 
grasp,  and  conferred  upon  rivals.  Even  when  he  had  been 


72      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

appointed  to  the  "Bishopric  of  fair  Dunkeld "  in  I5I5,1  it 
was  not  without  difficulty  that  he  established  himself  in  the 
saddle.  For  a  year  or  so  he  actually  underwent  the  penalty  of 
imprisonment.  It  is  unnecessary,  however,  to  narrate  in 
detail  the  broils  and  intrigues  by  which  this  unhappy  period  of 
our  history  is  characterised,  and  in  which  Douglas  played  a 
considerable  part.  The  upshot  of  it  all  was  that,  upon  the 
return  to  Scotland  in  1421  of  the  Regent  Albany,  who 
represented  the  French  or  National  as  opposed  to  the  Douglas 
or  English  interest,  he  retired  to  London,  where  he  died  of 
the  plague  in  1522.  The  last  nine  years  of  his  life  were 
barren  as  regards  literature  ;  and  it  cannot  but  be  regretted 
that  one  so  well  qualified  to  excel  in  that  department 
should  have  wasted  his  talents  in  a  sphere  in  which  he  met 
with  almost  nothing  but  failure.  The  "  pride  of  prelacy " 
must  have  been  something  stronger  in  his  blood,  if  not  in  his 
eye,  than  Sir  Walter  Scott  represents. 

The  judgments  passed  by  critics  upon  Douglas's  work  have 
sometimes  been  distinguished  rather  by  enthusiasm  than 
discretion.  It  has  been  customary  to  hail  him  as  the  herald 
of  a  new  dawn,  the  precursor  of  the  new  movement  in  poetry 
which  reached  its  goal  in  the  spacious  times  of  Queen 
Elizabeth  ;  in  brief,  as  "  the  earliest  literary  fruit  of  the 
Renaissance  in  Scotland."  2  This  view  is  supported  by  the 
high  authority  of  Mr.  Courthope,  and  it  is  tempting  at  first 
sight  to  regard  the  first  translator  of  an  ancient  poetical 
masterpiece  into  English  as  a  pioneer  in  the  return  to  an 
intelligent  and  humane  study  of  the  classics.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  is  forcibly  contended  that  Douglas  consistently  looked, 
not  forward,  but  back,  and  that,  in  place  of  giving  the  signal 


1  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  when  the  Bishop  appears  "  with  mitre  sheen 
and  rocquet  white"  in  canto  vi.  of  Marmion,  he  had  not   yet  in  reality 
attained  that  step  in  the  hierarchy. 

2  History  of  the  House  of  Douglas,  by  Sir  Herbert  Maxwell  (2  vols.,  1902), 
».  P-  55- 


GOLDEN  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY    73 

for  a  new  poetry  with  a  new  convention,  he  was  more  faithful 
that  any  of  his  contemporaries  to  the  literary  tradition  of  the 
fifteenth  century.  The  question  can  only  be  settled  by 
reference  to  the  poems  themselves,  and  an  apology  for  giving  a 
somewhat  detailed  account  of  The  Pa/ice  of  Honour  is  the  less 
needed  that  it  is,  on  the  face  of  it,  a  good  and  characteristic 
specimen  of  the  courtly  allegory,  in  which  the  allegory  of 
chivalry  and  the  allegory  of  religion  became  blended  and 
merged.  We  know  that  the  Court  of  James  IV.  was  one 
at  which  "  Tryumphand  tournays,  justyng,  and  knychtly 
game " J  abounded  ;  and  we  may  be  tolerably  confident  that 
it  was  the  taste  of  that  Court  which  the  author,  consciously  or 
unconsciously,  consulted,  in  composing  what  must  be  described 
as,  not  merely  an  instructive,  but  also,  a  most  interesting  piece. 
The  Police  of  Honour^  then,  is  an  allegorical  poem  of  over 
.2,000  lines,  written  in  stanzas  of  nine  lines,  rhymed  thus  : — 
aab  aab  bab.  It  opens  with  the  familiar  description  of  a 
May  morning  in  a  "  garden  of  plesance,"  in  which  the  poet 
falls  asleep  and  has  a  vision.  He  dreams  that  he  is  in  the 
midst  of  a  forest,  hard  by  a  "  hyddeous  flude "  resembling 
Cocytus.  Presently  there  appears  upon  the  scene  the  Queen 
of  Sapience,  the  Lady  Minerve,  attended  by  a  large  number 
of  "  ladyis  fair  and  gudlie  men."  Among  this  band  are  all 
the  sages  of  antiquity,  sacred  and  profane,  who  are  duly 
enumerated  : — 

"  And  there  is  als  into  yone  court  gone  hence 
Clerkis  divine  with  problewmis  curius  ; 
As  Salomon  the  well  of  sapience, 
And  Aristotell  fulfillit  of  prudence, 
Salust,  Senek,  and  Titus  Livius, 
Pithagoras,  Porphyre,  Permenydus, 
Melysses  with  his  sawis  but  defence, 
Sidrach,  Secundus,  and  Solenyus. 


Lyndsay,  Papyngo,  1.  502. 


74      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Ptholomeus,  Ipocras,  Socrates, 
Empedocles,  Neptenabus,  Hermes, 
Galien,  Averroes,  and  Plato, 
.  Enoch,  Lamech,  Job,  and  Diogenes, 

The  eloquent  and  prudent  Ulisses, 
Wise  Josephus,  and  facund  Cicero, 
Melchisedech,  with  uther  mony  mo. 
Thair  veyage  lyis  throw  out  this  wildernes, 
To  the  Palice  of  Honour  all  thay  go."  J 

The  poet  is  enabled  to  identify  these  characters  from  infor- 
mation imparted  to  him  by  Achitophel  and  Sinon,  who  farther 
tell  him  that  the  whole  party  is  bound  for  the  Palace  of 
Honour.  To  Minerva  succeeds  Actaeon,  pursued  and 
destroyed  by  his  own  hounds,  in  whose  wake  comes  Diana 
with  her  retinue,  embracing  Jephthah's  daughter,  "  a  lustie 
lady  gent,"  and  Iphigenia.  These  in  turn  are  succeeded  by 
Venus  and  her  Court,  which  of  course  includes  Cupid,  "  the 
god  maist  dissavabill."  The  Goddess  arrives  in  a  chariot, 
drawn  by  twelve  coursers  (whose  rich  trappings  are  carefully 
noted,  down  to  the  "raw  silk  brechamis  ouir  thair  halsis"), 
and  the  following  is  the  description  of  her  appearance  : — 

"  Amid  the  chair  fulfillit  of  plesance 
Ane  lady  sat,  at  quhais  obeysance 
Was  all  that  rout,  and  wonder  is  to  hear 
Of  hir  excelland  lustie  countenance, 
His  hie  bewtie  quhilk  is  to  avance 
Precellis  all,  thair  may  be  na  compeir  ; 
For  like  Phebus  in  hiest  of  his  spheir, 
Hir  bewtie  schane  castand  sa  greit  an  glance, 
All  fairheid  it  opprest  baith  far  and  neir. 

Scho  was  peirles  of  schap  and  portrature, 
In  hir  had  nature  finischit  hir  cure, 
As  for  gude  havings  thair  was  nane  bot  scho, 
And  hir  array  was  sa  fine  and  sa  pure, 
That  quhairof  was  hir  rob  I  am  not  sure, 


The  Palice  of  Honour,  Works,  i.  p.  n. 


GOLDEN  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY    75 

For  nocht  hot  perle  and  stanis  micht  I  se, 
Of  quhome  the  brightnes  of  hir  hie  bewtie 
For  to  behald  my  sicht  micht  not  indure, 
Mair  nor  the  bricht  sone  may  the  bakkis  ee. 

Hir  hair  as  gold  or  topasis  was  hewit, 
Quha  hir  beheld  hir  bewtie  ay  renewit. 
On  heid  scho  had  a  crest  of  dyamantis. 
Thair  was  na  wicht  that  gat  a  sicht  eschewit, 
War  he  never  sa  constant  or  weill  thewit, 
Na  he  was  woundit,  and  him  hir  servant  grantis. 
That  hevinlie  wicht,  hir  cristall  ene  sa  dantis, 
For  blenkis  sweit  nane  passit  unpersewit, 
Bot  gif  he  wer  preservit  as  thir  sanctis." ' 

Her  followers  sing  sweet  concords, 

"  Proportionis  fine  with  sound  celestiall, 
Duplat,  triplat,  diatesseriall, 
Sesqui  altera,  and  decupla  resortis 
Diapason  of  mony  sindrie  sortis," 

accompanied  by  all  manner  of  musical  instruments. 

After  mentioning  by  name  a  good  many  of  the  goddess's 
innumerable  train,  the  poet  proceeds  to  relate  how  he  is  rash 
enough  to  lift  up  his  own  voice  in  a  ballad  of  inconstant  love, 
whereupon  he  is  instantly  arrested  and  brought  to  trial  before 
the  Court  of  Venus.  He  takes  exception  to.  the  jurisdiction, 
first,  on  the  ground  that  "  ladyis  may  be  judges  in  na  place," 
and,  second,  on  the  ground  that  he  is  a  spirituall  man  (though 
he  modestly  professes  to  be  "  void  of  lair  "),  and  ought  to  be 
remitted  to  his  "judge  ordinair." 

"  I  yow  beseik,  Madame,  [he  goes  on]  with  bissie  cure, 
Till  give  ane  gratious  interlocutoure, 
On  thir  exceptiounis  now  proponit  lait." 

But    Venus    has    no    difficulty  in    summarily  repelling    these 
objections,  and  the  poet  is  found  guilty.    While  he  is  revolving 

1   The  Palicc  of  Honour,  Works,  i.  p.  18. 


76      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

in  his  mind  the  unpleasant  nature  of  the  punishment  probably 
in  store  for  him,  and  ruefully  thinking  of  Actaeon,  lo,  Lot's 
wife,  Nabuchodonosor,  and  other  unfortunate  culprits,  enter  a 
Court  of  poets,  who  are  thus  collectively  described  in  lines 
from  which  perhaps  we  may  infer  Douglas's  ideal  of  what  a 
poet  ought  to  be  : — 

"  Yone  is  (quod  thay)  the  court  rethoricall, 
Of  polit  termis,  sang  poeticall, 
And  constant  ground  of  famous  storeis  sweit, 
Yone  is  the  facound  well  celestiall, 
Yone  is  the  fontane  and  originall, 
Quhairfra  the  well  of  Helicon  dois  fleit, 
Yone  are  the  folk  that  comfortis  everi  spreit, 
Be  fine  delite  and  dite  angelicall, 
Causand  gros  leid  all  of  maist  gudnes  gleit. 

Yone  is  the  court  of  plesand  steidfastnes, 
Yone  is  the  court  of  constant  merines, 
Yone  is  the  court  of  joyous  discipline, 
Quhilk  causis  folk  thair  purpois  to  expres 
In  ornate  wise,  provokand  with  glaidnes 
All  gentill  hartis  to  thair  lair  incline. 
Everie  famous  poeit  men  may  divine 
Is  in  yone  rout ;  lo  yonder  thair  princess, 
Thespis  the  mother  of  the  musis  nine." r 

Then  the  Muses,  whose  Court  the  poets  compose,  appear  in 
person,  and  the  opportunity  is  taken  of  giving  a  somewhat 
mixed  list  of  its  members,  which  includes — 

"  Geffray  Chauceir  as  a  per  se  sans  peir 
In  his  vulgare,  and  morall  Johne  Goweir  ; " 

Lydgate,  the  monk,  and  "  of  this  natioun  " 

"  Greit  Kennedie,  and  Dunbar  yit  undeid, 
And  Quintine  with  ane  huttok  on  his  heid." 


The  Police  of  Honour,  Works,  i.  p.  33. 


GOLDEN  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY    77 

At  the  intercession  of  Calliope,  Venus  sets  the  poet  free, 
on  the  condition  (immediately  complied  with)  that  he  shall 
recite  a  short,  cheerful  ballad  in  praise  of  that  goddess,  who 
presently  disappears  with  her  attendants.  Calliope  then  puts 
the  poet  in  charge  of  a  nymph,  "maist  faithfull  and  decoir," 
and  the  two  set  out  for  the  Palace  of  Honour.  In  the 
course  of  their  travels,  they  pass  many  geographical  features 
of  interest,  which  are  punctually  catalogued  ;  and  among 
other  interesting  spots  which  they  visit  is  the  fountain 
of  the  Muses,  where  they  are  privileged  to  hear  a  recita- 
tion from  both  Ovid  and  Virgil.  At  length,  in  the  midst 
of  a  plain,  they  reach  a  steep  marble  rock,  with  a  single 
passage  cut  in  the  face,  upon  ascending  which,  and  near 
the  summit,  they  come  upon  a  pit  of  burning  brimstone,  pitch, 
and  lead,  in  which  many  wretches  are  weltering  and  yelling 
loudly.  These  are  the  slothful ;  and  the  obstacle  presented  by 
their  place  of  punishment  is  speedily  surmounted  by  the 
ingenuity  of  the  poet's  guide,  who  carries  him  across  by 
the  hair  of  his  head.  He  then  has  a  view  of  the  wretched 
estate  of  the  world,  and  witnesses  the  wreck  of  "the  goodly 
carvell,"  the  State  of  Grace,  which  affords  the  nymph  a  text 
for  a  terse  exposition  of  the  scheme  of  salvation. 

The  travellers  now  reach  their  destination,  and  this  is  how 
the  Palace  appears  to  the  poet : — 

"  I  saw  ane  plane  of  peirles  pulchritude, 
Quhairin  aboundit  alkin  thingis  gude 
Spyce,  wine,  corne,  oyle,  tre,  frute,  flour,  herbis  grene, 
All  foulis,  beistis,  birdis,  and  alkin  fude. 
All  maner  fisches  baith  of  sey  and  flude 
War  keipit  in  pondis  of  poleist  silver  schene, 
With  purifyit  water  as  of  the  cristall  clene, 
To  noy  the  small  the  greit  beistis  had  na  will, 
Nor  ravenous  foulis  the  lytill  volatill. 

Still  in  the  sessoun  all  things  remanit  thair, 

Perpetuallie  but  outher  noy  or  sair  ; 

Ay  rypit  war  baith  herbis,  frute,  and  flouris. 


78      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Of  everie  thing  the  namis  to  declair 

Unto  my  febill  wit  unpossibill  wair. 

Amid  the  meid  repleit  with  sweit  odouris 

A  palice  stude  with  mony  royall  towris 

Quhair  kyrnellis  quent,  feill  tuerittis  men  micht  find, 

And  goldin  fanis  waifand  with  the  wind. 

Pinnakillis,  fyellis,  turnpekkis  mony  one, 

Gilt  birneist  torris,  quhilk  like  to  Phebus  schone, 

Skarsment,  reprise,  corbell,  and  battellingis, 

Fulyery,  bordouris  of  mony  precious  stone, 

Subtile  muldrie  wrocht  mony  day  agone, 

On  buttereis,  jalme,  pillaris,  and  plesand  springis, 

Quick  imagerie  with  mony  lustie  singis 

Thair  micht  be  sene,  and  mony  worthie  wichts, 

Befoir  the  yet  arrayit  all  at  richts."  x 

Venus  is  once  more  discovered  upon  a  throne  rich  with  jewels 
and  cloth  of  gold,  and  in  her  mirror  the  poet  is  permitted 
to  behold,  at  a  glance,  "  the  deeds  and  fates  of  every  eirdlie 
wicht."  This  enables  him  to  give  us  a  bird's-eye  view  of 
universal  history,  on  which  we  need  scarcely  dwell.  The  most 
interesting  personages  (from  our  point  of  view)  whom  he  sees 
are  those  enumerated  in  the  following  stanza  : — 

"  I  saw  Raf  Coilzear  with  his  thrawin  brow, 
Craibit  Johne  the  Reif,  and  auld  Cowkewyis  sow  ; 
And  how  the  wran  came  out  of  Ailssay  ; 
And  Peirs  Plewman  that  maid  his  workmen  fow  ; 
Greit  Gowmakmorne  and  Fyn  Makcoul,  and  how 
Thay  suld  be  goddis  in  Ireland  as  they  say  ; 
Thair  saw  I  Maitland  upon  auld  Beird  Gray  ; 
Robene  Hude,  and  Gilbert  with  the  quhite  hand, 
How  Hay  of  Nauchtoun  flew  in  Madin  land."  2 

Venus  recognises  the  poet,  and  bids  him  translate  a  book 
which  she  gives  him — the  Aeneld,  no  doubt.  He  is  then 
gratified  with  a  sight  of  certain  notorious  personages  vainly 

1  The  Palice,  of  Honour,  Works,  i.  p.  54.  *  Ibid.,  i.  p.  65. 


GOLDEN  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY    79 

attempting  to  effect  an   entrance  into    the    palace.     Among 
these  is  Catiline  : — 


"  But  suddenlie  Tullius  come  with  anC  buik, 
And  straik  him  doun  quhill  all  his  chaftis  quoik." 


Next  comes  the  roll  of  the  Prince  of  Honour's  household. 
Patience  is  his  porter,  Constancy  his  secretary,  Liberality  his 
treasurer,  Discretion  his  comptroller,  Conscience  his  chancellor, 
with  four  assessors,  Science,  Prudence,  Justice,  Sapience  ;  and 
so  forth,  and  so  forth.  After  a  glimpse  of  the  splendours 
which  the  interior  of  the  Palace  has  to  reveal,  the  nymph 
conducts  the  poet  to  the  garden.  In  crossing  the  bridge  by 
which  access  thereto  is  obtained,  he  falls  into  the  water  of  the 
moat,  and  awakes  from  his  slumber.  The  poem  concludes 
with  a  ballad  in  praise  of  honour,  a  piece  of  versification  which 
even  the  contemporary  literature  of  Scotland  can  scarcely  equal 
for  elaboration  and  complexity.  The  reader  will  observe  that 
in  the  first  stanza  there  are  but  two  internal  rhymes  in  the 
line  ;  in  the  second  there  are  three  ;  and  in  the  third  there  are 
no  less  than  four  ;  so  that  the  whole  is  written,  as  it  were,  in  a 
steady  and  unfaltering  crescendo.  If  Douglas  had  no  other  title 
to  fame,  he  would  at  least  deserve  to  be  remembered  for  this 
amazing  exhibition  of  metrical  gymnastics. 


0  hie  honour,  sweit  hevinlie/fowr  degest, 
Gem  verteous,  maist  precious,  gudliest, 
For  hie  renoun  thou  art  guerdoun  conding, 
Of  worschip  kind  the  glorious  end  and  rest, 
But  quhome  in  richt  na  worthie  wicht  may  lest. 
Thy  great  puissance  may  maist  avance  all  thing, 
And  pouerall  to  meikle  availl  sone  bring. 

1  the  require  sen  thow  but  peir  art  best, 
That  efter  this  in  thy  hie  blis  we  ring 


8o      LITERARY  HISTORY   OF  SCOTLAND 

ii. 

Of  grace  thy  face  in  everie  place  sa  schynis 

That  sweit  all  spreit  baith  held  and  feit  inclynis, 

Thy  gloir  afoir  for  till  imploir  remeid. 

He  docht  richt  nocht  quhilk  out  of  thocht  the  tynis  ; 

Thy  name  but  blame  and  royal  fame  divine  is  ; 

Thow  port  at  schort  of  our  comfort  and  reid, 

Till  bring  all  thing  till  glaiding  efter  deid. 

All  wicht  but  sicht  of  thy  greit  micht  ay  crynis, 

O  schene  I  mene,  nane  may  sustene  thy  feid. 

in. 

Haill  rois  maist  chois  till  clois  thy  fois  greit  micht, 
Haill  stone  quhilk  schone  upone  the  throne  of  licht, 
Vertew,  quhais  trew  sweit  dew  ouirthrew  al  vice, 
Was  ay  ilk  day  gar  say  the  way  of  licht ; 
Amend,  offend,  and  send  our  end  ay  richt. 
Thow  stant,  ordant  as  sanct,  of  grant  maist  wise, 
Till  be  supplie  and  the  hie  gre  of  price. 
Delite  the  tite  me  quite  of  site  to  dicht, 
For  I  apply  schortlie  to  thy  devise."  ' 

Now,  to  what  conclusion  does  our  examination  of  The  Pa  lice 
of  Honour  seem  to  point.?  Emphatically,  I  submit,  to  the  in- 
ference that  Douglas  wrote  with  his  eye  on  the  past,  not  on 
the  future  ;  that  he  was  not  casting  about  for  new  models, 
but  was  content  to  copy  the  old.  That  there  are  a  few  faint 
traces  in  him  of  a  comparatively  "  modern  "  spirit  is  quite 
true.  He  wrote  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth,  not  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  and  therefore  did  not  scruple,  for  example,  to 
make  his  hero  challenge  the  jurisdiction  of  women  in  a  court 
of  love.  To  that  extent  the  esoteric  doctrine  of  the  class 
concerned  with  chivalry  had  been  affected  by  the  views  of  the 
average  man.  But,  otherwise,  in  Mr.  Gregory  Smith's  phrase,2 
Douglas  is  "  in  spirit  and  in  practice  a  mediaevalist."  Here  are 
all  the  distinctive  notes  of  the  mediaeval  allegory  ;  the  May 

1  The  Palice  of  Honour,  Works,  i.  p.  79. 

2  The  Transition  Period,  p.  59.     Mr.  Smith's   chapter  on  the  Scottish 
Poets  is  a  fine  piece  of  suggestive  and  stimulating  criticism. 


GOLDEN  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY    81 

morning  ;  the  dawn  J  ;  the  convention  of  the  vision  ;  the  (to 
us)  incongruous  blending  of  Hebrew  and  classical  lore  ;  the 
ill-ordered  and  rugged  catalogues  of  personages,  or  places,  or 
things 2  ;  the  apparatus  of  the  Court  of  Venus  ;  the  parade 
of  learning,  or,  at  all  events,  information  ;  everything,  in  fine, 
which  we  should  expect  to  meet  with  in  the  species  of 
allegory  of  which  the  great  representatives  are  The  Romaunt 
of  the  Rose,  The  Court  of  Love^  and  The  House  of  Fame. 
Douglas  was  no  innovator  or  experimenter.  He  was  of 
those  who  ask  for  the  old  paths  and  walk  therein.  The 
atmosphere,  the  milieu^  the  machinery,  which  had  served  the 
turn  so  well  during  the  century  that  saw  his  birth,  were  still 
sufficient  to  satisfy  his  artistic  requirements.  Nor  is  there 
any  trace  of  an  experimental  tendency  in  King  Hart^  an 
allegory  in  rhyme  plus  frequent  alliteration  (the  stanza  being 
ab  ab  be  bc\  in  which  some  have  tried  to  catch  an  anticipation  of 
The  Pilgrims  Progress  or  The  Holy  War.  Mr.  Courthope  may 
be  correct  in  thinking  that  it  shows  "  a  great  advance  on  the 
Police  in  narrative  power  and  in  versification "  3 ;  but  the 
Heart  of  Man,  with  its  five  servitors  (i.e.,  the  senses),  Queen 
Plesance,  Foirsicht,  Bewtie,  Decrepitus,  and  all  the  rest  of  the 
personified  abstractions,  are  old  friends,  and  the  poem  is  duller, 
albeit  less  diffuse,  than  the  other. 

But  it  may   be  said,  we  must  go  to  Douglas's  Aeneid*  to 

1  In  his  Reulis  and  Cautclis  of  Scottis  Poesie,  a  schoolboy  essay,  James  VI. 
warns  his  readers  "  that  ye  descryve  not  the  morning,  and  rysing  of  the 
Sunne   in   the   preface  of  your  verse :   for  thir  thingis  are  sa  oft  and 
dyverslie  written  upon  be  Poetis  already,  that  gif  ye  do  the  lyke,  it  will 
appeare  ye  bot  imitate,  and  that  it  cummis  not  of  your  awin  Inventioun  " 
(Ed.  1900,  p.  20). 

2  It  is  curious  to  note  the  contrast  between  the  comparative  ill-success  of 
our  mediaeval  poets  in  the  handling  of  proper  names,  and  the  felicity  of 
Virgil  on  the  one  hand,  and  Scott  and  Tennyson  on  the  other. 

3  History  of  English  Poetry,  vol.  i.  p.  376. 

4  The  Aeneid  was  first  printed  in  1553  (in  London  in  black  letter),  and 
was  republished  by  Thomas  Ruddiman  in  folio,  with  a  glossary,  in  1710. 
The  Bannatyne  Club  issued  an  edition  in  2  vols.  in  1839.     Small's  edition  is 
printed  from  the  Elphinstone  MS.  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh. 

F 


82      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

see  this  modern  spirit  working  in  him.  "  No  poet,"  says  Mr. 
Courthope,1  "ever  drank  more  deeply  of  the  spirit  of  Virgil  " 
than  he  ;  "  he  is  thoroughly  interpenetrated  with  the  Virgilian 
atmosphere,"  declares  Mr.  Henderson,2  "  and  succeeds  in 
communicating  this  to  the  reader."  That  Douglas  was  an 
ardent,  and,  up  to  a  certain  point,  intelligent  admirer  of 
Virgil  is  undeniable.  He  is  lavish,  in  the  prologue  to 
Book  I.,  of 

"  Laude,  honour,  praisingis,  thankis  infynite  " 

to  Virgil's  "  dulce  ornate  fresch  endite,"  and  he  proceeds  to 
heap  him  with  all  the  complimentary  terms  which  were  part 
and  parcel  of  a  poet's  vocabulary  in  these  aureate  days.3  It 
would  be  unfair  to  cast  suspicion  on  the  sincerity  of  such 
eulogy,  and  to  reckon  it  mere  lip-  or  pen-service,  because  it 
happens  to  be  cast  in  the  conventional  mould  of  the  period. 
But  it  may  well  be  doubted  (especially  in  view  of  the  prologue 
to  Book  VI.)  whether  Douglas's  Virgil  was,  in  any  essential 
particular,  other  than  the  Virgil  of  the  Middle  Ages,  which 
is  as  much  as  to  say  that  for  Douglas  he  was  Virgil,  the 
theologian,  the  seer,  the  half-inspired,  the  necromancer  almost, 
no  less  than  Virgil  the  master  of  poetry  or  "  Rethorik." 

Neither  in  the  language  nor  in  the  general  effect  of  the 
translation,  which  is  in  rhymed  heroic  couplets,  is  there 
anything  that  by  a  legitimate  stretch  of  speech  can  be 
called  "Virgilian."  Douglas  professes  to  write  in  the 
tongue  of  the  Scottish  nation,  and  indeed  is  believed  to  be 
the  first  writer  who  described  that  tongue  as  Scots.4  But  he 
admits  that  he  has  been  compelled  to  eke  out  the  deficiencies 

1  History  of  English  Poetry,  vol.  i.  p.  378. 

2  Scottish  Vernacular  Literature,  p.  199. 

3  "  Chosin  cherbukle,  cheif  flour  and  cedir  tree, 

Lanterne,  leidsterne,  mirrour,  and  a  per  se,"  &c.,  &c. 

4  Lyndsay,  it  may  be  remembered,  describes  him  as  "In  our  Inglis 
rhetoric  the  rose  "  (Papyngo,  Prol.  1.  24). 


GOLDEN  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRV    83 

of  the  Scots  by  bastard  Latin,  French,  or  English  x  ;  and,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  his  Anglicisms,  as  well  as  his  improvised  words 
from  the  two  other  languages,  are  neither  rare  nor  elegant.2 
The  diction  of  Virgil  was  not  precisely  that  of  every-day  life, 
but  there  is  nothing  in  it  of  the  startling,  or  the  bizarre,  or  the 
"  outlandish  "  ;  and  these  epithets  are  at  times  strictly  applic- 
able to  Douglas's.  Nor  is  the  general  impression  produced  by 
the  translation  in  the  least  similar  to  that  produced  by  the 
original.  The  former,  indeed,  though  often  verbose  and 
pedestrian,  is  occasionally  vigorous. 

"  Heich  as  ane  hill  the  jaw  of  watter  brak, 
And  in  ane  help  come  on  them  with  ane  swak."  3 

Such  a  couplet  is  not  without  a  certain  rude  merit  of  its 
own  ;  but  can  any  one  pretend  that  it  is  a  possible  equivalent 
for  any  couplet  of  Virgil's  ?  Test  the  book  at  all  the  most 
celebrated  passages  ;  judge  it  by  the  success  with  which  it 
renders  the  second,  or  the  fourth,  or  the  sixth,  book  ;  and  you 
are  driven  to  the  conclusion  that,  however  fine  it  may  be 
"considering"  the  task  has  been  too  much  for  the  poet.  I 
question  if  there  is  a  single  line  capable  of  awakening  the 
indescribable  emotion — at  once  poignant  and  tender  —  of 
which  Virgil  possessed  the  precious  secret. 

Defeated  in  an  appeal  to  the  Aeneid,  the  supporters  of  the 
"  new  light,"  or  Renaissance,  theory  of  Douglas,  are  driven 
back  upon  the  original  prologues  to  its  several  books.  Their 
sentiment  and  style,  says  Mr.  Courthope,4  show  his  love  for 
Virgil  even  more  than  the  translation  does  ;  and  Mr.  Hender- 

1  Works,  ed.  Small,  vol.  ii.  p.  7. 

2  "  Douglas  was  sensible  that  the  use  of  exotic  words  was  not  a  merit, 
but  an  inevitable  defect  in  his  work  ;  yet  some  of  his  admirers  affect  to 
praise  him  for  this  defect,  which  they  call  enriching  the  language.     So  the 
wine-makers  of  this  country  enrich  the  genuine  juice  of  the  grape  with 
sloe-juice,  and  other  heterogeneous  poisons  "  (D.  Macpherson,  Preface  to 
his  ed.  of  Wyntoun's  Cronykil,  1795). 

3  Works,  vol.  ii.  p.  28.  4  Ut  sup. 


84      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

son,1  though  less  decisive  in  his  utterance,  seems  to  share  the 
same  opinion.  Now,  of  these  prologues,  those  to  the  second 
and  third  books  are  short  and  insignificant.  The  first,  in 
addition  to  Virgil's  praises,  contains  a  violent  attack  upon 
Caxton's  version  of  the  deneid,  which  is  pronounced  to 
resemble  the  original  no  more  than  the  devil  resembles  St. 
Austin.  Nothing  Virgilian  here.  The  fourth  prologue 
descants,  in  no  very  novel  or  striking  manner,  upon  the  power 
of  love,  and  the  fifth  renews  the  attack  on  Caxton.  Nothing 
really  Virgilian  here,  either.  The  prologue  to  Book  VI. 
treats  of  Virgil  the  prophet,  and  the  doctrine  of  a  future 
life  ;  the  prologue  to  Book  IX.  is  composed  chiefly  of 
moralising  ;  while  the  prologue  to  Books  X.  and  XI.  are 
concerned,  the  one  with  the  mysterious  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity,  the  other  with  chivalry  human  and  divine.  The 
Virgilian  touch  is  still  to  seek.  There  remain  the  prologues  to 
Books  VII.,  VIII.,  XII.,  and  XIII.  (this  last  "ekit"  to  Virgil 
by  Mapheus  Vegius).  If  anything  less  in  Virgil's  manner  be 
conceivable  than  the  eighth,  I  have  not  yet  come  across  it. 
It  is  written  in  an  elaborate  rhymed  stanza,  plus  alliteration, 
with  a  wheel  and  bob,  and  it  professes  to  depict  the  faults 
of  the  age.  Here  is  an  example  : — 

"  The  myllar  mythis  the  multur  wyth  a  met  scant, 
For  drouth  had  drunkin  up  his  dam  in  the  dry  yeir  : 
The  cadgear  callis  furth  his  capill  wyth  crakis  waill  cant, 
Calland  the  colzear  ane  knaif  and  culroun  full  queyr  ; 
Sum  schippart  slayis  the  lordis  sheip,  and  sais  he  is  a  sant, 
Sum  grenis  quhill  the  gers  grow  for  his  gray  meyr, 
Sum  sparis  nothir  spirituall,  spousit  wyf,  nor  ant, 
Sum  sells  folkis  sustinance,  as  God  sendis  the  feyr, 
Sum  glasteris,  and  thay  gang  at  all  for  gayt  woll ; 

Sum  spendis  on  the  aid  use, 

Sum  makis  a  tume  ruse, 

Sum  grenis  eftir  a  gus, 

To  fars  his  wame  full." 2 


1  Ut  sup.  2  Works,  iii.  p.  143. 


GOLDEN  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY    85 

As  regards  the  seventh,  twelfth,  and  thirteenth  prologues, 
it  is  said  that  they  savour  of  the  Georgics.  The  first-named 
purports  to  give  a  picture  of  winter,  the  two  last  of  May  and 
June ;  and  the  prologue  to  Book  VII.  certainly  contains 
some  excellent  passages,  one  of  which  is  here  presented  : — 

"  So  bustuysly  Boreas  his  bugill  blew, 
The  deyr  full  dern  doune  in  the  dalis  drew  ; 
Smal  byrdis  flokand  throw  thik  ronnis  thrang 
In  chyrming  and  with  cheping  changit  thair  sang, 
Sekand  hidlis  and  hirnys  thaim  to  hyde 
Fra  feirfull  thudis  of  the  tempestuous  tyde. 
The  wattir  lynnis  routtis,  and  every  lynde 
Quhyslyt  and  brayt  of  the  swouchand  wynde. 
Puire  laboraris  and  byssy  husband  men 
Went  wayt  and  wery  draglyt  in  the  fen  ; 
The  silly  scheip  and  thair  lytill  hyrd  gromis 
Lurkis  undir  le  of  bankis,  wodys,  and  bromys  ; 
And  wthir  dantit  gretar  bestial 
Within  thair  stabillis  sesyt  into  stall, 
Sic  as  mulis,  horsis,  oxen,  and  ky, 
Fed  tuskit  baris,  and  fat  swyne  in  sty, 
Sustenit  war  by  mannis  governance 
On  hervist  and  on  symmeris  purviance. 
Widequhair  with  fors  so  Eolus  schouttis  schyll 
In  this  congelyt  sessoune  scharp  and  chyll, 
The  caller  air,  penetrative  and  puire, 
Dasying  the  bluide  in  every  creature, 
Maid  seik  warm  stovis  and  beyne  fyris  hoyt, 
In  double  garment  cled  and  wyly  coyt, 
With  mychty  drink,  and  meytis  comfortive, 
Agayne  the  storme  wyntre  for  to  strive." ' 

Tastes  are  proverbially  uncertain  and  irreconcilable  in  such 
matters,  and  critics  like  Mr.  Courthope  and  Mr.  Henderson 
are  not  lightly  to  be  gainsaid  ;  but  I  own  that  neither  here 
nor  in  the  May  and  June  pieces  am  I  able  to  detect  the  true 
Virgilian  flavour,  or  to  surprise  the  faintest  echo  of  the  Man- 

1  Works,  iii.  p.  76. 


86      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

tuan's  peculiarly  "  plangent "  note  (if  one  may  resuscitate  an 
adjective  which  did  yeoman  service  in  its  day). 

There  appears,  then,  to  be  nothing  in  the  Aeneld  or  the 
prologues  to  displace  the  inference  to  which,  as  we  saw, 
the  earlier  poems  irresistibly  lead.  The  truth  is  that  Dunbar 
has  far  more  of  the  modern  element  in  him  than  Douglas. 
Even  in  the  "  aureate "  style  he  is  the  prelate's  superior. 
Dunbar  is  always  the  unmistakable  master  of  his  medium  ; 
but  there  are  moments  when  his  verse  appears  to  be  Douglas's 
master,  and  not  he  the  master  of  his  verse.  He  is  wanting  in 
the  firmness  of  touch — in  the  air  of  absolute  supremacy — 
which  mark  Dunbar.  And  if  this  be  true  of  the  "aureate  " 
vein,  how  much  more  is  it  the  case  with  those  realistic  and 
humorous  poems  in  which  Dunbar  joins  hands  with  the 
modern  world,  and  with  his  great  successors,  Ramsay,  Fer- 
gusson,  and  Burns  !  It  is  only  in  the  eighth  prologue  that 
Douglas  has  attempted  anything  in  this  manner,  and  we  feel 
at  once  how  defective  it  is  in  point  of  directness  and  "  bite," 
and  how  much  it  loses  by  the  absence  of  the  narquois  tone  in 
which  Dunbar  excelled.  Douglas  had  little  or  nothing  to 
commend  him  to  the  body  of  the  people.  He  was  essentially 
the  poet  of  the  lettered  few,  and  inasmuch  as  fashions  in 
learning  change  no  less  than  in  other  things,  he  is  unlikely  to 
be  restored  to  high  favour  with  the  moderately  learned  of  to- 
day. But  he  must  always  occupy  a  prominent  position  in  the 
estimation  of  the  literary  historian  as  the  last  great  exponent  in 
Scotland  of  mediaeval  canons  of  art ;  and,  while  it  may  be 
poor  praise  to  say  of  him  (what  is  the  barest  truth)  that  he  is 
immeasurably  superior,  as  a  finished  artist,  to  contemporaries 
like  Hawes  and  Skelton,  this  negative  merit  may  gladly  be 
allowed  to  him,  that  he  is  wholly  free  from  the  grossness  and 
brutality  which  occasionally  disfigure  the  writings  of  Dunbar, 
and  are  the  great  blot  on  the  fame  of  Lyndsay. 

While  Douglas  continued  after  death  to  enjoy  an  academic 
reputation,  and  while  the  name  of  Dunbar  was  slowly  sinking 


GOLDEN  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY    87 

into  obscurity,  a  third  poet  had  come  to  the  front  whose  works, 
or,  at  least,  whose  name,  long  remained  green  in  the  memory 
of  his  countrymen  : — 

"Still  is  thy  name  in  high  account 
And  still  thy  verse  has  charms, 
Sir  David  Lyndsay  of  the  Mount, 
Lord  Lion  King-at-Arms.'' x 

Lyndsay  (circ.  i^o—drc.  1555)  was  born  either  in  Fife, 
where  "  The  Mount  "  is  situated,  or  in  East  Lothian,  where 
lies  the  property  of  Garmylton  (or  Garleton),  which  also 
belonged  to  his  father.  It  is  not  known  whether  he  went 
to  school  at  Cupar  or  at  Haddington,  but  there  is  reason  for 
believing  that  he  may  have  completed  his  studies  at  St.  Andrews. 
We  know  that  when  he  came  to  man's  estate  he  became  attached 
to  the  Court,  and  indeed  held  the  post  of  "  usher,"  or  personal 
attendant,  to  the  boy-king,  James  V.,  whom  he  was  not  slow 
to  remind  in  later  life  of  the  relationship  which  had  subsisted 
between  them.  He  praises  the  blessed  Trinity — 

"  That  sic  ane  wracheit  worme  hes  maid  so  habyll 
Tyll  sic  ane  Prince  to  be  so  greabyll ; "  2 

and  he  endeavours  to  reassert  his  influence  over  his  former 
charge  to  the  effect  of  turning  him  to  better  ways.  Lyndsay 
was  a  more  successful  man  than  Dunbar  had  been.  He  was 
appointed  to  the  office  of  Lyon  King-at-Arms — at  that  time 
one  of  high  importance — in  1529;  and  in  that  capacity  was 
engaged  in  several  missions  to  foreign  Courts,  notably  in  one 
to  Brussels  in  1531.  The  chief  symptom,  however,  of  the 
favour  he  found  in  the  sight  of  his  royal  master  is  the  astounding 
freedom,  or  rather  license,  of  speech  permitted  to  him.  By  that 
partiality  alone  can  we  account  for  his  immunity  from  the 
vengeance  of  the  Church  during  James's  lifetime  ;  and  how 
he  avoided  getting  into  trouble  after  James's  death  is  still 

1  Mannion,  canto  iv. 

2  The  Drcme,  11.  27  and  28.     For  details  see  his  Complaynt,  11.  87-98. 


88      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

mysterious.  In  the  words  of  his  first  publisher,  Henrie 
Charteris,  "  Gif  we  sail  consider  and  wey  the  tyme  quhen 
he  did  wryte  the  maist  part  of  thir  warkis,  being  ane  tyme 
of  sa  greit  and  blind  ignorance,  of  manifest  and  horribill 
abhominationis  and  abusis  :  it  is  to  be  marvellit  how  he  durst 
sa  planelie  invey  aganis  the  wyeis  of  all  men,  bot  cheiflie  of  the 
spirituall  estait,  being  sa  bludie  and  cruell  boucheouris.  He 
never  ceissit  baith  in  his  grave  and  merie  maters,  in  ernist  and 
in  bourdis,  in  writing  and  in  words,  to  challenge  and  carp 
thame."  z  Whatever  the  explanation  (and  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  he  never  formally  or  expressly  abjured  the  older  faith) 
he  escaped  without  a  scratch,  dying,  doubtless  in  his  bed,  about 
1555.  There  is  scarcely  a  country  on  the  continent  of  Europe 
to-day  where  the  systematic  publication  of  such  diatribes  as  he 
indulged  in  against  the  existing  order  in  Church  and  State 
would  not  expose  their  author  to  the  pains  and  penalties  of  the 
law.  Even  in  England  the  public  performance  of  a  drama 
in  the  least  degree  resembling  the  Satyre  in  tone  or  aim  would 
be  absolutely  out  of  the  question. 

The  mass  of  work  which  Lyndsay  left  behind  him  (and  we 
exclude  from  consideration  his  Register  of  Scottish  Arms,  a  purely 
professional  treatise)  is  considerable.2  To  the  modern  reader  his 
poetry  is  apt  to  appear  monotonous.  Lyndsay  was  essentially 
a  religious  and  political  reformer  ;  not  a  "  high-flying  "  one, 
being  in  truth  rather  of  the  hard-headed  and  common-sense 
type,  but  still  a  reformer.  It  is  part  of  a  reformer's  business 
to  find  fault ;  and  there  is  no  want  of  zeal  or  persistency  in  the 
manner  in  which  Lyndsay  discharges  that  branch  of  his  duties. 
He  attacks  all  classes  of  the  community  without  fear  or  favour 
— from  the  king  on  his  throne  to  the  cobbler  on  his  stool.  But 
the  clergy  are  the  chief  objects  of  his  wrath  ;  and  it  must  be 

1  Preface  to  the  edition  of  1568. 

2  A  collected  edition  of  his  poems  was  printed  in  1568.     The  Satyre  was 
first   printed  in   1602.     Modern   editions   are  those  of  Chalmers,  3  vols., 
1806  ;  Laing,  3  vols.,  and  also  2  vols.,  1871  (convenient  but  here  and  there 
expurgated)  ;  and  the  E.E.T.  S.  edition,  1865-71. 


GOLDEN  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY    89 

confessed  that  the  perpetual  obtrusion  of  clerical  shortcomings 
— justifiable  as  it  probably  was — is  much  less  exciting  for 
a  modern  student  than  it  must  have  been  for  a  contemporary. 
His  technique,  again,  is  occasionally  open  to  criticism.  While 
he  sometimes  shows  a  decided  command  of  metre,  at  other  times 
his  numbers  are  apt  to  be  halting  and  unmelodious.  He  is 
a  curious  mixture  of  the  mediaeval  and  the  modern.  In  his 
serious  moods  he  can  be  "aureate"  with  the  best  of  them;  but 
there  are  not  wanting  hints  that  he  saw  the  ludicrous  side 
of  that  form  of  euphuism.  He  employs  a  great  deal  of  mediaeval 
machinery  without  hesitation,  and  yet,  like  Dunbar,  when 
he  gives  free  play  to  his  satirical  propensities  he  is  eminently 
realistic  and  modern.  One  of  his  gravest  faults  is  his 
frequent  and  unnecessary  coarseness,  which  it  is  impossible  to 
justify  by  an  appeal  to  the  manners  of  the  age.  But  it  may  be 
suspected  that  this  very  defect  had  something  to  do  with  his 
long-continued  vogue  ;  and  his  services  as  a  telling  advocate  of 
Reformation  principles  J  were  too  valuable  to  make  it  possible 
for  the  Protestant  leaders  to  repudiate  his  assistance  or  to 
proscribe  his  works. 

These  we  shall  now  proceed  to  consider  in  more  or  less 
strict  chronological  order,  premising  that  in  some  cases  the  date 
is  mere  matter  of  conjecture.  And  first  of  The  Dreme  (1528), 
a  poem  of  some  1,100  lines  in  rhyme  royal  (ab  abbcc].  Here  we 
have  simply  a  specimen  of  our  old  friend  the  allegory.  Remem- 
brance conducts  the  poet  from  hell,  through  purgatory,  limbo, 
and  the  firmament,  up  to  heaven.  Then  comes  a  sort  of  metrical 
gazetteer  of  the  world  (the  mediaeval  "  catalogue  "  once  again). 
Next  an  inquiry  is  instituted  into  the  melancholy  condition  of 
Scotland — Why  should  she  want  justice  and  policy  more  than 

1  Scott  speaks  finely  of — 

"  The  flash  of  that  satiric  rage, 
Which,  bursting  on  the  early  stage, 
Branded  the  vices  of  his  age, 

And  broke  the  keys  of  Rome." 

Marmion,  canto  iv. 


90      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

France,  Italy,  or  England  ?  Probably  he  hits  upon  the  true 
solution  when  he  propounds  the  question — 

"  Sen  we  have  lawis  in  to  this  countrie, 
Why  want  we  lawis  exercitioun, 
Who  suld  put  justice  till  execution  ?  "  l 

That  "  boustious  berne,"  the  Commonweal  is  brought  on  and 
interrogated  as  to  his  grievances ;  and,  finally,  the  whole 
is  wound  up  with  an  "  Exhortatioun  to  the  Kingis  Grace"  to 
do  equal  justice  and  forswear  sack.  The  latter  part  of  the  poem 
is  interesting  because  it  strikes  the  notes  upon  which  Lyndsay 
continued  to  harp  during  the  whole  of  his  life  as  a  poet,  if  not 
as  a  member  of  the  Parliament. 

Next  comes  The  Complaynt  of  Schir  David  Lyndsay  (1529), 
a  poem  of  about  500  lines  in  rhymed  octosyllabics,  in  which  the 
writer  complains,  though  without  bitterness,  of  neglect,  and 
recapitulates  his  services  to  the  King.  To  1530  is  ascribed  The 
Testament  of  the  Papyngo,  a  poem  of  1,200  lines  or  so  in  rhyme 
royal,  in  which  the  poet  avails  himself  of  a  familiar  mediaeval 
convention  to  lecture  the  King,  the  Courtiers,  and  the  Church. 
In  the  first  part  he  recommends  the  King  to  learn  his  business — 

"  Quharefor,  sen  thou  hes  sic  capacitie, 
To  learn  to  play  so  plesandlic  and  syng, 

Ryd  hors,  ryn  speris  with  gret  audacitie, 
Shute  with  hand  bow,  crosbow,  and  culueryng, 
Amang  the  rest,  schir,  lerne  to  be  ane  Kyng  : 

Kyith  on  that  craft  thy  pringnant  fresh  ingyne, 

Grantit  to  the  be  Influence  Diuine."2 

In  the  second  part  he  enlarges,  for  the  edification  of  courtiers, 
upon  the  fickleness  of  fate  ;  and  in  the  third,  and  longest  part, 
the  "Communing  betuix  the  Papyngo  and  hir  Executouris,"  he 

1  Compare  the  speech  of  Pauper  to  the  Parliament  in  the  Satyrc — 

"  It  had  bene  als  gude  ye  had  sleipit 
As  to  mak  Acts  and  nocht  be  keipit." 

-  11.  283-89.     Even  the  stern  Correction  in  the  Satyrc  admits  that  kings 
are  entitled  to  take  their  diversion  in  field-sports. 


GOLDEN  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY    91 

attacks  the  clergy.  In  The  Complaint  of  Bagsche  (octosyllables,  in 
ab  ab  be  bc\  and  in  The  Answer  to  the  Kingis  Flyting  (rhyme  royal) 
which  are  both  said  to  belong  to  1536,  he  resumes  two  of  these 
topics.  The  former  is  an  admirably  humorous  little  poem — 
much  in  the  spirit  of  Burns's  Twa  Dogs — in  which  an  umquhil 
favourite,  but  now  disgraced,  hound  of  the  King's,  supplanted 
in  his  master's  regard  by  Bawte,  points  the  moral  of  his 
experience.  The  latter — a  reply  to  a  poem  which  has  perished 
— is  an  outspoken  remonstrance  with  the  King  on  his  irregular 
life.  Live  more  carefully,  or  you  will  ruin  your  health  and 
vigour,  is  its  very  sensible  burden.  The  Deploratioun  of  £)uene 
Magdalene  (rhyme  royal)  is  a  threnody  on  the  King's  first  wife 
(who  died  in  1537,  shortly  after  her  arrival  in  Scotland),  and 
is  a  good  specimen  of  Lyndsay  in  his  "aureate"  vein.  The 
following  year  can  boast  of  two  poems  in  a  very  different  manner. 
The  justing  betuix  James  Watsoun  and  yhone  'Barbour^  two 
medical  men  attached  to  the  Court,  is  a  reminiscence  of  Dunbar, 
and  is  more  remarkable  for  its  primitive  buffoonery  than  for  any 
more  attractive  quality.  The  Supplicatioun  anent  syde  tail/is 
is  a  much  superior  performance.  It  strikes  at  two  vagaries 
of  female  fashion  which  sorely  vexed  the  soul  of  all  Scottish 
social  reformers  :  the  wearing  of  veils  and  of  long  trains.  The 
latter  abuse  had  infected  every  class  of  society,  as  we  learn  from 
Lyndsay — 

"  Kittok  that  clekkit  was  yestrene 
The  morne  will  counterfute  the  Quenc. 
Ane  mureland  Meg  that  mylkis  the  yowis, 
Claggit  with  clay  abone  the  howis, 
In  barn  nor  byir  scho  wyll  nocht  byde 
Without  hir  kirtyll  taill  be  syde."  * 

The  versification  is  vigorous  and  fluent,  and  it  will  readily 
be  believed  that  the  subject  was  admirably  adapted  to  Lyndsay's 
peculiar  cast  of  humour.  So  much  so  is  that  the  case  as  to 

1  11.  65-70. 


92      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

preclude  any  further  attempt  at  quotation  here.  Kitteis  Con- 
fessioun  (circ.  1540),  a  trenchant  and  effective  attack  in  the 
same  metre  upon  the  Confessional,  lends  itself  equally  ill  to 
illustration  by  means  of  extracts  in  a  modern  work. 

Reserving,  in  the  meantime,  consideration  of  the  Satyre,  we 
come  next  to  The  Tragedy  (1547),  tne  subject  of  which  is  the 
murder  of  Cardinal  Beaton,  whose  ghost  is  introduced,  and  in 
rime  royal  warns  his  brother  priests  and  the  princes  of  the  earth 
to  take  a  lesson  from  his  fate.  The  moral  of  the  piece  is,  that 
preferment  in  the  Church  should  be  bestowed  upon  suitable 
and  deserving  people.  As  much  trouble  should  be  taken  by 
kings  in  the  selection  of  bishops  and  priests,  as  they  take  in 
the  choice  of  their  chefs^  their  tailors,  and  their  cordwainers, 
who  depend  for  promotion  solely  upon  merit.  This  is  a 
homely  illustration  which  Lyndsay  repeated  in  his  works 
more  than  once,  and  which  he  is  said  to  have  employed  with 
great  effect  in  private  conversation  with  the  King.  It  looks 
like  an  interesting  anticipation  of  the  great  modern  doctrine  of 
"  efficiency." 

The  Historie  of  Squyer  Meldrum  (1550)  is  something  in 
quite  another  kind  than  any  poem  of  Lyndsay's  which  we  have 
yet  considered.  It  consists  of  1,600  lines  in  rhymed  octo- 
syllabic verse,  plus  250  of  Testament  in  rime  royal,  and  it 
purports  to  narrate  the  life-story  of  William  Meldrum,  the 
laird  of  Cleish  and  Binnis,  who  belongs  to  the  class  of  hero 
that  used  to  be  called  "  Ouidaesque." 

"  He  was  ane  munyeoun  for  ane  dame, 
Meik  in  chalmer  lyk  ane  lame  ; 
Bot,  in  the  feild,  ane  campioun  ; 
Rampand  lyk  ane  wyld  lyoun." 

His  warlike  career  opens  at  the  sacking  of  Carrickfergus, 
where  he  rescues  a  beautiful  lady,  who  incontinently  falls  in 
love  with  him,  but  is  politely  repulsed.  He  then  takes  service 
with  the  King  of  France  against  Henry  VIII.,  and  defeats 


GOLDEN  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY    93 

the  English  champion,  Talbot,  in  single  combat,  both  parties 
behaving  with  the  most  perfect  courtesy  and  chivalry.  He  is, 
naturally,  made  much  of  at  the  French  Court,  but  sets  sail 
for  Scotland,  and  in  the  Channel  has  a  fierce  battle  with  an 
English  man-of-war,  in  which  he  is  completely  successful. 
The  sea-fight  is  described  with  considerable  spirit. 

"  Be  this,  the  Inglis  artailye 
Lyke  hailschot  maid  on  thame  assailye, 
And  sloppit  throw  thair  fechting  saillis, 
And  divers  dang  out  ouir  the  waillis. 
The  Scottis  agane,  with  all  thair  micht, 
Of  gunnis  than  thay  leit  fle  ane  flicht, 
That  thay  micht  weill  see  quhair  thay  wair, 
Heidis  and  armes  flew  in  the  air. 
The  Scottis  schip  scho  wes  sa  law 
That  monie  gunnis  out  ouir  hir  flaw, 
Quhilk  far  beyond  thame  lichtit  doun  ; 
Bot  the  Inglis  greit  galyeoun 
Foment  thame  stude,  lyke  ane  strang  castell 
That  na  Scottis  gunnis  micht  na  way  faill, 
But  hat  hir  ay  on  the  richt  syde, 
With  monie  ane  slop,  for  all  hir  pryde, 
That  monie  ane  beft  wer  on  thair  bakkis  ; 
Than  rais  the  reik  with  uglie  crakkis, 
Quhilk  on  the  sey  maid  sic  ane  sound, 

.  That  in  the  air  it  did  redound  ; 
That  men  might  weill  wit,  on  the  land, 
That  shippis  wer  on  the  sey  fechtand."  ' 

On  returning  to  Scotland,  Meldrum,  like  the  heroes  of  later 
generations,  is  "  banquetted  from  hand  to  hand "  by  his 
admiring  countrymen. 

His  next  adventure  is  with  a  beautiful  lady  in  Strathearn, 
whose  hair  was  "  like  the  reid  gold  wyre,"  and  with  whom  he 
takes  up  his  abode.  He  becomes  her  protector,  and  success- 
fully recovers  a  castle  in  the  Lennox  belonging  to  her,  which  had 
been  seized  by  the  Macfarlanes.  He  resumes  his  life  at  the 
lady's  home,  and  she  bears  him  a  daughter.  The  triumphant 

1  11.  721-42. 


94      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

tenor  of  his  existence  is,  however,  interrupted  by  the  machina- 
tions of  a  wicked  knight,  who  lays  an  ambush  for  him,  and  by 
whose  bravoes  he  is  left  grievously  wounded,  after  performing 
unheard  of  deeds  of  valour.  His  convalescence  is  so  long,  that 
he  himself  adopts  the  profession  of  chirurgeon.  The  lady  is 
separated  from  him  by  her  relatives,  who  compel  her  to  marry 
another  against  her  will.  The  squire  himself  never  marries, 
but  finally  at — 

"  the  Struther,  into  Fyfe, 

His  saul  with  joy  angelicall 

Past  to  the  Hevin  Imperiall." 

There  follows  his  Testament,  in  which  these  points  may  be 
noted.  He  will  suffer  no  priest  in  his  funeral  procession 
except  one  "  of  Venus  professioun  "  ;  nor  will  he  have  any 
requiem, 

"  But  Alleluya  with  melodic  and  game." 

He  takes  a  tender  farewell  of  the  ladies  of  France  and  England, 
who,  he  knows,  will  regret  him  and  "  mak  dule  and  drerie 
cheer "  ;  and,  more  specifically,  he  bids  adieu  to  his  "  day's 
darling "  of  Carrickfergus,  and,  above  all,  to  the  "  Star  of 
Strathearn." 

"  Fair  weill  !  ye  lemant  lampis  of  lustines 

Of  fair  Scotland  :  adew  !  my  Ladies  all. 
During  my  youth,  with  ardent  besines, 
Ye  knaw  how  I  was  in  your  service  thrall. 
Ten  thousand  times  adew  !  above  thame  all, 
Sterne  of  Stratherne,  my  Ladie  Soverane, 
For  quhom  I  sched  my  blud  with  mekill  pane. 

Yit,  wald  my  Ladie  luke,  at  evin  and  morrow 
On  my  legend  at  length,  scho  wald  not  mis 

How,  for  hir  saik,  I  sufferit  mekill  sorrow. 
Yit,  give  I  micht,  at  this  time  get  my  wis, 
Of  hir  sweit  mouth,  deir  God  I  had  ane  kis. 

I  wis  in  vane  :  allace  !  we  will  dissever. 

I  say  na  mair  :  sweit  hart,  adew  for  ever  ! "  " 

1  LI.  225-38. 


GOLDEN  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY    95 

These  stanzas  seem  to  mark  the  high-water  mark  of  Lyndsay's 
achievement  in  the  field  of  high  and  serious  poetry. 

Few  poems  of  their  time  are  so  difficult  to  "  place "  or 
classify  as  Squyer  Meldrum,  of  so  many  different  and  incon- 
gruous elements  is  it  composed.  In  the  generosity  and  mag- 
nanimity of  the  various  combatants,  we  have  an  echo  of  the 
romance  of  chivalry  ;  in  the  hero's  prodigious  feats  of  arms, 
we  catch  the  strains  of  the  wandering  minstrel  ;  in  the  love 
affair  with  the  lady  of  Strathearn,  we  find  many  of  the 
incidents  associated  with  and  characteristic  of  the  vulgar  tale 
of  intrigue  or  adultery  ;  and  in  one  passage  we  cannot  acquit 
the  poet  of  the  most  odious  of  all  literary  offences  against 
propriety — the  snigger,  or,  at  least,  the  leer.1  It  is  an  inevit- 
able result  of  this  singular  mixture  that  the  piece  as  a  whole 
should  have  little  artistic  purpose  or  unity,  and  should  be  im- 
possible to  label  as  good  romance,  good  ballad,  or  good  conte. 
Yet  to  this  serious  drawback  Lyndsay's  audience  was  probably 
insensible.  There  was  something  for  everybody's  taste  ;  and 
if  the  poem  failed  to  conform  to  the  canons  of  art,  at  all  events 
it  told  an  interesting  enough  story  in  an  interesting  enough 
way,  and  was  enlivened  by  many  thrilling  episodes. 

The  last  in  date  of  Lyndsay's  writings  is  the  portentous 
Monarchie^  or  the  Dialogue  betuix  Experience  and  one  Courteour 
(1553).  It  provides  us  with  a  history  of  the  Universe  from 
the  Creation  to  the  Day  of  Judgment  in  over  6,000  lines  of 
octosyllabics,  interspersed  with  a  few  dissertations  in  rime  royal 
on  themes  of  a  more  or  less  theological  complexion  (such  as 
the  "  open  Bible  "  and  the  worship  of  images),  and  these  are 
by  far  the  best  passages  in  an  otherwise  somewhat  tedious 
work.  The  conception  of  the  poem  is  essentially  mediaeval, 
and  so  is  the  framework.  We  begin  with  the  usual  walk  on 
a  May  morning  at  sunrise,  and  the  story  is  put  into  the  mouth 
of  an  "  ageit  man,"  Experience.  The  real  thread  of  connec- 
tion, however,  between  the  various  events  recounted,  is 
'  See  1.  1153  etseq. 


96      LITERARY  HISTORY   OF  SCOTLAND 

hostility  to  the  corruptions  of  Rome.  That  Lyndsay  was  in 
earnest  on  that  feeling  no  one  can  doubt,  and  it  is  significant 
that  he  declines  the  aid  of  the  muses  in  his  opening  verses, 
beseeching  the  Almighty  Himself  to  be  his  muse.  But  to 
what  extent  soever  we  may  be  disposed  to  sympathise  with  his 
opinions,  the  method  which  he  selected  for  expressing  them 
has  little  attraction  for  the  ordinary  reader  of  to-day. 

Lyndsay  would  occupy  far  less  conspicuous  a  place  in  the 
roll  of  Scottish  poets  but  for  his  unique  work,  Ane  pleasant 
Satyre  of  the  Thrle  Estaitisy  of  which  some  account  must  now 
be  given.  The  Satyre  is  a  "  morality  "  of  between  5,000  and 
6,000  lines,  and  was  produced  at  Cupar,  in  1535  according  to 
Chalmers,  in  1540  according  to  the  better  opinion,  and  subse- 
quently presented  both  at  Linlithgow  and  Edinburgh.  We 
cannot  suppose  that  it  stood  alone  in  the  literature  of  the  age. 
The  Scotland  of  the  Middle  Ages,  though  not  proverbially 
"  merry  "  like  its  neighbour,  was  nevertheless  a  country  in 
which  pageants  and  what  may  be  called  dramatic  allegory 
played  their  due  part  in  the  life  of  the  people.  The  taste  for 
such  spectacles  had  probably  been  fostered  by  James  IV.,  and 
we  know  that  the  visit  of  his  consort  to  Aberdeen  was  made 
the  occasion  of  a  gorgeous  display,  in  which  all  ranks  of  the 
townspeople  participated.  The  proper  organisation  of  enter- 
tainments of  the  sort  was,  no  doubt,  one  of  Lyon's  duties  ; 
and  it  may  be  conjectured  that  Lyndsay  performed  it  con  amore. 
Yet,  common  as  miracle  plays  and  moralities  must  have  been 
in  Scotland,  the  Satyre  is  absolutely  the  only  specimen  of  its 
class  which  has  come  down  to  us,  with  the  exception  of  the 
merest  fragment  by  Dunbar  (supra,  p.  59).  Fortunately,  the 
Satyre  has  been  preserved  practically  complete. 

The  play  opens  with  the  entrance  of  Diligence,  who  acts 
throughout  in  the  threefold  capacity  of  chorus,  messenger,  and 
herald,  and  who  now  announces  the  approach  of  King 
Humanity  and  summons  the  three  estates — the  Lords  Spiritual, 
the  Lords  Temporal,  and  the  Burgesses — to  meet  him.  The 


GOLDEN  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY    97 

King,  forthwith  appears,  and  after  offering  up  a  solemn  prayer 
for  grace  to  govern  properly,  takes  his  seat  upon  the  royal 
throne  with  a  grave  face.  He  is  approached  by  Wantounness 
and  Placebo,  and  the  former  addresses  him  thus  :— 

"  My  Soveraine  Lord  and  Prince  but  peir, 
Quhat  garris  yow  mak  sic  dreirie  cheir  ? 
Be  blyth,  sa  long  as  ye  ar  heir, 

And  pas  tyme  with  pleasure  : 
For  als  lang  leifis  the  mirrie  man 
As  the  sorie,  for  ocht  he  can. 
His  banis  full  sair,  Sir,  sail  I  ban 

That  dois  yow  displeasure." 

Wantounness  suggests,  accordingly,  that  Solace  should  be 
sent  for.  Where  is  Solace  r  asks  Placebo.  Wantounness 
replies  : — 

"  I  left  Solace,  that  same  greit  loun, 
Drinkand  into  the  burrows  toun  : 
It  will  cost  him  halfe  of  ane  croun 

Althocht  he  had  na  main 
And,  als,  he  said  hee  wald  gang  see 
Fair  ladie  Sensualitie, 
The  beriall  of  all  bewtie, 

And  portratour  preclair." 

Solace  then  enters — Sandie  Solace,  whose  mother,  "  bonnie 
Besse,  that  dwellt  between  the  Bowis,"  must  have  been,  by  his 
own  confession,  a  far  from  reputable  person.  Solace  explains 
to  the  King  that  he  has  just  seen  the  most  beautiful  woman, 
with  "  lippis  reid  and  cheikis  quhyte,"  and  dressed  in  the 
latest  fashion — "  clad  on  the  new  gyse."  The  King  protests 
that  she  is  not  for  him,  and  that,  so  far  as  immorality  goes,  he 
has  hitherto  been  tanquam  tabula  rasa;  but  Wantounness, 
Placebo,  and  Solace  unite  in  pointing  to  the  example  of  the 
Kirk,  and  in  bidding  him,  "  fall  to,  in  nomine  Domini  "  Does 
not  the  book  say,  "  Omnia  probate  " — prove  all  things  ? 

At  this  point,  Sensualitie  appears,  and  introduces  herself  in 
an  "  aureate  "  speech,  which  she  concludes  by  proposing  a  song 

G 


98      LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

to  Venus.  What  is  this  merrie  song-?  inquires  the  King  of 
his  three  courtiers  ;  and,  at  their  pressing  entreaty,  he  orders 
Sensualitie  to  be  brought  to  him.  Wantounness  and  Solace 
accost  her,  and  induce  her  to  come  to  the  King,  whom 
Wantounness  obligingly  offers  to  "  coach  "  for  the  interview. 
Sensualitie  then  delivers  an  "  aureate  "  address  to  Venus,  and 
at  the  King's  command  is  led  off  to  his  chamber  by  Solace, 
while  Wantounness  pairs  off  with  her  handmaiden,  Hameliness 
[Familiarity]. 

A  new  character,  Gude  Counsall,  next  enters,  complains 
that  for  long  he  has  been  "  flemit  out  of  Scotland,"  and 
deplores  the  weakness  of  the  King.  This  is  one  of  the  many 
indications  which  seem  to  make  the  inference  irresistible  that 
the  character  of  Rex  Humanitas  is  directly  drawn  from  that 
of  James  V.  When  Gude  Counsall  has  finished  his  speech,  it 
is  the  turn  of  Flattrie,  who  has  just  come  off  a  long  sea-voyage. 

"  Bot  now  amang  yow  I  will  remaine  ; 
I  purpose  never  to  sail  againe, 

To  put  my  lyfe  in  chance  of  watter. 
Was  never  sene  sic  wind  and  raine, 

Nor  of  schipmen  sic  clitter,  clatter. 
Sum  bade  haill  !  and  sum  bade  standby  ! 
On  steirburd  !  hoaw  !  aluiff  !  fy  !  fy  ! 

Quhill  all  the  raipis  beguith  to  rattil. 
Was  nevir  Roy  sa  fleyd  as  I, 

Quhen  all  the  sails  playd  brittill,  brattill." 

He  is  joined  by  his  companions,  Falset  and  Dissait  ;  and  the 
trio  conspire  to  get  round  the  King,  by  assuming  a  clerical 
disguise.  Falset  and  Dissait  get  themselves  up  as  Clerks  newly 
arrived  from  France,  while  Flattrie  dons  the  garb  of  a  Friar. 

"  A  freir  ? "    [exclaims  Dissait  in  surprise]  ;  "  quhairto  ?  ye  cannot 

preiche." 
"  Quhat  rak,  man  ?  "  [comes  the  prompt  reply.]     "  I  can  richt  weill 

fleich." 

In  addition   to  their  borrowed  plumes,  they  take  the  names 


GOLDEN  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY    99 

of  Discretioun,  Sapience,  and  Devotioun,  and  go  through  an 
extremely  daring  and  blasphemous  burlesque  of  the  baptismal 
service  of  the  Church.  The  King  presently  returns,  and  the 
vices  accost  him  in  their  disguise.  Sapience  unluckily  forgets 
his  assumed  name,  and  Dissait  jogs  his  memory. 

"  Dissait.    Sapiens,  thou  servis  to  beir  ane  plat. 

Methink  thow  schawis  the  not  weilt  wittit. 
Falset.     Sypeins,  sir,  Sypeins  ;  marie  !  now  ye  hit  it. 
Flattrie.  Sir,  gif  ye  pleis  to  let  him  say, 

His  name  is  Sapientia. 
Falset.     That  name  is  it,  be  Sanct  Michell. 
Rex.         Quhy  could  thou  not  tell  it  thy  sell  ? 
Falset.     I  pray  your  grace  appardoun  me, 

And  I  schall  schaw  the  veritie. 

I  am  sa  full  of  Sapience 

That  sumtyme  I  will  tak  ane  trance : 

My  spreit  was  reft  from  my  bodie, 

Xow  heich  abone  the  Trinitie. 
Rex.         Sapience  suld  be  ane  man  of  gude. 
Falset.     Sir,  ye  may  ken  that  be  my  hude." 

The  King  finally  appoints  the  three  Vices  to  be  his  ministers, 
whereupon  they  begin  to  "  lay  it  on  thick,"  one  praising  his 
good  looks  and  his  dress — "  Was  never  man  set  sa  weill  his 
clais  " — and  another  promising  him  all  the  kingdoms  of  the 
world.  "Sir,"  says  Dissait — 

"  Sir,  I  ken  be  your  physnomie 
Ye  sail  conqueir,  or  else  I  lie, 
Danskin  [Dantzic],  Denmark,  and  Almane, 
Spittelfeild,  and  the  realme  of  Spane  : 
Ye  sail  have  at  your  governance 
Ranfrow  and  all  the  realme  of  France, 
Yea  Rugland  [Rutherglen]  and  the  toun  of  Rome, 
Corstorphine  and  al  Christindome." 

The  reappearance  of  Gude  Counsall  on  the  scene,  looking 
like  a  "  bairdit  bogill,"  disturbs  the  Vices,  who  immediately 
proceed  to  "  hurl  him  away,"  with  many  murderous  threats. 


TOO    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Sensualitie  sings  a  song,  after  which  Veritie  enters,  carrying  a 
New  Testament *  in  her  hand,  and  delivers  a  species  of  sermon 
addressed  to  judges  and  priests.  Flattrie,  Falset,  and  Dissait 
approach  Spiritualitie  [/.£.,  the  Lords  Spiritual]  with  a  view  to 
getting  Veritie  punished,  and  Spiritualitie  grants  warrant  to 
Persone  and  Frier  to  imprison  her.  Then  follows  a  fine  hymn 
put  into  the  mouth  of  Veritie  : — 

"  Get  up,  thou  sleepis  all  too  lang,  O  Lord  ! 

And  mak  sum  ressonabill  reformatioun, 
On  thame  that  dois  tramp  doun  thy  gracious  word, 

And  lies  ane  deidlie  indignatioun 

At  thame  wha  maks  maist  trew  narratioun  ; 
Suffer  me  not,  Lord,  mair  to  be  molest, 

Gude  Lord,  I  mak  thee  supplicatioun, 
With  thy  unfriends  let  me  nocht  be  supprest." 

After  thus  declaiming,  Veritie  is  clapped  into  the  stocks. 

Chastitie  is  the  next  virtue  introduced  by  the  playwright, 
and  she  appeals  for  recognition  and  welcome  to  a  Prioress 
sitting  among  the  spirituality,  and  pointed  out  to  her  by 
Diligence.  But  the  Prioress  is  obdurate  : — 

"  Pas  hynd,  madame  :  be  Christ,  ye  come  nocht  heir  ! " 

Nor  is  her  reception  any  more  kindly  from  the  Lords 
Spiritual,  or  the  Abbot,  or  the  Parson.  She  then  applies  to 
the  Lords  Temporal,  who  advise  her  to  be  off,  in  case  their 
wives  hear  of  her  presence.  Finally,  she  makes  trial  of  the 
burgesses,  and  thus  gives  an  opening  for  the  Aristophanic 

1  Flattrie  is  particularly  horrified  at  this — "  What  buik,"  he  exclaims, 
"  What  buik  is  that,  harlot,  into  thy  hand  ? 

Out  !  Walloway  !  This  is  the  New  Test'ment, 
In  Englisch  toung,  and  printit  in  England  ! 

Herisie  !  Herisie  !  fire  !  fire  !  incontinent.'' 

The  "  open  Bible  "  was  one  of  Lyndsay's  great  principles  ;  and  it  was 
sanctioned  by  an  Act  of  Parliament  (1542,  c.  12),  which  allowed  the  lieges 
to  have  "the  haly  writ  in  the  vulgar  toung  in  Inglis  or  Scottis  of  ane  gude 
and  trew  translation,"  but  excluded  the  higher,  or  any  other7,  criticism  by 
the  proviso  "  that  na  man  despute  or  hald  oppunzeonis." 


GOLDEN  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY     101 

interlude  of  the  Sowtar  and  the  Taylour — one  of  the  most 
effective,  as  well  as  broadly  humorous,  episodes  in  the  whole 
drama.  The  Sowtar  and  the  Taylour  are  not  indisposed  to 
give  the  lady  a  friendly  enough  welcome,  and  indeed  invite  her 
to  sit  down  and  drink  with  them.  Quoth  the  Soutar  : — 

"  Fill  in  and  play  cap  out, 
For  I  am  wonder  dry  : 
The  Deuill  snyp  aff  thair  snout, 
That  haits  this  company." 

Unluckily,  their  wives  get  wind  of  what  is  afoot,  and,  having 
the  conventional  grievance  of  the  Middle  Ages  against  their 
respective  husbands,  proceed  forcibly  to  eject  Chastitie,  and 
to  "  ding "  their  gudemen.  Chastitie,  having  thus  been 
repulsed  by  each  of  the  three  estates  in  turn,  is  brought  to  the 
notice  of  the  King  ;  but  she  fares  no  better,  and,  with  his 
consent,  shares  the  fate  of  Veritie  and  is  put  in  the  stocks. 

The  varlet  of  King  Correctioun  now  makes  his  entry  and 
announces  the  approach  of  his  master  :  news  which  causes  the 
three  Vices  serious  concern.  Flattrie  says  that  he  will  betake 
him  to  Spiritualitie, 

"  And  preich  out  throw  his  dyosie, 

Quhair  I  will  be  unknawn ; 
Or  keip  me  closse  in  to  sum  closter, 
With  mony  piteous  paternoster, 
Till  all  thir  blastis  be  blawin." 

Dissait  says  that  he  will  go  to  the  Merchants  : 

"  Ye  ken  richt  few  of  them  that  thryfes 
Or  can  begyll  the  landwart  wyfes 
Bot  me,  thair  man,  Dissait." 

Falset,  for  his  part,  declares  that  he  will  find  refuge  among 
the  Craftsmen.  Meanwhile  they  steal  the  King's  strong-box, 
quarrel,  as  might  have  been  expected,  over  the  dividing  of  the 
spoil,  and  make  off. 

Then  arrives  Divyne  Correctioun,  who   proclaims  his  inten- 


102     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

tion  of  convening  a  Parliament  of  the  three  Estates,  and 
reforming  all  abuses.  He  is  welcomed  by  Gude  Counsall, 
who  explains  the  situation,  and  the  first  thing  they  do  is  to 
release  Veritie  and  Chastitie  from  the  stocks.  Correctioun 
then  addresses  the  King,  lecturing  him  gravely  on  his  faults, 
and  summarily  dismisses  Sensualitie,  who  is  warmly  received 
by  the  Spiritualitie.  The  King  strikes  up  an  alliance  with 
Correctioun  ;  Wantounness,  Solace,  and  Placebo  are  pardoned 
on  promise  of  amendment  for  the  future  ;  the  trick  played  by 
Flattrie,  Dissait,  and  Falset  is  exposed  ;  Parliament  is  sum- 
moned ;  and  an  interval  for  refreshments  is  proclaimed, 
marking  the  conclusion  of  the  First  Part  of  the  play. 

The  Second  Part  is  opened  with  an  Interlude  in  which 
Pauper,  the  poor  man,  is  the  chief  actor.  He  seats  himself  in 
the  King's  chair,  and,  in  a  spirited  dialogue  with  Diligence, 
gives  an  account  of  his  circumstances.  He  lives  in  Lothian, 
not  far  from  Tranent,  and  has  been  ruined  by  the  laird's  claim 
for  heriot,  which  meant  the  loss  of  his  mare,  and  the  vicar's 
claim  for  death  duties,  which  ran  away  with  his  three  cows, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  clothes  of  his  deceased  father,  mother, 
and  wife,  which  fell  as  a  perquisite  to  the  vicar's  clerk.  He 
is  now  obliged  to  beg  his  meat ;  he  has  been  excommunicated 
by  the  parson  for  failure  to  pay  teind  ;  and  now  he  is  on  his 
way  to  seek  redress  in  the  law  courts  ("the  more  fool  you," 
says  Diligence),  armed  with  his  last  remaining  groat  to  pay 
the  lawyer's  fee.  Here  the  Pardoner  comes  in,  and  in  a  long 
and  entertaining  harangue  explains  who  and  what  he  is.  He 
too  has  a  strong  objection  to  the  translation  of  the  Bible  into 
the  vulgar  tongue,  which  bids  fair  to  take  the  bread  out  of 
his  mouth. 

"  I  giue  to  the  deuill  with  gude  intent 
This  unsell  wickit  New  Testament, 
With  them  that  it  translaittit. 

Duill  fell  the  braine  that  lies  it  wrocht ! 
Sa  fall  them  that  the  Buik  hame  brocht ! " 


GOLDEN  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY     103 

He  curses  Luther,  Black  Bullinger,  and  Melancthon  with 
unaffected  heartiness,  and  gives  utterance  to  the  following 
pious  aspiration  : — 

"  Be  Him  that  buir  the  crowne  of  thorne  ! 
I  wald  Sanct  Paull  had  never  bene  borne ; 

And,  als,  I  wald  his  buiks 
War  nevir  red  into  the  Kirk, 
But  amangs  freiris  into  the  mirk, 

Or  riven  amang  ruiks." 

He  then  puts  down  his  pack  and  exhibits  his  valuable  collec- 
tion of  relics,  which  includes  the  "  richt  chaft  blade  "  of  Fine 
Macoull,  "  with  teith  and  al  togidder  "  ;  the  horn  of  Ceiling's 
cow,  which 

"  for  eating  of  Makconnal's  corne 
Was  slain  into  Balquhidder  ;  " 

and  the  self-same  cord  that  hanged  Johnnie  Armstrong,  with 
which  whosoever  is  hanged  needs  never  to  be  drowned. 

The  Pardoner's  first  customers  are  the  Soutar  and  his  wife, 
who  crave  a  dispensation  from  the  marriage-tie  ;  and  then 
follows  a  scene  not  indecorous  merely,  but  stupid  ;  a  scene 
which  furnishes  an  excellent  illustration  of  mediaeval  "vul- 
garity without  fun,"  and  the  like  of  which  undoubtedly  help 
to  explain  the  Puritan's  taste  for  the  stage.  True  humour, 
however,  once  more  reasserts  itself  when  the  Pardoner's 
servant,  Wilkin,  describes  the  arrangements  he  has  made 
for  their  suitable  accommodation  in  the  village,  and  for  an 
addition  to  their  stock  of  relics  in  the  shape  of  "  ane  greit 
hors  bane  "  from  "  dame  Flescher's  midding,"  which  his  master 
is  to  "gar  the  wyfis  trow"  is  a  bone  of  St.  Bride's  cow. 
Pauper  now  approaches  the  Pardoner  and  asks  for  the  restora- 
tion of  his  cows.  This  the  Pardoner  refuses,  but  offers  to  sell 
him  a  pardon  for  cash  down.  Pauper  hands  over  his  groat,  and 
in  return  receives  a  pardon  for  a  thousand  years.  He  is  much 
disgusted  with  his  bargain  when  he  finds  that  it  will  do  him 


104    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

no  good  until  he  dies  and  goes  to  purgatory.  He  therefore 
demands  his  money  back  with  a  great  deal  of  appropriate 
objurgation  ;  and  so  by  a  fight  between  Pauper  and  the  Par- 
doner, in  which  the  former  prevails  and  throws  all  the  relics 
into  the  water,  the  Interlude  is  brought  to  a  termination. 

The  main  thread  of  the  plot  is  now  taken  up  in  the  Second 
Part  of  the  play,  the  chief  interest  of  which  is  ecclesiastical 
and  political  rather  than  literary,  and  which,  therefore,  does 
not  call  for  quite  so  detailed  an  examination.  The  three 
Estates  advance  to  the  King,  and  hold  conference  with  him. 
John  the  Common-weill  comes  forward,  on  the  invitation  of 
Diligence,  inveighs  against  the  Estates,  and  succeeds  in 
getting  the  three  Vices  put  in  the  stocks,  and  Covetice 
and  Sensualitie  chased  away,  in  spite  of  the  remonstrances 
of  Spiritualitie.  Gude  Counsall  and  John  between  them  set 
forth  the  grievances  of  the  nation.  Law  and  order  are  not 
maintained  ;  rents  are  high  and  so  are  teinds  ;  gentlemen 
take  feus  of  husbandmen's  steadings  ;  jugglers,  jesters,  pipers, 
and  fiddlers  abound  ;  and  the  Justice  Eyres  are  far  from  being 
satisfactory  in  their  operation.  The  shortcomings  of  the 
clergy  are  again  dilated  upon  by  John  and  Pauper,  who  have 
a  short  "flyting"  with  Spiritualitie  and  the  Parson.  Tem- 
poralitie  proposes  and  carries  measures  of  reform,  such  as  the 
abolition  of  the  death  duties,  Spiritualitie  dissenting,  and  taking 
instruments  in  the  hands  of  a  notary.  John  goes  on  to  com- 
plain of  the  amount  of  money  that  goes  out  of  the  country  to 
the  see  of  Rome  on  one  pretext  or  another,  and  suggests  that 
the  clergy  should  be  made  to  do  their  duty.  After  "  schawing 
furth  his  faith  "  by  reciting  a  metrical  version  of  the  Apostles' 
Creed,  he  returns  to  the  charge,  and  enlarges  on  the  abuses 
of  the  Consistorial  Courts.  It  is  resolved  that  henceforth 
Spiritualitie  shall  have  jurisdiction  in  matters  spiritual,  and 
Temporalitie  in  matters  temporal. 

Chastitie  and  Veritie  next  make  their  complaint  at  the  bar, 
but  it  contains  little  that  is  novel  or  striking.  Another 


GOLDEN  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY     105 

grievance  is  ventilated  by  Temporalitie,  who  complains 
bitterly  of  the  large  dowries  which  wealthy  prelates  are  able 
to  give  to  their  daughters,  whereby  the  "  market  is  raisit  sa 
hie "  that  landowners  have  great  difficulty  in  getting  their 
daughters  off  their  hands.1  Some  relief  from  a  topic  which 
threatens  to  be  wearisome  is  afforded  by  the  entrance  of 
Commoun  Thift  and  Oppression,  who  also  have  complaints 
to  bring  forward.  They  view  their  present  surroundings  and 
the  projected  enforcement  of  the  law  with  no  little  consterna- 
tion ;  and  Oppressioun,  before  taking  leave  of  the  company, 
breathes  the  prayer — 

"  Wald  God  !  I  war  baith  sound  and  haill 
Now  liftit  into  Liddisdaill 
The  Mers  sould  find  me  beif  and  kaill, 

Quhat  rak  of  bread  : 
War  I  thair  liftit,  with  my  lyfe, 
The  Devill  sould  stick  me  with  ane  knyfe, 
And  evir  I  come  againe  to  Fyfe, 

Quhyll  I  war  dead." 

Diligence  then  brings  in  three  Clerks — one  a  Doctor  of 
Divinity  and  the  other  two  Licentiates — who  are  to  superintend 
the  exercise  of  patronage.  Once  more  we  have  a  recital  of  the 
abuses  existing  in  the  Church  ;  to  which  the  only  reply  of  the 
Churchmen  is  the  plea  of  "  use  and  wont,"  and  the  excuse  that, 
though  he  can't  preach,  the  parson  is  a  good  all-round  sportsman. 
Thereafter  the  Doctor  ascends  the  pulpit,  and  delivers  a  sound 
evangelical  discourse,  to  the  orthodoxy  of  which  the  parson  and 
the  abbot  take  exception,  only  to  be  refuted  by  the  licentiates. 
The  next  step  is  to  strip  Flattrie  of  his  friar's  robe  and  the 
abbess  of  hers  :  to  "spuilyie"  the  prelates,  and  to  put  their 
habits  on  the  learned  Clerks.  John  the  Common-Weill  is 

1  Another  great  grievance  with  the  lesser  gentry  apparently  was  the 
social  pretensions  of  the  clergy.  The  Nun  must  be  called  "  Madam,"  the 
Priest  "  Sir,"  the  Monk  "  Dean,"  and  so  forth.  See  The  Monarchic,  11. 4658 
et  seq. 


io6    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

also  gorgeously  apparelled  in  "ane  new  habuilyiement "  of 
"  sating  damais,"  or  of  "  the  velvet  fyne."  Then  Diligence 
makes  formal  proclamation  of  the  new  Acts  of  Parliament, 
which  embody  all  the  planks  of  the  Reformers'  political  and 
ecclesiastical  u  platform."  Pauper,  however,  not  unnaturally, 
appears  to  be  a  little  suspicious  whether  these  Acts  will  ever  be 
put  into  execution.  Flattrie  is  sentenced  to  banishment,  and 
his  companions,  together  with  Commoun  Thift,  are  led  off  to 
the  gallows  by  the  Sergeants,  who  here,  as  elsewhere  in  the 
play,  are  quite  excellent,  and  have  more  than  a  dash  of  the 
true  Shakespearean  quality.  The  hanging  scene  we  can 
imagine  to  have  been  immensely  popular  with  the  audience, 
and  even  for  us  its  grim  humour  has  by  no  means  evaporated. 
All  the  culprits  make  speeches  before  being  "worked  off." 
Commoun  Thift  takes  a  spirited  farewell  of  his  fellows  in  crime 
on  the  Borders  : 

"  Adew  !  my  brethren,  common  theifis, 
That  helpit  me  in  my  mischeifis : 
Adew  !  Grosars,  Nicksons,  and  Bellis, 
Oft  have  we  run  out-thoart  the  fellis. 
Adew  !  Robsons,  Hansles,  and  Pylis, 
That  in  our  craft  hes  mony  wyllis  : 
Lytils,  Trumbels,  and  Armestrangs, 
Adew  !  all  theifis  that  me  belangs  ; 
Tailzeours,  Eurwings,  and  Elwands, 
Speidie  of  fut  and  wicht  of  hands  ; 
The  Scottis  of  Ewisdaill,  and  the  Graimis, 
I  have  na  tyme  to  tell  your  namis. 
With  King  Correctioun  an  ye  be  fangit, 
Beleif  richt  weill,  ye  will  be  hangit." 

In  the  same  spirit  Dissait  takes  leave  of  his  friends  the 
Merchants  :— 

"  Adew  !  the  greit  clan  Jamesone, 
The  blude  royale  of  Clappertoun, 

I  was  ay  to  yow  trew  : 
Baith  Andersone  and  Patersone, 
Above  them  all  Thome  Williamsone, 
My  absence  ye  will  rue. 


GOLDEN  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY    107 

Thome  Williamsone,  it  is  your  pairt 
To  pray  for  me  with  all  your  hairt, 

And  think  upon  my  warks  : 
How  I  leirit  yow  ane  gude  lessoun, 
For  to  begyle  in  Edinburgh  toun 

The  Bischop  and  his  Clarks." 

Finally,   in   the   longest  harangue  of  all,  Falset  bids  adieu 
to  the  Craftsmen  : — 

"  Find  me  ane  wobster  that  is  leill, 
Or  ane  walker  that  will  nocht  steill, 

Thair  craftines  I  ken  : 
Or  ane  millair  that  is  na  fait, 
That  will  nather  steill  meall  nor  malt ; 

Hald  them  for  halie  men. 
At  our  fleschers  tak  ye  na  greife, 
Thocht  thay  blaw  leane  mutton  and  beife, 

That  they  seime  fat  and  fair  : 
Thay  think  that  practick  bot  ane  mow, 
Howbeit,  the  devill  a  thing  it  dow  ; 

To  thame  I  leirit  that  lair. 

Adew  !  my  maisters,  wrichts,  and  maissouns, 
I  have  neid  to  leir  yow  few  lessouns, 

Ye  knaw  my  craft,  perqueir  ; 
Adew  !  blaksmythis  and  lorimers, 
Adew  !  ye  craftie  cordiners, 

That  sellis  the  schone  ouir  deir. 
Goldsmythis,  fair-weill  abuve  thame  all ! 
Remember  my  memoriall, 

With  mony  ane  suttill  cast : 
To  mix,  set  ye  nocht  by  twa  preinis, 
Fyne  ducat  gold  with  hard  gudlingis, 

Lyke  as  I  leirnit  yow  last." 

They  are  all  "  heisit  up "  in  effigy  except  Falset,  whom 
the  stage-direction  orders  to  be  hanged  in  person,  while 
"  an  Craw  or  ane  Ke "  is  to  be  cast  up  "  as  it  war 
his  saull."  Flattrie  congratulates  himself  on  escaping  the 
"  widdie,"  and  sets  out  on  a  pilgrimage  to  the  famous  Hermit 
of  Loretto. 


io8     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

We  now  come  to  the  last  Interlude,  in  which  Folie  converses 
with  Diligence,  tells  a  long,  low-comedy  story  about  a  disaster 
he  met  with  on  a  midden,  feeds  Glailcis,  his  daughter,  and  Stult 
his  son,  and,  getting  up  into  the  pulpit,  preaches  a  sermon. 
The  whole  play  concludes  with  an  address  by  Diligence  to 
the  audience,  in  which  he  appeals  to  their  indulgence,  and 
admits  the  possibility  that  the  play  has  in  some  parts  been 
tedious — 

"  With  matter  rude,  denude  of  eloquence, 
Likewyse,  perchance,  to  sum  men  odious," 

an  admission  which  shows  Lyndsay's  good  sense,  and  which 
was  well  calculated  to  conciliate  those  members  of  the  audience 
who  clung  to  the  unreformed  doctrine.  And  so  the  people 
are  dismissed  to  their  amusements  : — 

"  Now  let  ilk  man  his  way  avance, 
Let  sum  ga  drink,  and  sum  ga  dance  : 
Menstrell,  blaw  up  ane  brawll  of  France. 

Let  se  quha  hobbils  best : 
For  I  will  rin  incontinent 
To  the  tavern,  or  evir  I  stent  : 
And  pray  to  God  Omnipotent, 

To  send  yow  all  gude  rest."  ' 

The  tolerably  minute  analysis  of  the  Satyre  which  we  have 
just  given  renders  any  but  the  briefest  comment  on  that 
very  remarkable  work  a  superfluity.  We  may  be  excused 
from  expatiating  on  its  extraordinary  value  as  a  "  document  " 
illustrative  of  the  social  condition  of  Scotland  at  the  dawn 
of  the  Reformation.  Of  its  purely  literary  merit — the  mastery 
of  metre,  of  phrase,  of  vocabulary — the  reader  has  been  provided 
with  ample  material  for  judging.  The  really  noteworthy  and 
surprising  thing  about  the  piece,  as  I  venture  to  think,  is 

1  Laing  prints  another  and  "preliminary"  interlude,  "The  Auld  Man 
and  his  Wyfe,"  of  which  it  is  unnecessary  to  give  any  particulars. 


GOLDEN  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY    109 

its  dramatic  quality.  It  proves  Lyndsay  to  have  possessed 
the  playwright's  instinct,  and  the  secret  of  stage-effect,  in 
no  ordinary  measure.  He  never  made  a  secret  of  the  fact  that 
he  wrote  for  the  commonalty  x ;  and  we  can  picture  to  ourselves 
the  enthusiasm  and  delight  with  which  the  most  telling  scenes 
and  speeches  in  the  Satyre  would  be  received  by  an  audience 
drawn  from  the  ranks  of  a  people  never  averse  from  subjecting 
their  rulers  to  the  wholesome  test  of  ridicule.  That,  from 
our  point  of  view,  there  is  too  much  declamation  and 
"  speechifying  "  in  the  play  is  true  enough  ;  but,  due  allowance 
being  made  for  a  fault  inevitably  springing  from  the  didactic 
purpose  of  the  author,  it  requires  no  abnormal  keenness  of 
vision  to  perceive  the  dramatic  propriety  of  much  of  the  action 
and  the  dramatic  vividness  with  which  the  characters  are 
presented.  The  personages  masquerading  under  the  guise 
of  abstract  qualities  are  for  the  most  part  flesh  and  blood, 
and  the  touch  of  exaggeration  which  enters  into  their  present- 
ment serves  but  to  keep  them  human.  In  "Sandie"  Solace, 
we  have  one  of  those  happy  strokes  which  transport  us  from  the 
region  of  acted  allegory  to  that  of  drama  proper ;  and  if 
Sensualitie,  Wantounness,  and  Flattrie,  and  all  the  rest  of 
the  Vices  (for  the  Virtues  are  somewhat  less  convincing)  are 
men  and  women,  still  more  emphatically  so  are  the  Taylour 
and  the  Sowtar,  with  their  wives,  Pauper,  the  Pardoner,  and 
the  Serjeants. 

In  literature,  as  in  politics,  it  may  be  that  the  "  might-have- 
beens"  are  illegitimate,  as  they  are  futile.  But  to  wonder  how 
the  course  of  Scottish  drama  might  have  run  if  the  external 
conditions  had  been  analogous  to  those  that  prevailed  in 
England  is  certainly  a  tempting,  and  perhaps  after  all  an 
innocent,  speculation.  That  these  conditions  were,  unhappily, 


"  Quharefore  to  colzearis,  cairtaris,  and  to  cukis, 
To  Jok  and  Thome  my  rhyme  sail  be  directit, 
With  cunyngmen  quhowbeit  it  wylbe  lackit." 

The  Monarchic,  11.  549-551. 


no    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

very  different  in  the  two  countries  is  well  known.  The 
Reformation  in  England  helped  to  pave  the  way  for  the 
Elizabethan  drama.  In  Scotland  it  was  hostile  to  almost  every 
form  of  art,  and  fatal  to  that  which  finds  its  home  on  the  stage. 
The  old  sports  and  pastimes  of  the  people  were  suppressed  with 
a  heavy  hand.  "  Robert  Hude,"  Lyttil  Johne,  the  Abbot 
of  Unreason,  and  the  Quene  of  the  May,  were  ostracised  both 
in  burgh  and  to  landward.1  For  well-nigh  a  hundred  and  fifty 
years  the  desolating  influence  of  a  gloomy  and  intolerant 
fanaticism  brooded  over  the  country  ;  and,  while  it  per- 
manently deprived  the  people  of  forms  of  amusement  which 
might  have  developed  something  really  worth  developing, 
it  did  little  to  abate  the  national  appetite  for  drink  and  fornication. 
If  we  may  judge  by  Lyndsay's  Satyre^  no  nation  could  have 
showed  a  fairer  promise  of  playing  a  worthy  part  in  the 
dramatic  revival  which  is  the  glory  of  English  literature  at 
the  end  of  the  sixteenth  and  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  But  dh  allter  visum ;  that  promise  was  irretrievably 
blasted,  and  our  only  consolation  must  be  that  'twas  so 
written  in  the  book  of  Fate.  In  Philotus  (infra,  p.  226),  we 
have  a  not  very  favourable  sample  of  Scottish  comedy  dating 
from  early  in  the  seventeenth  century  ;  and  we  know  that 
the  practice  of  performing  Latin  and  other  plays  lingered  in 
the  grammar  schools  for  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  longer.2 
But  now,  almost  the  only  remaining  vestige  of  the  Scottish 
vernacular  and  popular  drama  is  to  be  found  in  the  boys  who 

1  Act  1555,  c.  40  (61).     Cf.  Alexander  Scott's  lines  : — 

"  In  May  when  men  yeid  everich  one 
With  Robene  Hoid  and  Littill  Johne, 

To  bring  in  bowis  and  birkin  bobbins  ; 
Now  all  sic  game  is  fastlingis  gone, 

Bot  gyf  it  be  amangis  clovin  Robbyns." 

Of  May,  11.  16-20. 

2  Graham,  Social  Life  of  Scotland  in  the  Eighteenth  Century,  2nd  ed.,  1901 , 
P-439- 


GOLDEN  AGE   OF  SCOTTISH  POETRY     in 

beg  from  house  to  house  at  Christmas  time  under  the  pretence 
of  being  "  guisards."  * 

1  For  an  interesting  account  of  the  Guisards  as  they  used  to  be  and  of 
the  plays  they  used  to  act,  within  living  memory,  see  the  Scotsman, 
3ist  December,  1902,  art.  "  The  Dying  Guisard."  Before  finally 
parting  from  Lyndsay,  it  may  be  proper  to  advert  to  the  list  of 
poets  which  he  gives  in  the  Prologue  to  the  Papyngo.  That  list 
contains  the  following  names  (in  addition  to  others,  which  have  been, 
or  are  about  to  be,  dealt  with  in  the  text),  viz.,  Sir  James  Inglis,  Kyd, 
Stewarte,  Stewart  of  Lorn,  Galbraith,  and  Kynlouch.  These  poets,  of 
whom  little  or  nothing  is  otherwise  known,  have  attributed  to  them  in 
the  various  Manuscript  collections  certain  pieces,  not  one  of  which  is 
above  the  level  of  mediocrity.  The  reader  who  desires  to  sample  their 
not  very  attractive  wares  may  be  referred  to  Mr.  Henderson's  Scottish 
Vernacular  Literature,  pp.  238  et  seq. 


CHAPTER    III 

EARLY    PROSE,    AND    THE    PROSE    OF    THE    REFORMATION 

THAT  literary  prose  is  of  later  growth  than  literary  verse 
is  a  fact  to  which  the  literatures  of  the  world  bear  almost 
unanimous  testimony.  Scotland  was  so  far  from  being  an 
exception  to  the  general  rule  in  this  respect  that  nowhere 
is  the  phenomenon  more  obvious.  Many  theories  have  been, 
and  may  be,  advanced  to  account  for  this  ;  but  none  appear  to 
be  wholly  satisfactory.  We  must  be  content  to  see  how  the 
matter  stands  without  seeking  a  solution  of  what,  after  all, 
is  perhaps  no  very  important  mystery. 

The  want  of  a  vernacular  prose,  we  may  assume,  was  little 
felt  ;  but  it  was  supplied,  in  the  case  of  the  very  limited  literate 
class,  by  Latin  of  a  somewhat  doubtful  order.  John  Fordun 
(d.  circ,  1385)  is  perhaps  the  earliest  of  the  Scots  scribes  who 
found  utterance  in  a  decidedly  unattractive,  if  not  positive!) 
forbidding,  variety  of  that  language.  His  Scotichronicon^  z 
which  was  continued  by  Walter  Bower,  Abbot  of  Inchcolm 
(d.  1449),  has  little  grace  or  charm  of  style,  but  it  is  remarkable 
as  the  first  attempt  to  "digest  into  chronological  order"  the 
fables  which,  so  digested,  were  for  long  accepted  as  an  integral 
part  of  Scottish  history.  Indeed,  the  work  is  declared  by  Mr. 

1  Ed.  Skenc,  2  vols.,  Edin.,  1871-72. 

112 


EARLY  PROSE  113 

Skene  to  "form  the  indispensable  groundwork  of  our  annals," 
in  so  far  as  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries  are  concerned. 
No  less  fantastic  and  prone  to  belief  was  Hector  Boece  or 
Boyce  (1465-1536),  the  principal  of  King's  College,  Aberdeen. 
His  falsehoods  have  been  compared,  in  a  well-known  epigram, 
to  the  waves  of  the  sea  or  the  stars  for  number.  But  his 
Latinity  was  infinitely  superior  to  Fordun's,  as  was  becoming 
in  a  friend  of  Erasmus,  and  he  has  been  pronounced  by  Irving, 
not  unjustly,  to  be  "the  first  Scottish  Author  who  wrote  in 
the  Latin  language  with  any  considerable  degree  of  elegance."1 
His  Scotorum  Historic,  which  appeared  in  1527,  at  once  became 
an  attractive  object  to  translators  ;  2  but  it  is,  perhaps,  allow- 
able to  award  the  preference  to  his  Lives  of  the  Bishops  of 
Mortlach  and  Aberdeen  3  (1522),  which  displays  his  talents  to 
high  advantage.  His  account  of  the  excellent  Bishop 
Elphinstone  leaves  an  extremely  pleasing  impression  of  his 
literary  powers  and  his  command  of  Latin. 

A  man  of  much  heavier  metal  than  either  Fordun  or  Boece 
was  John  Major,  or  Mair,  who  was  born  near  North  Berwick 
in  1469.  He  received  his  education  at  Cambridge  and  Paris, 
where  he  acquired  an  immense  reputation  as  a  lecturer  at  the 
Montaigu  College.  In  later  years  he  taught  in  the  University 
of  Glasgow,  where  Knox  was  numbered  among  his  pupils, 
and  afterwards  at  St.  Andrews,  where  he  was  appointed  Provost 
of  St.  Salvator's  College  in  1533.  He  died  in  1550. 

To  say  that  Major  was  one  of  the  greatest,  as  he  was 
one  of  the  last,  of  the  Schoolmen,  is  probably  to  damn  him 
in  the  eyes  of  those  to  whom  the  word  "  mediaeval  "  with 
all  its  associations  is  as  a  red  rag  to  a  bull.  George  Buchanan, 
who  had  sat  under  him  in  Paris,  regarded  his  teacher  as  what 
we  should  call  an  "old  fogey,"  hopelessly  out  of  date  and 

1  Lives  ofScotish  Writers,  vol.  i.  p.  I. 

2  Besides  Bellenden's  version  in  prose,  a  Scots  metrical  version  of  it, 
appeared  in  1535  from  the  pen  of  William  Stewart  (ed.  Turnbull,  3  vols., 


3  Bannatyne  Club,  1825  ;  tr.  Moir,  New  Spalding  Club,  1894. 

H 


ii4    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

behind  the  times ;  and  the  epigram  in  which  he  expressed 
this  contempt  for  his  old  master  is  one  of  his  most  celebrated 
compositions.  But,  in  plain  truth,  Major's  case  supplies  a  most 
salutary  and  much-needed  warning  against  drawing  a  hard-and- 
fast  line  between  the  dusk  of  the  Middle  Ages  and  the  splendour 
of  the  Renaissance  ;  between  the  Schoolman  on  the  one  side  as 
the  representative  of  darkness,  and  the  Humanist  on  the  other 
as  the  apostle  of  light.  It  may  safely  be  asserted  that  Major 
has  at  least  as  much  in  common  with  modern  modes  of  thought 
as  Buchanan.  Pedantry  was  no  monopoly  of  the  Scholastic 
way  of  thinking  ;  and  Buchanan  was  every  whit  as  much  the 
slave  of  convention  as  Major.  When  we  turn  to  the  latter's 
Hlstoria  Majoris  Britannia  z  (1521),  we  find  a  writer  who  is 
sceptical  rather  than  confiding;  a  man  of  moderate  and  enligh- 
tened views  ;  and,  essentially,  a  seeker  after  truth.  To  say, 
on  the  other  hand,  that  Buchanan,  the  historian,  is  a  rabid  and 
credulous  partisan  is  to  express  a  fact  in  the  mildest  possible 
manner.  It  is  true  that  Major's  Latin  is  crabbed  and  un- 
inviting. He  wrote,  as  Archbishop  Spottiswoode  says,  in  "  a 
sorbonick  and  barbarous  style,"  yet  (the  quotation  may  be 
pursued)  "very  truly  and  with  a  great  liberty  of  spirit."  Major 
took  broad  and  calm  views  of  matters  of  state,  though  his  history 
was  written  at  a  time  when  faction  ran  high.  He  was  not 
ashamed  or  afraid  to  express  opinions  with  regard  to  the 
relations  between  monarchs  and  their  subjects,  which  are 
decidedly  "  constitutional  "  in  complexion  ;  and  he  was  a  con- 
vinced and  convincing  advocate  of  the  union  of  the  kingdoms  of 
England  and  Scotland.2 

The  earliest  Scottish  vernacular  prose  which  has  come  down 

1  Tr.  and  ed.  Constable  for  the  S.  H.  S.,  1891.  In  addition  to  an 
admirable  introduction  by  the  editor,  this  edition  contains  a  biographical 
sketch  of  Major  by  Mr.  Aeneas  Mackay,  and  a  full  bibliography  by  Mr. 
T.  G.  Law. 

a  For  instances  of  Major's  habitual  fairness  to  England,  see  Constable's 
introduction  ut  sup.,  p.  xxii.  Mr.  Mackay  has  some  excellent  observations 
on  the  relations  between  Buchanan  and  Major  in  his  biography,  p.  Ixxiv. 


EARLY  PROSE  115 

to  us  appears  to  be  contained  in  certain  letters  and  in  the 
Statute-book.  A  collection  of  statutes  is  not  the  place  in 
which  a  sane  man  would  nowadays  hunt  for  models  of  style, 
nor  are  the  early  Scots  Acts  remarkable  for  grace  or  polish. 
Yet  it  must  be  remembered  that  in  the  early  part  of  the 
fifteenth  century  (and  we  can  go  no  further  back  with  any 
certainty)  the  vocabulary  and  diction  of  the  law  had  not 
become  highly  specialised,  and  the  legislator  was  often  able 
to  express  himself  with  a  force  and  a  directness  which  his 
modern  successor,  living  in  a  more  complicated  state  of  society, 
is  unable  to  rival.  The  following  short  specimens  may  help  to 
convey  some  idea  of  what  the  old  statutes  are  like  : — 

Act  1424,  May  26,  c.  25  (i2mo  ed.  c.  24). 

"  It  is  ordained  that  in  all  burrow  townes  of  the  realme  and 
throuchfaires,  quhair  commoun  passages  are,  that  their  be  or- 
dained hostillares  and  receipters,  havand  stables  and  chalmers. 
And  that  men  find  with  them  bread  and  aile,  and  all  uther  fude, 
alsweill  to  horse  as  men,  for  reasonable  price,  after  the  chaipes 
of  the  country." 

Act  1424,  March  12,  c.  24  (i2moed.  c.  45). 

" .  .  .  .  Gif  there  bee  onie  pure  creature,  for  faulte  of 
cunning  or  dispenses,  that  cannot  or  may  not  follow  his  cause, 
the  King  for  the  love  of  God  sail  ordaine  the  judge  before  quhom 
the  cause  suld  be  determined  to  purwey  and  get  a  leill  and  a 
wise-  Advocate  to  follow  sic  pure  creatures  causes  :  And  gif  sik 
causes  be  obteined,  the  wranger  sal  assyith  baith  the  partie 
skaithed  and  the  Advocatis  coastes  and  travel.  And  gif  the 
judge  refusis  to  do  the  law  eavenlie,  as  is  before  said,  the  partie 
compleinand  sail  have  recourse  to  the  King,  quha  sail  see 
rigorouslie  punished  sik  judges,  that  it  sail  be  exemple  till  all 
uthers." 

Act  1449,  c.  6  (i2mo  ed.  c.  18). 

"  It  is  ordained  for  the  safetie  and  favour  of  the  pure  pepil 
that  labouris  the  ground,  that  they  and  all  utheris  that  hes 
takin  or  shall  take  landes  in  time  to  come  fra  lordes  and  hes 
termes  and  zeires  thereof,  that  suppose  tha  lordis  sell  or  annaly 
[alienate]  that  land  or  landes:  the  takers  sail  remaine  with  their 
tackes  [leases]  unto  the  ischew  of  their  termes,  quhais  handes 


ii6    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

that   evir   thay  landes  cum  to,   for    siklike   maill    [rent]   as    they 
tooke  them  for."  * 

A  short  tract  or  pamphlet  called  The  Craft  of  Deyng2  is 
confidently  attributed  by  experts  to  the  fifteenth  century, 
though  its  precise  period  is  not  ascertained. 3  The  little  work 
is  of  a  strongly  moral  cast ;  and,  though  it  may  not  be  of 
surpassing  merit,  some  passages,  like  the  concluding  sentences 
which  we  here  quote,  are  not  without  a  fine  feeling  and 
worthy  expression  of  their  own  : — 

"  He  suld  als  forgyf  al  kynd  of  man,  of  all  actione  hartfully,  and 
ask  forgyvnes  of  God  and  man  ;  For  as  he  forgewys  he  sail  be  for- 
gewyne.  Als  he  suld  mak  satisfactione  of  all  he  has  tane  wrangwsly, 
or  at  he  aw ;  efter  his  poware  suld  he  sell  all  his  gudys,  mouable 
and  unmouable,  and  he  may  haf  laisare  thar-to.  And  quhat  euer  he 
be  that  treuly  kepys  this  informacioune  but  fenzeing,  he  beis  saint. 
At  our  thire  thingis,  ilk  man  in  the  houre  of  ded  suld  do,  efter  his 
poware,  as  Cryst  dyd  one  the  cros  :  fyrst  he  prayd,  and  swa  suld  we  ; 
syne  criyd  efter  help,  and  sua  suld  we,  with  the  hart,  gyf  we  mycht 
nocht  with  the  inoucht ;  and  syne  he  yauld  [yielded]  his  saull  to 


1  I  have  followed  the  comparatively  modernised  spelling  of  the  I2mo, 
for  the  sake  of  greater  intelligibility.     But  unquestionably  some  of  the 
aroma  has  evaporated  in  consequence. 

2  Printed  in   the  E.  E.  T.  S.  ed.   of  Ratis  Raving,    1870,  which   also 
contains  a  summary  of  the  teaching  of  Ecclesiastes,  entitled  The  Wisdom  of 
Solomon. 

3  The  following  may  be  noted  as  among  the  differences  between  the 
Early  and  the  Middle  Scots,  to  which  Dr.  Murray  has  drawn  attention  (see 
Ratis  Raving,  E.  E.  T.  S.,  Introduction,  p.  x.) :    In  the  early  Scots,  the 
simple   vowel,  in  the  Middle  Scots  a  double  vowel,  is  used  to  express 
the  same  sound  ;  e.g.,  mar  becomes  mair,  de  becomes  dey,  her  becomes 
heir,  thole  becomes  thoil.    The  rule  as  to  the  indefinite  article  is  the  same 
in  Early  Scots  as  in  Northern  (and  indeed  modern)  English.     In  Middle 
Scots,  ane  is  invariably  used  before  a  consonant  as  well  as  before  a  vowel. 
At  is  used  for  the  relative  pronoun  in  Early  Scots.     In  Middle  Scots  it  is 
replaced  by  quhilk  and  quhilkis.     (The  use  of  quha  for  the  relative,  says 
Dr.  Murray,   is   unknown   before    1540.)     See   also  on   this  subject  Mr. 
Giegory   Smith's    learned    introduction    to   his   invaluable   Specimens  of 
Middle  Scots,  Edin.,  1902,  where  the  whole  question  of  the  characteristics 
and  origin  of  that  dialect  is  exhaustively  discussed. 


EARLY  PROSE  117 

his  father,  and  sua  suld  we,  gladly  gyfand  hyme,  sayand  thris,  gyf 
he  mycht,  and  gyf  he  mycht  nocht,  sum  uthir  for  hime,  '  In  manus 
tuas  domine,  commendo  spiritum  meum,  domine,  deus  veritatis'  ; 
and  he  suld  resaue  thankfully  the  pane  of  ded,  in  satisfactione  of  all 
his  mysdedis,  as  God  grant  ws  al  to  do,  for  his  mekill  mercy. 
Amen." ' 

But  the  most  important  early  Scots  prose  work  is  that  of  Sir 
Gilbert,  of  the  Haye,2  the  date  of  which  is  1456.  It  consists 
of  a  translation  of  three  works,  contained  in  a  manuscript  in  the 
Abbotsford  collection.  These  three  works  are  the  Arbre  des 
Batailles  of  Honore  Bonet  ;  UOrdre  de  Chevalerie  ;  and  Le 
Governement  des  Princes.  The  translation  of  the  first  has  been 
published  by  the  Scottish  Text  Society  3  under  the  title  of 
The  Buke  of  the  Law  of  Army s,  or  Buke  of  Battaillis^  and,  while 
the  author  wavers  between  the  early  and  middle  stages  of 
his  native  dialect,  and  to  some  extent  its  learned  editor 
finds  that  to  assign  to  the  work  "  a  definite  linguistic  place  " 
is  not  very  easy,  its  length  and  continuity  lend  it  a  singular 
interest.  It  is  unnecessary  to  analyse  the  contents  of  what, 
after  all,  is  but  a  faithful  translation.  It  must  suffice  to  note 
that  it  deals,  as  it  bears  to  do,  with  the  law  of  arms  in  all  its 
branches,  and  that,  though  there  is  at  times  a  great  deal  too 
much  of  hair-splitting  (Part  IV.  is  all  casuistry  from  beginning 
to  end),  there  is  often  perceptible  a  vein  of  sound  good  sense, 
as,  for  example,  in  the  objections  urged  against  trial  by 
battle.  4  The  first  passage  we  present  traces  the  growth  of 
the  administration  of  justice  in  primitive  communities  : — 

"  Bot  fra  the  lignee  of  Adam  multiplyit  in  grete  people,  quhen  ane 
did  ane  othir  injure,  the  fader  aye  did  resoun  and  chastisit  his  sone  ; 
for  it  efferis  to  the  fader  to  chastis  his  barnis  ;  and  to  the  barnis  it 
efferis  to  be  subjectis  and  obeysand  to  the  faderis.  Syne  efter  this, 


1  From  The  Craft  of  Deyng,  E.  E.  T.  S.,  p.  8. 

2  To  Haye  is  also  attributed  a  metrical  translation  from  the  French,  in 
20,000  lines,  called  The  Buik  of  Alexander  the  Conqueror. 

3  Ed.  J.  H.  Stevenson,  Edin.,  1901.  4  Part  iii.  ch.  i. 


ii8    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

the  fader  began  to  be  juge  of  his  awin  sone.  Bot  for  sum  tyme  it 
hapnis  in  erde  that  the  barnis  ar  nocht  of  gude  teching  na  will  nocht 
tak  with  the  doctryne  of  the  faderis,  na  wald  nouther  tak  teching 
na  chastisement  of  the  fader.  And  alssua  sum  faderis  ar  sa  pitous 
and  wayke  spiritit  that  thay  coud  nocht  fynd  in  thair  hertis  to  dyng 
na  chasty  thair  barnis,  quhilk  norist  thair  barnis  ay  the  mare  in 
vicis,  quhen  thai  saw  thai  war  sparit  and  favourit  of  thair  faderis 
that  mycht  nocht  fynd  in  thair  hertis  to  punys  thame  efter  thair 
desertis  as  justice  requiris.  For  few  is  thair  faderis  that,  and  thair 
barne  had  slayn  ane  othir  wyfis  barne,  wald  put  thair  awin  barne  to 
dede  tharefore.  And  be  this  caus,  quhen  the  peple  persavit  that  the 
faderis  wald  do  na  resoun,  na  justice  of  thair  barnis,  na  that  the 
barnis  quhen  thai  come  till  elde  wald  thole  na  correctioun  of  the 
faderis,  resoun  gave  the  folk  in  thair  hertis  to  mak  a  soverane,  the 
quhilk  suld  have  na  pitee  to  do  law  and  resoun,  and  to  justify  every 
man  efter  his  desertis,  and  the  quhilk  had  power  to  do  justice  apon 
bathe  grete  rebellouris  and  misdoaris  as  apon  the  smallis,  and  that 
mycht  sustene  the  fede  of  thame  quhen  he  had  done." ' 

The  second  explains  the  origin  of  war  : — 

"  And  as  langand  the  secounde  questioune,  that  is  to  say,  quhare 
was  bataill  first  f undyn.  To  the  quhilk  question  I  ansuere  thus,  that 
it  was  fundyn  in  hevin.  And  in  this  maner,  first  quhen  the  grete 
God,  fader  of  hevin,  maid  the  angelis,  he  maid  ane  sa  faire  and  sa 
glorious  that  throu  the  grete  beautee  of  him  he  passit  all  the  angelis 
and  other  creaturis  that  evir  God  maid  in  beautee,  and  tharfore  was 
he  callit  Lucifer,  quasi  ferens  lucem  ;  the  quhilk  for  his  grete 
beautee  schynit  sa  before  all  others  under  him  as  dois  a  grete  torch 
be  a  small  littill  candill,  that  the  schyning  of  the  licht  that  come  fra 
him  disteynyeid  all  the  lave  in  clereness  of  schyning  that  thai  semyt 
all  dym  in  the  regarde  of  him.  The  quhilk,  quhen  he  sawe  himself 
sa  faire,  sa  noble,  and  sa  relusand  before  all  the  lave,  he  miskend 
himself,  and  forgett  quha  had  gevin  him  that  grete  beautee  and 
fairnes ;  thocht  in  himself  he  had  na  pere  in  hevyn  bot  God  himself 
it  war,  and  said  that  he  suld  ascend  in  the  hyest  stage  of  hevin,  and 
thare  in  the  north  partis  he  suld  sett  his  sege,  and  suld  be  like  to  the 
hiest  God.  And  with  him  was  consentit  to  hisacorde  grete  nombir. 
And  alsa  sone  as  he  had  maid  this  enterpris  and  his  anerdaris  was 
consentit  and  maid  thame  tharefore,  oure  Lord  God  Almychty 
quhilk  kend  his  thocht,  and  his  purpos,  ordanyt  the  bataill  aganis 


The  Buke  o)  the  Law  of  Annys,  part  ii.  ch.  xviii.     Ed,  S.  T.  S.,  p.  68. 


EARLY  PROSE  119 

him  and  his  complicis,  send  Michael  his  angel  with  sik  a  power  of 
gude  angelis  that  was  nocht  of  thair  partye,  and  gafe  him  bataill 
and  discomfyte  him  and  all  his  anerdancis,  and  gert  thame  wend 
doun  wter  the  waye  till  hell,  quhare  he  is  yit  principale  inymy  till 
all  mankynde,  and  adversare  till  all  thame  that  God  lufis,  as  is 
recountit  be  Sanct  Gregore,  the  haly  doctour,  in  his  buke  of  his 
moralitis.  Quharefore  it  suld  nocht  be  grete  mervaillis  to  se  grete 
weris  and  bataillis  in  this  warld  here,  sen  bataill  was  first  maid 
aganis  God  himself  in  hevin."  ' 

When  we  have  mentioned  the  works  of  John  of  Ireland, 
one  of  which — apparently  an  original  piece  of  hortatory  social 
philosophy — has  descended  to  us,2  we  have  exhausted  the  tale 
of  all  that  is  worth  noticing  in  the  native  prose  of  the 
fifteenth  century.  The  sixteenth,  which  opened  so  brilliantly 
as  regards  poetry,  did  little  or  nothing  in  the  way  of  original 
prose  for  a  good  many  years,  and  the  process  of  adapting  the  ver- 
nacular to  that  form  of  composition  was  carried  on  through  the 
medium  of  translations.  Towards  the  close  of  the  second 
decade  (it  is  believed)  of  the  new  century,  there  was  composed 
by  Murdoch  Nisbet  a  Scots  version  of  Wyclif's  New  Testa- 
ment^ practically  the  only  essay  of  the  sort  which  runs  counter 
to  the  steady  Anglicising  influence  of  the  versions  of  Holy 
Scripture  upon  which  the  Scottish  Reformers  based  their 
teaching.  The  philological  value  of  this  work,  as  may  be 
naturally  supposed,  is  considerable  ;  for  we  are  able  to  set 
clearly  side  by  side  and  compare  the  idiom  and  vocabulary  of 
the  Northern  and  Southern  portions  of  the  island.  The 
differences  which  such  a  comparison  discloses  are  matter  rather 
for  the  expert  than  for  the  general  student,  and  need  not  be 
set  forth  in  detail  ;  4  but  the  following  rendering  of  a 

1  The  Buke  of  the  Law  of  Annys,  part  i.  ch.  ii.     Ed.  S.  T.  S.,  p.  6. 

2  See  Mr.  Stevenson  apnd  Haye,  ut  sup.,  p.  Ivi.     See  also  Mr.  Gregory 
Smith,  Specimens,  ut  sup.,  p.  92. 

3  Ed.  Law,  S.  T.  S.,  1901.     The  MS.  came  through  the  Ayrshire  Lollard 
and   Covenanting   family   of   its  writer  into  the   Auchinleck   collection, 
whence  it  passed  into  the  possession  of  Lord  Amherst  of  Hackney. 

4  They  are  fully  handled  by  Mr.  Law  in  his  ed.  ut  sup.  pp.  xx.  et  seq.t 
and  in  Chambers' s  Cyclopadia  of  Literature,  vol.  i.  p.  213. 


120    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

sufficiently  familiar  passage  may  be  acceptable  as  indicating 
some  of  the  distinctive  features  of  the  Scots  version  : — 

"  And  Zacharie  his  fadere  was  fulfillit  with  the  Haligaast,  and 
propheciet,  and  said,  Blessit  be  the  Lord  God  of  Israel ;  for  he  has 
visitit  and  made  redemptioun  of  his  pepile,  and  he  has  raasit  to  us  a 
horn  of  heill  in  the  hous  of  Dauid  his  childe.  As  he  spak  be  the 
mouthe  of  his  haly  prophetis  that  ware  fra  the  warld  :  Heill  fra  oure 
ennimyis  and  fra  the  hand  of  almen  that  hatit  us  ;  to  do  mercy  with 
oure  fadris,  and  to  have  mynd  of  his  halie  testament ;  in  the  gret 
aath  that  he  suore  to  Abraham  oure  fadere,  to  gefe  himself  to  us,  that 
we  without  dreed,  delyuerit  fra  the  hand  of  oure  ennimyis,  serve  to 
him,  in  halynes  and  richtwisnes  before  him,  in  al  oure  dais.  And 
thou,  child,  salbe  callit  the  prophet  of  the  hieast :  For  thou  sail  ga 
before  the  face  of  the  Lord  to  niak  reddy  his  wayis ;  to  geve 
science  of  heil  to  his  pepile,  into  remissioun  of  thare  synnis,  be  the 
inwartnes  of  the  mercy  of  our  God  ;  in  quhilkis  he,  rysing  up  fra  on 
hie,  has  visitit  us,  to  geve  licht  to  thame  that  sittis  in  mirknessis  and 
in  schadou  of  deid,  to  dresse  our  feet  in  the  way  of  pece."  ' 

John  Bellenden,  or  Ballantyne,  Archdeacon  of  Moray,  who 
was  born  about  1495,  and  who  died  at  some  date  unknown 
between  1550  and  1587,  is  celebrated  for  two  excellent 
translations,  one  of  the  first  five  books  of  Livy2  (1532),  the 
other  of  Boece's  Historia  (1536). 3  He  was  also  something  of 
a  poet,  as  is  testified  by  the  rhymed  Prolong  to  his  Livy,  by  his 
metrical  "  prohemes,"  and  by  a  reference  in  Lyndsay  to — 

"  Ane  cunnyng  Clark  quhilk  wrytith  craftelie 
Ane  plant  of  poetis  callit  Ballendyne, 
Quhose  ornat  workis  my  wit  can  nocht  defyne." 4 

Whatever  the  character  of  his  poetry,  "ornate"  is  not  an 
epithet  properly  applicable  to  Bellenden's  prose,  which  is 
essentially  of  the  straightforward  and  plain-sailing  kind.  He 
and  Pitscottie  (infra  p.  157),  indeed,  may  be  considered  as 

1  Luke  i.  67. 

2  Edin.,  1822  ;  ed.  Craigie,  S.  T.  S.,  vol.  i.,  Edin.,  1901. 

3  Ed.  Maitland,  2  vols.,  Edin.,  1821. 

4  Prologue  to  the  Papyngo,  11.  50-52. 


EARLY  PROSE  121 

typical  exponents  of  classical  Middle  Scots  prose,  which  we 
shall  illustrate  by  preference  from  the  original  writer  and  not 
from  the  translator,  though  it  must  be  observed  that  there  are 
passages  interpolated  in  the  Croniklh  (as  his  rendering  of 
Boece  is  called)  which  raise  Bellenden  to  the  higher  status. 
In  their  capable  hands  it  proves  itself  an  instrument  admirably 
fitted  for  certain  purposes,  but  curiously  inferior  in  tone  and 
compass  to  the  same  language  when  applied  to  poetry. 

Down  to  a  not  far  distant  point  of  time  it  might  have 
been  affirmed  without  hesitation  that  by  far  the  most 
interesting  of  early  original  prose  writings  in  the  Scots 
tongue  was  The  Complaynt  of  Scotland^ I  printed  and  pub- 
lished, apparently  in  Paris,  in  1549.  It  has  now,  however, 
been  ascertained  that  the  attribute  of  originality  can  no 
longer  be  allowed  to  this  work,  which  turns  out  to  be  an 
adaptation,  if  not  a  translation,  from  Le  ®)uadrilogue  Invectif 
of  Alain  Chartier,  while  the  unknown  writer  is  also  indebted 
to  Saint  Gelais,  Bishop  of  Angouleme,  the  author  of  a 
version  of  Ovid's  Epistles.2  This  discovery  no  doubt  detracts 
to  some  extent  from  the  merit  and  value  of  the  piece  ;  yet  The 
Complaynt  presents  so  many  features  of  interest  and  curiosity 
that  it  seems  worth  a  somewhat  detailed  examination.  It 
should  be  premised  that  the  authorship  is  still  involved  in 
obscurity.  It  has  been  attributed,  but  without  any  good 
ground,  to  Sir  James  Inglis,  to  one  of  the  Wedderburns, 
and  to  Sir  David  Lyndsay.  All  that  we  can  be  pretty  sure 
of  is  that  it  was  composed  in  France,  and  that  the  author 
was  a  devoted  supporter  of  the  House  of  Guise,  and  of  the 
French  alliance. 3  Whether  he  was  in  literature  "a  mere 

1  Ed.  Leyden,  1801  ;  ed  Murray,  E.  E.  T.  S.,  1872. 

2  See  W.  A.  Neilson,  in  the  Journal  of  Germanic  Philology,  No.  4  ;  and 
Craigie,   in    the   Modern  Quarterly   of  Language  and  Literature,  April, 
1899,  p.  267. 

3  Certain   finances  of  language  and   spelling  enable   Dr.  Murray  to 
conjecture  with  tolerable  confidence  that  he  was  a  South-country  Scot 
from  the  Border  counties. 


122     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

amateur,"  as  Mr.  Craigie  holds,  we  shall  be  in  a  better 
position  to  determine  presently. 

The  keynote  of  the  style  of  much  of  the  book  is  struck 
with  no  faltering  touch  in  the  dedication  to  the  Queen 
Dowager. 

"  The  immortal  gloir  that  procedis  be  the  rycht  lync  of  vertu,  fra 
your  magnanime  avansing  of  the  public  veil  [weal]  of  the  affligit 
realme  of  Scotland,  is  abundantly  dilatit,  athort  al  cuntreis  ;  throucht 
the  quhilk  the  precius  germe  of  your  nobilite  bringis  nocht  furtht 
alanerly  [only]  branchis  and  tendir  leyvis  of  vertu  ;  but  als  veil  it 
bringis  furtht  salutiferre  and  hoilsum  frute  of  honour,  quhilk  is  ane 
.  immortal  and  supernatural  medicyne,  to  cure  and  to  gar  convallesse 
all  the  langorius,  desolat,  and  affligit  pepil,  quhilkis  ar  al  mast 
disparit  of  mennis  supple  [supply=help],  and  reddy  to  be  venquest 
and  to  be  cum  randrit  in  the  subjection  and  captivite  of  our  mortal 
aid  enemeis,  be  rason  that  ther  cruel  invasions  aperis  to  be 
onremedabil."  ' 

We  are  at  no  loss  to  recognise  the  style.  Here  plainly 
is  "aureate"  and  ornate  prose,  modelled  upon  the  "aureate" 
and  ornate  poetry  of  which  we  have  seen  so  much.  There  is 
here  abundance  of  stuff  (such,  for  example,  as  the  word 
"salutiferre " )  which  would  have  commended  itself  to 
Polonius  as  emphatically  "  good."  And  the  antiquated 
effect  is  kept  up  when  we  find  the  Queen's  "  heroyque 
vertu "  praised  above  that  of  Valeria,  Cloelia,  Lucretia, 
Penelope,  Cornelia,  Semiramis  (not,  if  all  tales  are  true,  an 
exemplar  of  virtue  of  the  «wheroic  stamp),  Thomaris, 
Penthesilea,  "  or  of  ony  uthir  verteouse  lady  that  Plutarque 
or  Bocchas  [Boccacio]  hes  discrivit."  We  may  note 
parenthetically  that  even  at  this  early  stage  the  writer's 
hatred  of  those  "  deceitful  wolves,"  the  English,  is  already 
made  apparent. 

In  the  prologue  to  the  Redar,  which  follows,  he  endeavours 
to  conciliate  the  favour  of  that  patron  by  promising  him  a  very 
different  kind  of  fare  from  that  which  he  has  hitherto  set 

*  Ed.  Murray,  ut  sup,  p.  i. 


EARLY  PROSE  123 

before  him.  Everything  is  to  be  popular  and  easily 
intelligible. 

"  Nou  heir  I  exort  al  philosophouris  historiographouris  and 
oratouris  of  our  Scottis  natione  to  support  and  til  excuse  my  barbir 
agrest  termis  ;  for  I  thocht  it  not  necessair  til  haf  fardit  and  lardit 
this  tracteit  with  exquisite  termis,  quhilkis  ar  nocht  daly  usit,  bot 
rather  I  hef  usit  domestic  Scottis  langage,  maist  intelligibil  for 
the  vlgare  pepil."  * 

The  trick  of  using  long  words,  he  assures  us,  is  simply 
the  result  of  "  fantastiknes  ande  glorius  consaitis."  Yet  he 
owns  that  he  has  been  obliged  here  and  there  to  use  a  Latin 
expression. 

"  Ther  for  it  is  necessair  at  sum  tyme  til  myxt  oure  langage  vitht 
part  of  termis  drewyn  fra  Lateen,  be  rason  that  oure  Scottis  tong  is 
nocht  sa  copeus  as  is  the  Lateen  tong,  and  alse  ther  is  diverse 
purposis  and  propositions  that  occurris  in  the  Lating  tong  that  can 
nocht  be  translaitit  deuly  in  oure  Scottis  langage." 2 

It  will  be  remembered  that,  in  the  prologue  to  his  Aeneid, 
Douglas  gives  a  similar  undertaking,  which  he  carries  out  in  a 
similar  manner.  Nothing  is  more  noticeable  in  The  Complaynt 
than  the  free  use  of  Latinisms  and  more  especially  of  Galli- 
cisms ;  and  the  reader  who  trusted  to  the  assurances  given  in 
the  prologue  would  have  his  confidence  rudely  shattered  when 
he  found,  for  example,  the  Creator  described  as  "  the  supreme 
plasmator  of  havyn  ,and  eird." 

The  first  part  of  The  Complaynt  consists  of  variations  upon 
two  apparently  inexhaustible  themes,  the  mutations  of 
monarchies,  and  the  approaching  end  of  the  world.  These 
topics  are  enlivened  by  no  great  novelty  of  treatment,  and  it 
is  a  relief  when  they  are  put  aside  for  something  else.  The 
author  announces  that,  fatigued  (as  he  well  might  be)  with 
his  previous  exertions,  and  reluctant  to  indulge  in  the  bad 

1  Ed.  Murray,  tit  sup.  p.  16.  2  Ibid.,  p.  17. 


124    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

habit  of  sleeping  at  odd  hours,  which  induces  "  caterris,  hede 
verkis,  and  indegestione,"  he  walked  forth  on  a  summer 
evening  ;  and  he  then  proceeds  to  open  a  long  "  Monolog 
recreative,"  recounting  what  he  saw  in  the  course  of  his  walk, 
of  which  hereafter. 

The  main  thread  of  his  discourse  is  taken  up  again,  when 
the  "  Monolog  "  is  over,  and  we  have  the  inevitable  dream 
of  the  mediaeval  allegorist.  A  lady  with  a  woful  countenance 
and  in  great  distress — no  other,  in  fact,  than  Dame  Scotia — 
appears  to  him,  and  bitterly  reproaches  her  three  sons  (videlicet, 
the  three  Estates)  with  their  undutiful  conduct.  She  surveys 
history  to  prove  the  possibility  of  a  tyrant  being  overthrown, 
and  urges  that  they  should  co-operate  loyally  in  throwing  off 
the  English  yoke,  which  the  battle  of  Pinkie  in  1547  had 
fastened  upon  the  neck  of  the  Scots.  The  English  case 
against  Scottish  independence  is  next  demolished,  with 
historical  illustrations,  and  the  alleged  prophecy  of  Merlin 
demonstrated  to  be  fallacious,  or  at  all  events  susceptible  of  a 
very  different  construction  from  that  favoured  by  the  English. 
The  conclusion  arrived  at  with  respect  to  the  expediency  of  an 
English  alliance  is  set  forth  in  perfectly  unambiguous  terms  :— 

"  There  is  nocht  tua  nations  undir  the  firmament  that  ar  mair 
contrar  and  different  fra  uthirs  nor  is  Inglis  men  and  Scottis  men, 
quhoubeit  that  they  be  vitht  in  ane  ile,  and  nychtbours,  and  of  ane 
langage.  For  Inglis  men  are  subtil,  and  Scottis  men  are  facile. 
Inglis  men  ar  ambitius  in  prosperite,  and  Scottis  men  are  humain 
in  prosperite.  Inglis  men  ar  humil  quhen  thai  ar  subjeckit  be 
forse  and  violence,  and  Scottis  men  ar  furious  quhen  thai  ar 
violently  subjeckit.  Inglis  men  ar  cruel  quhene  thai  get  victorie, 
and  Scottis  men  ar  merciful  quhen  thai  get  victorie.  And  to  con- 
clude, it  is  onpossibil  that  Scottis  men  and  Inglis  men  can  remane  in 
concord  undir  ane  monarch  or  ane  prince,  because  there  naturis 
and  conditions  ar  as  indifferent  as  is  the  nature  of  scheip  and 
volvis."  i 


1  Ed.  Murray,  tit  sup.  p.  106. 


EARLY  PROSE  125 

This  curious  passage  certainly  says  very  little  for  the  unknown 
author's  powers  either  of  observation  or  of  prophecy.  It  is 
probably  unique  in  the  attribution  to  the  Scots  of  "  facility." 
But,  not  to  discuss  his  somewhat  startling  statements  one  by 
one,  we  may  dispose  of  them  by  remarking  that  they  illustrate 
one  of  his  chief  foibles  :  an  untempered  vehemence,  a  con- 
tempt of  moderation,  in  his  hostility  to  the  "  auld  enemy," 
which  by  no  means  conduces  to  effectiveness,  and  which, 
however  creditable  to  the  patriot,  is  scarcely  worthy  of  the 
man  of  letters.1 

The  Complaynt  then  goes  on  to  inveigh  against  the 
treachery  of  many  Scots,  and  all  conspirators  and  traitors  are 
solemnly  warned  of  the  bad  end  in  store  for  them.  Even  the 
princes  whom  they  serve  always  punish  such  persons  in  the 
long  run  ;  and  this  proposition,  too,  is  proved  by  instances 
gathered  from  history.  In  response  to  this  appeal  for  a  closing 
up  of  all  ranks  in  the  community,  Labour,  Scotia's  third, 
and  by  his  own  account  disinherited,  son  makes  a  piteous  com- 
plaint of  his  evil  case.  He  is  truly,  he  declares,  the  eldest  of 
the  brothers.  "  The  pollice  that  vas  inventit  be  me  and  my 
predecessouris  eftir  the  creatione  of  the  varld  hes  procreat 
the  stait  of  my  brethir.  The  faculteis  and  the  begynnyng 
of  nobillis  and  spiritualite  hed  bot  pure  lauboraris  to  there 
predecessouris."  Blue  blood  is  all  nonsense.  "  I  trou  that 
gif  ane  cirurgyen  vald  drau  part  of  there  blude  in  ane  bassyn,  it 
vald  haf  na  bettir  cullour  nor  the  blude  of  ane  plebien  or 
of  ane  mecanik  craftis  man."  In  short,  Labour  goes  through 
the  whole  string  of  democratic  commonplaces,  and  fortifies 
them  by  illustrations  from  ancient  history. 

1  There  is  this  to  be  said  further  for  the  writer,  that  ever  since  the 
affair  of  Solvvay  Moss,  English  intrigue  had  been  exceptionally  busy  in 
Scotland,  and  the  press,  among  other  more  powerful  engines,  had  been 
used  for  what  it  was  worth  to  promote  the  interests  of  England.  Such 
brochures  as  the  Exhortation  to  the  Scottes  (London,  1547)  of  one  James 
Harryson,  a  soi  disant  Scot,  were  little  likely  to  disarm  the  hostility  of 
one  who  justly  suspected  the  dona  Danaorum. 


126    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

His  address,  upon  the  whole,  is  vigorous  and  forcible,  in  spite 
of  this  characteristic  piece  of  pedantry  ;  but  his  mother,  Scotia, 
declines  to  accept  him  or  any  man  as  a  witness  in  his  own 
cause  (wherein,  until  comparatively  recently,  the  Scottish 
tribunals  followed  her  example).  She  furthermore  tells  him 
roundly  of  all  his  faults,  and  these  are  precisely  the  faults  which 
always  have  been  attacked  by  the  holders  of  ^//-democratic 
opinions.  The  distressful  lady  next  turns  her  attention  to  the 
members  of  the  nobility,  with  whom  she  is  equally  plain- 
spoken.  She  reminds  them  that  mere  birth  is  no  title  to 
admiration  or  applause,  and  she  taxes  them  specifically  with 
gross  extravagance  in  their  mode  of  living.  Their  money  all 
goes  in  field-sports  instead  of  in  the  proper  maintenance  of 
their  establishments.  "  Ane  man  is  nocht  reput  for  ane 
gentil  man  in  Scotland  bot  gyf  he  mak  mair  expensis  on  his 
horse  and  his  doggis  nor  he  dois  on  his  vyfe  and  bayrnis." 
Lastly,  Scotia  lectures  the  clergy  on  their  misdeeds,1  and  winds 
up  the  piece  by  exhorting  her  three  sons  to  sink  their 
differences  and  present  a  united  front  to  the  common  enemy. 

We  must  now  revert  to  the  Monologue — decidedly  the 
most  interesting  and  attractive  portion  of  the  whole  work,  but 
probably  an  interpolation  or  afterthought,  and  quite  irrelevant 
to  the  main  argument. 

It  opens,  as  we  have  already  noted,  with  an  account  of  the 
author  sallying  forth  for  a  stroll  on  a  summer  evening.  There 
is  a  highly  pedantic  description  of  a  sunset,  and  from  the 
minute  particulars  stated  as  to  the  position  of  the  setting  orb  in 
the  heavens,  the  author  is  enabled  to  fix  the  day  of  the  month 
— it  is  the  6th  of  June.  Though  the  interlude  starts  with  a 
sunset,  the  night  passes,  and  makes  room  for  the  orthodox 
sunrise.  This  gives  an  opening  for  an  extraordinary  passage,  in 

1  It  has  been  ingeniously  surmised  from  the  manner  of  this  particular 
harangue,  which  certainly  is  mainly  concerned  with  somewhat  vague 
generalities,  that  the  author  of  The  Complaynt  was  himself  a  priest.  There 
is  no  other  evidence  on  the  matter. 


EARLY  PROSE  127 

which  are  enumerated  many  beasts  and  birds  ;  and  the  noises 
which  they  make  are  more  or  less  faithfully  reproduced  by  the 
aid  of  rhyme,  assonance,  and  alliteration. 

"  Nou  to  tel  treutht  of  the  beystis  that  maid  sic  beir,  and  of  the  dyn 
that  the  foulis  did,  ther  syndry  soundis  hed  nothir  temperance  nor 
tune.  For  fyrst  furtht  on  the  fresche  feildis,  the  nolt  maid  noyis 
vitht  mony  loud  lou.  Baytht  horse  &  meyris  did  fast  nee,  and  the 
folis  nechyr.  The  bullis  began  to  bullir,  quhen  the  scheip  began  to 
blait,  be  cause  the  calfis  began  tyl  mo,  quhen  the  doggis  berkit. 
Than  the  suyne  began  to  quhryne  quhen  thai  herd  the  asse  rair 
quhilk  gart  the  hennis  kekkyl  quhen  the  cokis  creu.  The  chekyns 
began  to  peu  quhen  the  gled  quhissillit.  The  fox  follouit  the  fed 
geise,  and  gart  them  cry  claik.  The  gayslingis  cryit  quhilk,  quhilk, 
and  the  dukis  cryit  quaik.  The  ropeen  of  the  rauynis  gart  the 
crans  crope,  the  huddit  crauis  cryit  varrok,  varrok,  quhen  the  suannis 
murnit,  because  the  gray  goul  mau  pronosticat  ane  storme.  The 
turtil  began  for  to  greit,  quhen  the  cuschet  youlit.  The  titlene 
follouit  the  goilk,  ande  gart  hyr  sing  guk,  guk.  The  dou  croutit  hyr 
sad  sang  that  soundit  lyik  sorrou.  Robeen  and  the  litil  vran  var 
lamely  in  vyntir.  The  iargolyne  of  the  suallou  gart  the  iay  iangil. 
Than  the  maueis  maid  myrtht,  for  to  mok  the  merle.  The  lauerok 
laid  melody  up  hie  in  the  skyis.  The  nychtingal  al  the  nycht  sang 
sueit  notis.  The  tuechitis  cryit  theuis  nek,  quhen  the  piettis  clattrit. ' 
The  garruling  of  the  stirlene  gart  the  sparrou  cheip.  The  lyntquhit 
ing  cuntirpoint  quhen  the  osyil  yelpit.  The  grene  serene  sang 
sueit,  quhen  the  gold  spynk  chantit.  The  rede  schank  cryit  my  f  ut 
ly  fut,  and  the  oxee  cryit  tueit.  The  herrons  gaif  ane  vyild  skrech 
the  kyl  had  bene  in  fyir,  quhilk  gart  the  quhapis  for  fleyitnes  fle 
far  fra  hame." ' 

"he  scene  next  changes  to  the  sea-side,  where  we  catch  sight 
of  a  galliass,  and  see  her  sailors  at  work,  and  hear  their 
peculiar  cries,  which  as  rendered  are  now  mainly  unintelligible. 
A  spirited  sea-fight  follows,  and  here  again  every  artifice  from 
alliteration  to  onomatopoeia  is  employed  to  give  vivacity  and 
vraisemblance  to  the  picture. 

From  the  shore,  the  author  turns  his  steps  inland,  and  falls  in 
with  a  company  of  shepherds  engaged  in  eating  their  breakfast. 

1  The  Complaynt  of  Scotland,  ed.  Murray,  p.  38. 


128    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

This  rustic  scene  is  charmingly  described,  but  unluckily  the 
chief  shepherd  has  at  least  one  fault  characteristic  of  a 
more  sophisticated  class  of  society,  and,  in  effect,  proves  to 
be  extremely  long-winded.  He  begins  his  discourse  by 
expatiating  on  the  advantages  of  a  pastoral  existence,  and 
brings  forward  the  well-known  instances  of  Amphion,  King 
David,  Apollo,  Cincinnatus,  Cato,  and  others,  to  bear  out  his 
contention.  He  dwells  upon  the  corruption  of  towns  with  an 
unction  which  a  Haller,  a  Mirabeau,  or  a  Jean-Jacques,  could 
scarcely  surpass,  and  then  enters  upon  a  prolonged  exposition  of 
the  principles  of  astronomy  and  natural  philosophy,  which,  he 
observes,  were  "  first  prettickit  and  doctrinet  be  us  that  ar 
scheiphirdis." 

But  all  things  come  to  an  end,  and  even  the  shepherd  is,  at 
length,  pulled  up  by  an  unsympathetic  and  unappreciative  wife. 

"  My  veil  belouit  hisband,"  says  she,  with  true  connubial  candour,  "  I 
pray  the  to  decist  fra  that  tideus  melancolic  orison,  quhilk  surpassis 
thy  ingyne,  be  rason  that  it  is  nocht  thy  facultee  to  disput  in  ane 
profund  mater,  the  quhilk  thy  capacite  can  nocht  comprehend. 
Ther  for,  I  thynk  it  best  that  ve  recreat  our  selfis  vytht  joyus 
comonying  quhil  on  to  the  tyme  that  ve  return  to  the  scheip  fald  vith 
our  flokkis.  And  to  begyn  sic  recreatione,  I  thynk  it  best  that  euyrie 
ane  of  us  tel  ane  gude  tayl  or  fabil  to  pas  the  tyme  quhil  ewyn."1 

It  is  not  surprising  that  this  proposal  is  carried  nem.  con.  by  the 
assembled  shepherds,  with  their  wives  and  servants.  The  tales 
they  told,  the  songs  they  sang,  and  the  dances  they  danced  are 
duly  catalogued,  and  these  lists  (which  will  be  found  infra^ 
p.  22 1 )  are  of  high  value  from  the  point  of  view  of  the 
student  of  folk-lore  and  of  folk-song.  All  the  performers, 
of  course,  acquit  themselves  superlatively  well.  "  The  foure 
marmadyns  that  sang  quhen  Thetis  vas  mareit  on  month 
Pillion,  sang  nocht  as  sueit  as  did  thir  scheiphyrdis,"  who 
surpassed  them  "in  melodius  music,  in  gude  accorddis  and 
reportis  of  dyapason,  prolations,  and  dyatesseron  "  ;  while,  as 

1  Ed.  Murray,  p.  62. 


EARLY  PROSE 


129 


for  the  dancing,  the  shepherds  kept  more  "  geomatrial 
measure  "  than  Euripides,  Juvenal,  Perseus,  Horace,  or  any  of 
the  satiric  poets  ever  did.  These  diversions  at  an  end,  the 
shepherds  go  home,  and  their  sheep  with  them. 

This  leaves  the  author  free  to  enter  a  meadow.  Now, 
where  you  have  a  meadow,  you  have  flowers  and  herbs,  and 
where  you  have  flowers  and  herbs,  you  must  make  a  catalogue 
of  them.  This  catalogue  is  duly  presented  to  us  ;  after 
which,  the  author  falls  into  the  slumber  during  which  he 
beholds  the  vision  that  leads  to  the  original  purpose  of  the 
work  being  resumed. 

Such,  then,  is  The  Complaynt,  and  such  the  "  Monolog 
recreative "  :  a  truly  extraordinary  blend  of  sense  and 
nonsense,  of  humour  and  pedantry,  of  fancy  and  fatuity,  of 
adherence  to  a  dying  convention  and  the  ambition  to  strike  out 
a  new  one.  It  would  be  a  simpler  matter  to  pronounce  a 
definite  judgment  upon  the  author  if  we  were  able  to  trace  with 
:ertainty  the  literary  pedigree  of  the  "  Monolog."  Throughout 
it  suggests  the  suspicion  that  it  was  borrowed,  but  whence,  no 
one  can  tell  or,  at  least,  has  yet  told  ;  and  while  we  may 
legitimately  guess  that  the  writer  had  read  his  Rabelais,  it  may 
frankly  be  owned  that,  if  the  dates  only  permitted,  we  should 
be  even  more  confident  that  he  had  read  his  Urquhart. 
Meanwhile,  thus  much  perhaps  we  may  venture  to  say  that  he 
was  a  literary  adventurer  rather  than  a  literary  amateur. 
Untouched,  apparently,  by  humanism,  and  clinging  tenaciously 
in  many  places  to  the  old  traditions  sanctioned  by  the  Scots 
"  makaris,"  he  was  bold  enough  to  try  new  experiments  in 
prose,  and  to  endeavour  to  produce  effects  hitherto  unattempted 
in  that  backward  medium.  These  effects  may  not  have  been 
always  successful  or  even  legitimate,  and  the  influence  of  The 
Complaynt  upon  subsequent  Scots  prose  is  to  all  intents  and 
purposes  imperceptible  ;  but  its  author  deserves  the  full  mead 
of  applause  due  to  all  enterprising  pioneers  in  an  interesting 
cause. 

I 


130    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

We  now  approach  the  consideration  of  what,  for  convenience' 
sake,  may  be  comprehensively  termed  the  prose  literature  of 
the  Reformation.  We  have  already  seen  how  the  poets  had 
been  preparing  the  way,  by  their  attacks  upon  the  clergy  and 
the  Church,  for  the  advent  of  a  change  of  faith,  and  how  a 
translation  of  the  New  Testament  had  been  made  by  a 
Scotsman  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  sixteenth  century.  It  was 
not,  however,  until  1533  that  the  earliest  exposition  of  the 
reformed  doctrine  in  the  Scots  tongue  was  published,  and  of 
that  only  a  few  copies  apparently  got  into  circulation.  The 
work  in  question  was  The  Richt  Vay  to  the  Kingdom  of  Heuine  J- 
and  its  author  was  John  Gau  or  Gall  (149  ?— 1553),  an  alumnus 
of  St.  Andrews,  who  was  obliged  to  quit  the  country  for  his 
profession  of  the  new  heretical  opinions.  He  found  a  refuge  at 
Malmo,  in  that  part  of  Sweden  which  still  remained  subject 
to  the  Danish  monarchy,  and  there  he  produced  the  book  just 
mentioned,  which  is  a  more  or  less  faithful  translation  of  a 
Danish  tractate  by  Christiern  Pedersen,  itself  a  version  from  the 
German.  It  consists  of  a  commentary  upon  the  Command- 
ments, the  Apostles'  Creed,  and  the  Pater  Noster,  which  Gau 
considers  to  be  the  three  essential  documents  for  the  believing 
Christian,  and,  whatever  may  have  been  the  case  with  some  of 
the  later  Reformers,  there  is  no  suggestion  of  Anglicising 
about  the  style  in  which  it  is  written.  Here,  for  instance,  is 
Gau's  rendering  of  the  Creed  : — 

"  I  trou  in  God  fader  almichtine,  maker  of  heuine  and  zeird,  and 
in  Jesu  Christ  his  sone  our  onlie  Lord,  the  quhilk  vesz  consawit  of 
the  halic  Spreit  and  born  of  Maria  virgine,  he  sufert  onder  Poncio 
Pilat  to  be  crucifeit  to  de  and  to  be  zeirdit ;  he  descendit  to  the 
hel,  and  raisz  fra  deid  the  thrid  day  ;  he  ascendit  to  the  heuine,  and 
sittis  at  almichtine  God  the  fader's  richt  hand  ;  he  is  to  cum  agane 
to  juge  quyk  and  deid  ;  I  trou  in  the  halie  spreit;  I  trow  that  thair 
is  one  halie  chrissine  kirk  and  ane  communione  of  sanctis ;  I  trou 
forgiffine  of  sinis ;  I  trou  the  resurrectionc  of  ye  flescli  ;  I  trou  the 
euerlastand  liff." 

»  Ed,  Mitchell,  S.  T.  S.,  Edin.,  1888, 


THE  PROSE   OF   THE  REFORMATION    131 

Gau's  is  an  interesting  work  both  from  a  theological  and 
from  a  literary  point  of  view  ;  but  it  argues  no  undue 
predilection  for  the  unreformed  faith  to  hold  that  the  so-called 
Catechism*  (1552)  of  Archbishop  Hamilton  is  even  more  so. 
John  Hamilton  ( 1512-71),  who  succeeded  David  Beaton  in  the 
Archbishopric  of  St.  Andrews,  was  among  the  ablest  and  most 
respectable  of  the  supporters  of  the  old  order  in  Church  and  State, 
for  the  cause  of  which,  indeed,  he  perished  on  the  scaffold.  He 
published  his  Catechism  at  a  time  when,  though  the  Romanist 
party  still  had  the  upper  hand  de  facto,  the  teaching  of  the 
reformers  was  beginning  to  make  considerable  way  among  the 
people  of  Scotland.  In  arrangement  and  contents,  it  follows 
Gau's  volume  tolerably  closely,  expounding,  first  of  all,  the 
Commandments,  next  the  Creed,  next  the  Sacraments,  and, 
finally,  Prayer,  including  the  Lord's  Prayer.  It  was  designed, 
however,  not  for  the  use  of  the  laity,  but  for  that  of  the  parish 
priests,  who  were  directed  to  read  it  to  their  congregations  from 
the  pulpit  in  sermon  time,  and  to  peruse  it  beforehand,  in  order 
that  they  might  do  justice  to  it — a  command  which  the  degree 
of  education  to  which  the  rank  and  file  of  the  clergy  had 
ittained  rendered  by  no  means  superfluous.  Its  tone  is 
throughout  persuasive  rather  than  sharply  controversial, 
practical  rather  than  dogmatic ;  and  Mr.  Law's  inference 
cannot  be  gainsaid  that  those  responsible  for  its  promulga- 
tion "  were  conscious  that  the  primary  evils  with  which 
they  had  to  contend  were  ignorance,  religious  indiffer- 
ence, and  a  contempt  for  the  priestly  offices,  rather  than 
positive  false  doctrine."  But  it  cannot  fairly  be  said  to  be 
indefinite  or  "  wobbling  "  in  its  purport.  Its  teaching  appears 
to  be  firmly  and  unmistakably  that  of  anti-tridentine  Rome, 
albeit  there  is  absolute  silence  about  the  prerogatives  of  the 
Pope  ;  and  nothing  in  its  tenour  or  language  countenances  the 
speculation  that  a  via  media  might  possibly  have  been  found  for 
Scotland  between  Geneva  at  the  one  extreme  and  Rome  at  the 
1  Ed.  Law.  Oxford,  1884. 


132     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

other.  The  diction  and  vocabulary  are  good  Middle  Scots,  and 
the  translations  into  the  vernacular  of  the  texts  from  the  Vul- 
gate which  the  compiler  quotes  in  support  of  his  contentions, 
are  vigorous  and  racy.  We  forbear  to  give  a  specimen  of  its 
direct  theological  exposition,  but  rather  submit  the  fine  passage 
with  which  the  Catechism  concludes  : — 

"  In  the  end  of  this  buke,  first  we  desyre  yow  Vicaris  and 
Curattis,  quhilk  ar  to  reid  the  samyn  to  your  parochionaris,  that  afore 
ye  begyn  to  reid  it  at  ony  tyme,  first  advert  weil  and  tak  tent  to  the 
correctioun  of  certane  faultis  colleckit  and  put  in  the  end  of  this 
buke,  to  that  effect  that  ye  kennand  the  faultis  and  how  thai  suld  be 
amendit,  may  the  bettir  reid  the  samyn  buke  to  the  edificatioun  of 
the  people,  for  thair  is  na  buke  sa  perfitly  prentit,  bot  sum  faultis  dois 
eschaip  in  the  prenting  thairof . 

"Secundly,  we  exhort  yow  all  that  ar  Personis  of  kirkis,  quhilk  hes 
ressavit  apon  yow  the  cure  of  saulis,  quhat  degree  or  name  saevir  ye 
have,  that  ye  wald  apply  your  diligens  to  do  your  office,  that  is  to 
say,,  to  preche  and  teche  syncerly  the  evangil  of  God  to  your 
parochionaris  according  as  ye  ar  oblissit  to  do  be  the  law  of  God  and 
haly  kirk.  And  trow  nocht  that  this  buke  sal  discharge  yow  afore 
God  fra  executioun  of  your  forsaid  office,  for  trewly  it  is  nocht  set 
out  to  that  intentioun  nother  to  geve  to  yow  ony  baldnes  or  occasiotm 
of  negligence  and  idilnes.  Heirfor  for  the  tender  mercy  of  God, 
and  for  the  lufe  that  ye  have  or  suld  have  to  the  bitter  passioun  of 
Christ  Jesu  our  salviour,  quhais  spiritual  flock  bocht  with  his  awin 
precious  blud  ye  have  takin  to  keip  and  feid,  that  ye  failye  nocht  to 
do  your  office,  ilk  ane  of  yow  to  your  awin  parochionaris,  seand  that 
thai  pay  to  yow  thair  dewtie  sufficiently.  Consider  weil  and  dout 
nocht  bot  that  ye  ar  als  mekil  bund  to  thame  as  thai  ar  bund  to  yow. 
This  do,  as  ye  will  eschaip  the  terribil  vengeance  of  God's  judge- 
ment quhilk  he  schoris  [threatens]  to  cum  apon  yow  in  the  thrid 
cheptour  of  Ezeckiel,  sayand  :  Sanguinem  autem  ejus  de  manu  tua 
requiram,  I  sail  (sais  our  eternal  judge)  require  out  of  thi  handis  the 
blud  of  him  that  perissis  throw  thi  negligens.  And  gif  ye  be  wise, 
lat  nevir  the  weichty  word  of  sanct  Paule  gang  out  of  your  remem- 
brans,  quhilk  is  writtin  in  the  last  cheptour  to  the  Hcbrewis  :  Ipsi 
enim  pervigilant,  quasi  rationcm  pro  animabus  vestris  reddituri.  Thai 
that  ar  gud  pastouris  watchis  perfitely,  as  men  that  ar  to  geve  ane 
accompt  to  God  for  your  saulis. 

"  Thridly,  O  christin  pepil,  we  exhort  yow  with  all  diligence,  heir, 
understand,  and  keip  in  your  remembrance,  the  haly  wordis  of  God, 


THE  PROSE   OF   THE  REFORMATION    133 

quhilk  in  this  present  Catechisme  ar  trewly  and  catholykly  exponit 
to  your  spiritual  edification.  And  albeit  al  thingis  be  nocht  sa  fullily 
and  perfidy  comprehendit  heirin  to  your  understanding  as  ye  wald 
require,  we  exhort  yow  in  Christ  (for  quhais  honour  and  your  profite 
only  this  buke  is  set  out  be  your  pastouris),  that  ye  will  ressave  and 
take  the  samyn  in  the  best  part,  and  wey  the  gud  myndis  and  willis 
of  thame  that  wald  have  had  the  same  bettir,  baith  compilit, 
correckit,  and  prentit,  to  your  saule  helth,  gif  the  tyme  mycht  have 
tholit  it.  And  gif  ye  persaif  be  frequent  heiring  heirof,  your  self 
spiritually  instruckit  mair  than  ye  have  bein  in  tymes  bygane,  geve 
the  thankis  thairof  only  to  God,  the  father,  the  sonne,  and  the  haly 
spreit,  to  quhom  be  gevin  all  honour  and  glore,  louing  and  praise  for 
now  and  evir.  Amen."  ' 

Passing  by  with  the  mere  mention  of  its  name,  a  treatise  on 
Justification  by  Faith  (1548),  from  the  pen  of  Henry  Balnaves 
(i  502-70),  we  arrive  at  a  man,  who,  whatever  his  distinction  and 
rank  may  be  as  a  man  of  letters,  occupies  the  foremost  place  in 
the  memory  of  all  his  countrymen,  and  in  the  regard  of  many, 
if  not  most,  as  a  politician  and  a  divine.  John  Knox 2  was 
born  in  the  vicinity  of  Haddington — a  stronghold  of  the  ancient 
church — in  1505.  He  was  educated  at  the  burgh  school  of 
that  town,  and  at  the  University  of  Glasgow.  There  he  had 
a  year  of  John  Major's  teaching,  which  left  an  indelible  mark 
on  his  intellect.  His  methods  of  reasoning  and  argument  were 
thenceforward  typically  scholastic,  and  in  his  treatment  of 
theology,  as  Mr.  Hume  Brown  well  says,3  he  was  ever 
"  essentially  a  schoolman."  After  his  departure  from  the 
University,  his  career  is  for  a  time  somewhat  obscure,  but  we 
know  that  he  was  in  priest's  orders,  and  that  he  held  the  office 
of  Apostolical  Notary  in  the  diocese  of  St.  Andrews.  It  is  in 
that  venerable  city  that  he  once  more  reappears  to  our  view, 
joining  the  band  of  pious  reformers  who,  after  making  short 
work  of  Cardinal  Beaton,  had  retained  possession  of  the  Castle. 

1  From  Archbishop  Hamilton's  Catechism,  ed.  Law,  p.  289. 

2  Works,  ed.  Laing,  6  vols.,  1846-64  ;  Life,  by   M'Crie,  1812,  5th  ed. 
2  vols.,  1831  ;  by  Hume  Brown,  2  vols.,  1895. 

3  Op.  cit.  i.  p.  27. 


134    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

When  the  Castle  surrendered  in  1547,  Knox  was  handed  over 
to  the  French,  who  dispatched  him  to  the  galleys,  whence  he 
was  released  two  years  later,  on  the  application  of  the  English 
Government.  The  period  from  1549  to  1553  he  spent  in 
England,  in  the  ministry  of  the  now  reformed  Church, 
returning  a  genuine  nolo  episcopari  to  the  offer  of  a  bishopric 
from  King  Edward  VI.  After  the  accession  of  Mary  in  1553, 
he  crossed  the  Channel,  and  spent  the  whole  of  the  next  five 
years  (with  the  exception  of  a  flying  visit  paid  to  Scotland  in 
I555)  on  tne  Continent,  chiefly  at  Frankfort  and  Geneva, 
busily  engaged  in  the  affairs  of  the  Reformed  Churches,  and  in 
close  contact  with  the  master-mind  of  Calvin. 

Meanwhile,  affairs  had  been  ripening  in  Scotland.  The 
celebrated  riot  of  St.  Giles's  Day  took  place  in  Edinburgh 
in  1558,  and  the  "rascal  multitude"  had  begun  the  congenial 
work  of  destruction  at  Perth.  Knox  returned  home,  and  the 
cause  of  the  Reformation  progressed  exceedingly,  the  "  plan  of 
campaign  "  to  be  pursued  by  the  Reformers  being  determined 
at  post-coenal  gatherings,  when  the  policy  of  "  thorough " 
generally  seems  attractive.  So  mightily  did  the  work  prosper, 
such  success  attended  the  propaganda  of  liberty  of  thought  and 
revolt  from  authority,  that  after  1560,  "the  Papistes  war  so 
confounded  that  none  within  the  Realme  durst  more  avow  the 
hearing  or  saying  of  messe,  than  the  theavis  of  Lyddesdail  durst 
avow  thair  stowth  in  presence  of  ane  upright  judge."1  But 
when  the  victory  seemed  to  be  won,  everything  was  spoilt  by 
the  arrival  of  the  Queen  in  her  dominions  and  the  wavering  ot 
the  weak-kneed  Protestants,  who  innocently  asked,  "  Why  may 
not  the  Queyn  have  hir  ain  messe  ?  "  The  battle  had  to  be 
fought  all  over  again, and  thus  the  remainder  of  Knox's  life,  which 
terminated  in  1572,  was  spent  in  a  round  of  contention,  which 
not  even  the  murder  of  Darnley  and  its  consequences  could 
convert  into  overwhelming  triumph.  For  the  rapacity  and 
selfishness  of  the  nobility  there  is  little  excuse  to  be  offered. 

1  Knox,  Works,  ii.  p.  265. 


THE  PROSE   OF   THE  REFORMATION    135 

No  one  can  help  regretting,  for  one  thing,  that  Knox's  high 
ideals  of  education  were  but  imperfectly  realised,  owing  to  the 
diversion  of  Church  property  into  illegitimate  channels.  But 
this  at  all  events  may  be  said,  that  the  occurrences  of  the  troubled 
period  between  1567  and  1580,  however  deplorable  from  some 
points  of  view,  secured  the  escape  of  Scotland  from  the 
imminence  of  an  ecclesiastical  tyranny  compared  with  which 
the  yoke  of  Rome  had  been  almost  beneficent,  and  which  not 
the  most  strenuous  efforts  of  later  reformers  could  succeed  in 
imposing  outright  upon  a  sullen  and  independent  people.  Had 
the  Reformed  Church  contrived  to  retain  all  the  wealth  of  the 
Un-reformed,  it  is  appalling  to  think  what  the  subsequent 
history  of  the  country  might  have  been. 

For  many  years  of  his  life,  Knox's  pen  was  busily  employed. 
He  plunged  eagerly  into  the  political  and  religious  controversies 
of  his  time,  and  he  was  a  diligent  letter-writer,  having  a  great 
gift  for  administering  spiritual  advice  and  consolation  to  the 
weaker  sex  through  the  medium  of  correspondence.  Two  ot 
his  political  or  ecclesiastico-political  performances  were  less  well- 
timed  than  well-intentioned.  The  Faythful  admonition  unto 
the  professours  of  Godis  truthe  in  England  (1554),  a  violent  attack 
upon  the  Queen  of  that  country,  written  at  Dieppe,  not  only 
procured  the  subsequent  banishment  of  its  author  from  Frank- 
fort, but,  struck  consternation  into  the  hearts  of  the  English 
reformers,  and  was  more  responsible  than  anything  else  for 
kindling  "  the  fires  of  Smithfield."  The  effect  of  the  famous 
First  Blast  of  the  Trumpet  against  the  monstruous  Regiment  of 
Women  (1558)  must  have  seemed  even  more  disastrous  from 
Knox's  point  of  view.  It  completely  alienated  from  him  the 
sympathy  of  Elizabeth,  who  succeeded  to  her  sister  shortly  after 
its  publication,  and  made  it  certain  that  Knox  would  have  no 
hand  in  finishing  off  and  consolidating  the  work  of  the  Refor- 
mation in  England.  But  tact  has  never  been  claimed  even  by 
Knox's  most  ardent  worshippers  for  his  strong  point  ;  nay, 
they  have  rather  been  disposed  to  glory  in  his  want  of  it.  His 


136    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

principal  remaining  works  include  A  Godly  Letter  of  Warning 
(1554),  addressed  to  the  English  Protestants,  an  dppelation  to 
the  Nobility  and  Estates  of  Scotland  (1558)  and  A  Letter  to  the 
Commonalty  of  Scotland  (1559),  a  long  pamphlet  or  treatise 
(rather)  on  Predestination  (1560),  and  last,  but  most  assuredly 
not  least,  The  History  of  the  Reformatioun  of  Religioun  within 
the  Realme  of  Scotland  (circ.  I  566-67). x 

Though  it  is  a  simple  enough  matter  to  talk  platitudes  about 
taking  into  account  the  spirit  of  Knox's  age,  and  remembering 
that  he  was  intellectually,  morally,  and  logically  no  worse  than 
his  neighbours,  it  is  in  truth  by  no  means  easy  to  avoid  applying 
to  him,  I  do  not  say  the  standards  familiar  to  modern  habits  of 
thought,  but,  the  standards  of  reason  and  common-sense  as 
they  have  existed  in  every  age.  It  is  merely  impossible  to 
avoid  recognising  that  in  his  first  "  reasoning  "  with  his  sove- 
reign, of  which  he  gives  us  so  graphic  a  report,  that  unhappy 
lady  secured  a  complete  dialectical  victory.  She  said  no  more 
than  the  truth  when  she  pointed  out  that  the  necessary  result 
of  Knox's  theory  of  government  was  that  her  subjects  were 
bound  to  obey  him  and  not  her  ;  and  she  dealt  even  more  con- 
clusively with  his  claim  to  have  the  authority  of  the  Bible  at 
his  back.  "  Ye  interprete  the  Scriptures  in  one  maner,  and 
thei  [the  Pope  and  his  Cardinals]  in  ane  other  :  Whom  shall  I 
beleve  ?  And  who  shalbe  judge?"  There  is  the  whole 
difficulty  in  a  nutshell.  No  wonder  Knox  was  persuaded 
that  she  had  in  her  "a  proud  mynd,  a  crafty  witt,  and  ane 
indurat  hearte  against  God  and  his  treuth."  -  Small,  indeed, 
except  to  a  fanatical  enthusiast,  can  have  been  the  consolation 
of  reducing  his  opponent  to  tears,  at  a  subsequent  interview,  so 
that  Marnock,  her  page,  or  "  chalmerboy,"  could  scarcely  "  get 

1  Not  published  until  1644,  and  then  with  a  far  from  accurate  text,  ed. 
David  Buchanan.     It  will,  of  course,  be  found  in  Laing's  ed.  of  Knox,  ut 
sup.     An  abridged  edition,  with  modernised  spelling,  ed.  C.  J.  Guthrie,  was 
published  in  1898.     Knox  was  also  pars  maxima  in  drawing  up  the  remark- 
able Confession  of  Faith  and  Book  of  Discipline  of  1560,  re-enacted  1567. 

2  Works,  vol.  ii.  p.  286. 


THE  PROSE   OF   THE   REFORMATION     137 

neapkynes  to  hold  hyr  eyes  drye;  and  the  owling,  besydes 
womanlie  weaping,  stayed  hir  speiche.  "  J 

Similarly,  it  is  impossible  to  take  the  First  Blast 2  as  a 
serious  piece  of  argument.  Can  we  for  a  moment  imagine 
a  mind  like  Shakespeare's  assenting  to  anything  like  it  ?  The 
thesis  of  that  tract  is,  that  "  to  promote  a  woman  to  beare 
rule,  superioritie,  dominion,  or  empire  above  any  realme, 
nation,  or  citie,  is  repugnant  to  nature,  contumelie  to  God, 
a  thing  most  contrarious  to  his  reveled  will  and  approved 
ordinance,  and  finallie  it  is  the  subversion  of  good  order,  of 
all  equitie  and  justice."  This  may  be  true  or  it  may  be 
false  ;  but  it  is  obviously  a  generalisation  suggested  to  Knox 
by  two  particular  instances  :  Mary  of  England  and  Mary 
of  Lorraine.  Never,  as  it  turned  out,  was  there  a  more 
shortsighted  or  unlucky  stroke  of  general  -  proposition- 
making  ;  and  we  may  be  confident  that  had  the  two  Marys 
been  well-disposed  to  God's  saints — to  wit,  the  Reformers — 
it  would  never  have  occurred  to  Knox  that  female  rule  was 
"contrarious  to  God's  reveled  will."  And  if  his  main  con- 
tention wears  all  the  appearance  of  being  invented  to  suit 
the  occasion,  the  proofs  with  which  he  bolsters  it  up  do 
little  to  give  it  even  plausibility.  He  runs  through  what 
he  conceives  to  be  the  teaching  of  the  Bible  on  the  subject  ; 
circumvents  rather  lamely  the  awkward  instances  of  Deborah 
and  Judith  ;  cites  copiously  from  the  Fathers  of  the  Church  ; 
and,  in  short,  treats  his  subject  in  much  the  same  manner  that 
a  mediaeval  didactic  poet  employs  to  demonstrate  the  mutability 
of  fortune  or  the  liability  of  pride  to  a  fall. 

It  is  more,  then,  for  the  sake  of  the  form  than  or  the 
matter  that  I  here  present  two  short  extracts,  the  latter  of 
which  has  the  merit  of  illustrating  the  unbounded  license 

1  Works,  vol.  ii.  p.  387. 

2  There  is  a  convenient  edition,  ed.  Arber,  1880.     See  Mr.  R.  L.  Steven- 
son's Essay  on  John  Knox  and  his  Relations  to   Women,  in   Familiar 
Studies,  1882. 


138     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

which    he   allowed    himself    in    attacking    those    whom    he 
regarded  as  God's  enemies  no  less  than  his  own  :— 

"In  the  natural  body  of  man,  God  hath  apointed  an  ordre, 
that  the  head  shall  occupie  the  uppermost  place.  And  the  head 
hath  he  joyned  with  the  bodie,  that  frome  it  doth  life  and  motion 
flowe  to  the  rest  of  the  membres.  In  it  hath  he  placed  the  eye 
to  see,  the  eare  to  hear,  and  the  tonge  to  speak,  which  offices  are 
apointed  to  none  other  membre  of  the  bodie.  The  rest  of  the 
membres  have  every  one  their  own  place  and  office  apointed :  but 
none  may  have  nether  the  place  nor  office  of  the  heade.  For  who 
wolde  not  judge  that  bodie  to  be  a  monstre  where  there  was  no 
head  eminent  above  the  rest,  but  that  the  eyes  were  in  the  handes, 
the  tonge  and  mouth  beneth  the  belie,  and  the  cares  in  the  feet  ? 
Men,  I  say,  shulde  not  onlie  pronounce  this  bodie  to  be  a  monstre  : 
but  assuredlie  they  might  conclude  that  such  a  bodie  coulde  not 
long  indure.  And  no  lesse  monstruous  is  the  bodie  of  that  common 
welth  where  a  woman  beareth  empire.  For  ether  doth  it  lack 
a  laufull  heade  (as  in  very  dede  it  doth)  or  els  there  is  an  idol 
exalted  in  the  place  of  the  true  head.  An  idol  I  call  that  which 
hath  the  forme  and  apparance,  but  lacketh  the  vertue  and  strength, 
which  the  name  and  proportion  do  resemble  and  promise.  As 
images  have  face,  nose,  eyes,  mouth,  handes,  and  feet  painted,  but 
the  use  of  the  same  can  not  the  craft  and  art  of  man  geve  them  : 
as  the  Holy  Ghost  by  the  mouth  of  David  teacheth  us  saying  :  They 
have  eyes,  but  they  see  not,  mouth,  but  they  speake  not,  nose,  but 
they  smell  not,  handes  and  feet,  but  they  nether  touche  nor  have 
power  to  go.  And  suche,  I  say,  is  everie  realme  and  nation  where 
a  woman  beareth  dominion.  For  in  despite  of  God  (he  of  his  just 
judgement  so  geving  them  ouer  in  to  a  reprobat  minde)  may  a 
realme,  I  confess,  exalt  up  a  woman  to  that  monstriferous  honor, 
to  be  esteemed  as  head.  But  impossible  it  is  to  man  and  angel  to 
geve  unto  her  the  properties  and  perfect  offices  of  a  laufull  heade  ; 
for  the  same  God  that  hath  denied  power  to  the  hand  to  speake,  to 
the  belly  to  heare,  and  to  the  feet  to  see,  hath  denied  to  woman 
power  to  commande  man,  and  hath  taken  away  wisdome  to  consider, 
and  providence  to  foresee,  the  thingis  that  be  profitable  to  the 
common  welth  ;  yea,  finallie,  he  hath  denied  to  her  in  any  case  to 
be  head  to  man,  but  plainly  hath  pronounced  that  '  Man  is  head  to 
woman,  even  as  Christ  is  heade  to  all  man.'  "  J 


1  From  The  First  Blast,  ed.  Arber,  p.  27. 


THE  PROSE   OF   THE  REFORMATION    139 

"The  more  that  I  consider  the  subversion  of  Goddes  ordre, 
which  he  hath  placed  generallie  in  all  livinge  thinges,  the  more 
I  do  wondre  at  the  blindnes  of  man,  who  doth  not  consider  himself 
in  this  case  so  degenerate  that  the  brute  beastes  are  to  be  preferred 
to  him  in  this  behalfe.  For  nature  hath  in  all  beastes  printed  a 
certein  marke  of  dominion  in  the  male,  and  a  certein  subjection  in 
the  female,  whiche  they  kepe  inviolate.  For  no  man  ever  sawe  the 
lion  make  obedience  and  stoupe  before  the  lionesse,  neither  yet 
can  it  be  proved  that  the  hinde  taketh  the  conducting  of  the  heard 
amongest  the  hartes.  And  yet  (alas)  man,  who  by  the  mouth  of  God 
hath  dominion  apointed  to  him  over  woman,  doth  not  onlie  to  his 
own  shame  stoupe  under  the  obedience  of  women,  but  also  in 
despit  of  God  and  his  apointed  ordre  rejoyseth  and  mainteineth 
that  monstruous  authentic,  as  a  thing  laufull  and  just.  The  insolent 
joy,  the  bonefiers,  and  banketing  which  were  in  London  and  els 
where  in  England,  when  that  cursed  lesabell  was  proclaimed 
qwene,  did  witnesse  to  my  hart  that  men  were  becomen  more  then 
enraged.  For  els  howe  coulde  they  so  have  rejoysed  at  their  owne 
confusion  and  certein  destruction  ?  For  what  man  was  there  of 
such  base  judgement  (supposing  that  he  had  any  light  of  God)  who 
did  not  see  the  erecting  of  that  monstre  to  be  the  overthrowe  of 
true  religion,  and  the  assured  destruction  of  England,  and  of  the 
auncient  liberties  thereof  ?  And  yet  never  the  lesse  all  men  so 
triumphed  as  if  God  had  delivered  them  frome  all  calamitie." ' 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  language  and  spelling  are  essentially 
those  of  Southern  England,  and  indeed  it  was  a  commonplace 
of  his  opponents  that  he  "  knapped  Suddron  "  so  as  to  be 
unintelligible  to  a  plain  Scot.2  We  may  be  sure  that  the 
use  in  Scotland  of  an  English  version  of  the  Scriptures  and 
the  currency  of  Knox's  controversial  pamphlets  were  the  most 
effective  agents  at  this  time  in  undermining  the  position  of 
the  Scots  tongue  as  a  literary  dialect. 

But,  after  all,  it  is  not  in  his  pamphlets  and  his  tractates 
that  the  real  Knox  reveals  himself  in  literature  :  it  is  in  the 
History  of  the  Reformation — a  record  of  events  which  he  him- 

1  From  The  First  Blast,  ed.  Arber,  p.  29. 

2  See,  for  example,  a  well-known  passage  in  WinJet's  letter  to  Knox  of 
October  27,  1563,  in  which  he  taxes  the  Reformer  with  having  forgotten 
"  our  auld  plaine  Scottis,  quhilk  your  mother  lerit  zou." 


140    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

self  had  witnessed,  and  in  many  of  which  he  had  played  the 
most  conspicuous  part.  We  do  not  go  to  such  a  work  for 
impartial  statements  of  fact.  Contemporary  history  must 
always  be  closely  scrutinised  and  carefully  tested ;  and  a 
double  measure  of  precaution  is  necessary  when  the  pen 
that  writes  it  is  held  by  a  man  of  Knox's  constitution. 
When  Knox  speaks  of  what  he  knows,  he  may  be  trusted 
with  certain  obvious  reservations,  and  it  is  to  his  credit  that 
he  habitually  quotes  original  documents  in  full.  When  he 
speaks  without  first-hand  knowledge,  or  merely  states  his 
suspicions,  we  are  often  justified  in  disregarding  him.  The 
mantle  of  the  prophet  rarely  fits  the  historian.  What  we  do 
find  in  the  work  is  (to  revive  an  old-fashioned  piece  of  critics' 
slang)  a  "human  document"  of  inestimable  importance. 
There  are  life,  vigour,  passion,  and,  above  all,  "  tempera- 
ment "  in  the  book  ;  the  temperament,  not  merely  of  Knox 
himself,  but  the  temperament  of  thousands  of  his  countrymen 
concentrated,  as  it  were,  in  one  man.1  The  very  defects 
which  disqualify  him  for  a  serious  controversialist  2 — the  very 
flaws  which  mar,  if  they  do  not  altogether  obscure,  his  nobler 
qualities  as  a  man — are  the  salt  of  his  History,  which  stands 
forth  as  an  unconscious  essay  in  self-portraiture  no  less 
masterly  than  that  of  Pepys  or  of  Gibbon.  The  fearlessness, 
the  tenacity  of  purpose,  the  pressing  forward  to  the  goal,  the 
unquestioning  conviction  of  a  mission,  are  all  there  ;  and  so 
are  the  defects  of  these  qualities  :  the  inhumanity,  the  coarse- 
ness of  fibre,  the  acrimony,  the  vindictiveness,  the  rancune, 
which  have  so  often  found  amazingly  eloquent  expression  in 
our  national  literature.  It  is  all  the  revelation  of  a  striking 

1  An  admirable  discussion  of  Knox  as  an  historian  will  be  found  in 
Sir   W.    Stirling   Maxwell's   Miscellaneous  Essays  and  Addresses,    1891, 
pp.  298  et  seq. 

2  One   specimen  of  his  characteristically  exaggerated   way  of  putting 
things  is  his  statement  that  "  one  messe  was  more  fearful  to  him  than 
gif  ten    thousand   armed   enemyes   war  landed   in    any  pairte   of    the 
Realme  of  purpose  to  suppress  the   hoill  religioun  "  (Works,  ii.  p.   276). 


THE   PROSE   OF   THE  REFORMATION     141 

and  masterful  individuality,  of  which  it  is  the  simple  truth 
to  say  that  the  "  meek  and  quiet  spirit  "  formed  no  ornament. 
It  was  Knox's  design  in  his  History  to  "  interlace  merynes 
with  earnest  matters,"  and  to  diversify  his  narrative  with 
"  meary  bourds,"  i.e.,  jests.  It  must  be  confessed  that  these 
witticisms  on  some  occasions  miss  fire,  and  that  on  others 
we  are  irresistibly  reminded  of  a  well-known  observation  of 
Johnson's  on  the  merriment  of  the  profession  to  which  Knox 
had  the  honour  to  belong.  Yet  Knox's  vein  of  humour  was 
deep,  and,  if  his  pleasantries  are  always  grim  and  not  seldom 
bitter,  they  have  frequently  the  root  of  the  matter  in  them. 
Admirable,  for  example,  is  his  description  of  the  behaviour 
of  certain  persons  after  the  passing  of  the  Act  of  1542,  c.  12 
(supra^  p.  100,  «.),  which  legalised  translations  of  Holy  Scripture 
in  the  vernacular  : — 

"  We  grant  that  some  (alace  !)  prophaned  that  blessed  wourd  ;  for 
some  that,  perchance,  had  never  read  ten  sentenses  in  it,  had  it 
maist  common  in  thare  hand :  thei  wald  chop  thare  familiares  on 
the  cheak  with  it  and  say,  '  This  hes  lyne  hyd  under  my  bed-feitt 
these  ten  yearis.'  Otheris  wold  glorie,  '  O  !  how  oft  have  I  been 
in  danger  for  this  booke  :  How  secreatlie  have  I  stollen  fra  my  wyff 
at  mydnycht  to  reid  upoun  it.'  And  this  was  done  of  many  to 
maik  courte  thairby." ' 

Nor  could  anything  be  better  in  its  own  sardonic  way  than 
the  account  of  the  St.  Giles's  riot,  or  (in  a  somewhat  lighter 
strain)  than  the  description  of  the  struggle  for  precedence 
between  the  Archbishop  of  Glasgow  and  his  brother  prelate 
of  St.  Andrews  in  the  cathedral  of  the  former  city  : — 

"  Cuming  furth  (or  going  in,  all  is  one)  att  the  qweir  doore  of 
Glasgw  Kirk,  begynnes  stryving  for  state  betuix  the  two  croce 
beraris,  so  that  from  glowmyng  thei  come  to  schouldering  ;  from 
schouldering  thei  go  to  buffettis,  and  from  dry  blawes,  by  neffis 
and  neffelling  [fisticuffs]  ;  and  then  for  cheriteis  saik,  thei  crye, 

1  Works,  i.  p.  100 


142     LITERARY  HISTORY   OF  SCOTLAND 

Dispersit,  dedit  pauperibus,  and  assayis  quhilk  of  the  croces  war 
fynast  mettall,  which  staf  was  strongast,  and  which  berar  could 
best  defend  his  maisteris  pre-eminence  ;  and  that  thare  should  be 
no  superioritie  in  that  behalf,  to  the  ground  gois  boyth  the  croces. 
And  then  begane  no  litill  fray,  but  yitt  a  meary  game  ;  for  rockettis 
war  rent,  typpetis  war  torne,  crounis  war  knapped,  and  syd  gounis 
micht  have  bene  sein  wantonly  wag  from  the  one  wall  to  the  other  : 
Many  of  thame  lacked  beardis,  and  that  was  the  more  pitie  ;  and 
tharefore  could  not  bukkill  other  by  the  byrse,  as  bold  men  wold 
haif  doune.  Butt  fy  on  the  jackmen  that  did  nott  thare  dewitie  ;  for 
had  the  one  parte  of  thame  reacontered  the  other,  then  had  all  gone 
rycht.  But  the  sanctuarye,  we  suppose,  saved  the  lyves  of  many. 
How  mearelye  that  ever  this  be  writtin,  it  was  bitter  bowrding 
to  the  Cardinall  and  his  courte.  It  was  more  then  irregularitie  ; 
yea,  it  mycht  weall  have  bene  judged  lease  majestic  to  the  sone 
of  perdition,  the  Pape's  awin  persone ;  and  yitt  the  other  in  his 
folly,  as  proud  as  a  packocke,  wold  lett  the  Cardinall  know  that  he 
was  a  Bischop  when  the  other  was  butt  Betoun  befoir  he  gat 
Abirbrothok.  This  inemitie  was  judged  mortall,  and  without  all 
hope  of  reconsiliatioun."  J 

Such  passages  are  much  preferable  from  the  artistic  point 
of  view  to  those  in  which  Knox  lets  his  temper  run  away 
with  him,  describing  the  priests  as  "  bloody  boucheouris," 
denouncing  James  V.  as  a  "  lecherous  and  avaricious  tyrant," 
taunting  his  opponents  with  their  physical  peculiarities,  and 
generally  employing  the  sort  of  vituperative  language  to 
which  the  "  dinging  "  of  the  pulpit  "  in  blads  "  would  supply 
the  most  fitting  accompaniment.  Between  the  preaching  of 
a  Reformer  and  the  "  flyting  "  of  a  Court  poet  there  was 
more  in  common  than  might  have  been  expected.  The 
most  glaring  instance  of  Knox  foaming  at  the  mouth,  as  it 
were,  is  furnished  by  the  report  of  George  Wishart's  trial.2 
But  when  his  angry  passions  are  under  better  control  and 

1  Works,  vol.  i.  p.  146. 

-  Works,  i.  p.  149.  It  is  right  to  say  that  this  episode  bears  to  be 
quoted  from  Foxe's  Book  of  Martyrs.  But  few,  I  think,  can  help  con- 
curring in  Mr.  Lang's  view  that  it  was  originally  contributed  to  that 
work  by  Knox  himself.  If  not,  let  no  one  ever  presume  to  rely  on  the 
internal  evidence  of  tone  and  style. 


THE   PROSE   OF   THE  REFORMATION     143 

direction,  they  enhance  the  effect  of  his  story  in  no  ordinary 
degree  ;  and  Knox  attains  his  highest  eminence  as  a  writer 
in  the  description  of  Cardinal  Beaton's  murder  : — 


"  But  airlie  upoun  the  Setterday,  in  the  mornyng,  the  29  of  Maij, 
war  thei  in  syndree  cumpanyes  in  the  Abbay  kirk-yard,  not  far 
distant  frome  the  Castell.  First,  the  yettis  being  oppin,  and  the 
draw-brig  lettin  down,  for  receaving  of  lyme  and  stanes,  and  other 
thingis  necessar  for  buylding  (for  Babylon  was  almost  finished) 
— first,  we  say,  assayed  Williame  Kirkcaldy  of  Grange  youngar,  and 
with  him  sex  personis,  and  gottin  enteress,  held  purpose  with  the 
portare,  '  Yf  my  Lord  was  walking  ? '  who  answered  '  No.'  (And 
so  it  was  in  dead  ;  for  he  had  bene  busy  at  his  comptis  with  Maistres 
Marioun  Ogilbye  that  nycht,  who  was  espyed  to  departe  frome  him 
by  the  previe  posterne  that  morning  ;  and  tharefore  qwyetness, 
after  the  reuillis  of  phisick,  and  a  morne  sleap  was  requisite  for  my 
Lord).  While  the  said  Williame  and  the  Portar  talked,  and  his 
servandis  maid  thame  to  look  the  work  and  the  workemen,  approched 
Xormound  Leslye  with  his  company  ;  and  becaus  thei  war  in  no 
great  nomber,  thei  easily  gat  entress.  Thei  address  thame  to  the 
myddest  of  the  close,  and  immediatlie  came  Johne  Leslye,  some- 
what rudlye,  and  four  personis  with  him.  The  portar,  fearing,  wold 
have  drawin  the  brig  ;  but  the  said  Johne,  being  entered  thairon, 
stayed  and  lap  in.  And  while  the  portar  maid  him  for  defence,  his 
head  was  brokin,  the  keyis  tackin  frome  him,  and  he  castin  in  the 
fowsea ;  and  so  the  place  was  seased.  The  schowt  arises ;  the 
workemen,  to  the  nomber  of  mo  then  a  hundreth,  ran  of  the  wallis, 
and  war  without  hurte  put  furth  at  the  wicked  yett.  The  first  thing 
that  ever  was  done,  Williame  Kirkcaldye  took  the  garde  of  the  prevey 
posterne,  fearing  that  the  fox  should  have  eschaped.  Then  go  the 
rest  to  the  gentilmenis  chalmeris,  and  without  violence  done  to  any 
man,  thei  put  mo  then  fyftie  personis  to  the  yett :  The  nomber 
that  interprised  and  did  this  was  but  sextein  personis.  The  Cardinall, 
awalkned  with  the  schouttis,  asked  from  his  windo,  What  ment  that 
noyse  ?  It  was  answered,  That  Normound  Leslye  had  tackin  his 
Castell.  WThich  understand,  he  ran  to  the  posterne  ;  but  perceaving 
the  passage  to  be  keapt  without,  he  returned  qwicklye  to  his 
chalmer,  took  his  twa-handed  sword,  and  garte  his  chalmer  child 
cast  kystes  and  other  impediments  to  the  doore.  In  this  meane 
tyme  came  Johne  Leslye  unto  it,  and  biddis  open.  The  Cardinall 
askyne,  '  Who  calles  ? '  he  answeris,  '  My  name  is  Leslye.'  He 
re-demandis,  '  Is  that  Normond  ? '  The  other  sayis,  '  Nay ;  my 


H4     LITERARY   HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

name  is  Johnne.'  '  I  will  have  Normound/  sayis  the  Cardinall  ; 
'  for  he  is  my  freind.'  '  Content  yourself  with  such  as  ar  hear ; 
for  other  shall  ye  gett  nane.'  Thare  war  with  the  said  Johnne, 
James  Melven,  a  man  familiarlie  acquented  with  Maister  George 
Wisharte,  and  Petir  Carmichaell,  a  stout  gentilman.  In  this  meane- 
tyme,  whill  thei  force  at  the  doore,  the  Cardinall  hydis  a  box  of  gold 
under  coallis  that  war  laide  in  a  secreat  cornar.  At  lenth  he  asked, 
'  Will  ye  save  my  lyef  ? '  The  said  Johnne  answered,  '  It  may  he 
that  we  will.'  '  Nay,'  sayis  the  Cardinall,  '  Swear  unto  me  by  Goddis 
woundis,  and  I  will  open  unto  yow.'  Then  answered  the  said 
Johnne,  'It  that  was  said,  is  unsaid;'  and  so  cryed,  '  Fyre,  fyre;' 
(for  the  doore  was  verray  stark ;)  and  so  was  brought  ane  chymlay 
full  of  burnyng  coallis.  Which  perceaved,  the  Cardinall  or  his 
chalmer  child  (it  is  uncertane)  opened  the  doore,  and  the  Cardinall 
satt  doune  in  a  chyre,  and  cryed,  '  I  am  a  preast ;  I  am  a  preast ;  ye 
will  nott  slay  me.'  The  said  Johnne  Leslye  (according  to  his  formar 
vowes)  strook  him  first  anes  or  twyse,  and  so  did  the  said  Petir.  But 
James  Melven  (a  man  of  nature  most  gentill  and  most  modest)  per- 
ceaving  thame  boyth  in  cholere,  withdrew  thame,  and  said,  '  This 
worke  and.  judgement  of  God  (althought  it  be  secreit)  aught  to  be 
done  with  greattar  gravitie ; '  and  presenting  unto  him  the  point 
of  the  sweard,  said,  '  Repent  thee  of  thy  former  wicked  lyef,  but 
especiallie  of  the  schedding  of  the  blood  of  that  notable  instrument 
of  God,  Maister  George  Wisharte,  which  albeit  the  flame  of  fyre 
consumed  befoir  men  ;  yitt  cryes  it,  a  vengeance  upoun  thee,  and 
we  from  God  ar  sent  to  revenge  it  :  For  heir,  befoir  my  God,  I 
protest,  that  nether  the  hetterent  [hatred]  of  thy  persone,  the  luif 
of  thy  riches,  nor  the  fear  of  any  truble  thow  could  have  done  to  me 
in  particulare,  moved  nor  movis  me  to  stryk  thee  ;  but  only  becaus 
thow  hast  bein,  and  remanes  ane  obstinat  ennemye  against  Christ 
Jesus  and  his  holy  Evangell.'  And  so  he  stroke  him  twyse  or  thrise 
trowght  with  a  stog  sweard  ;  and  so  he  fell,  never  word  heard  out 
of  his  mouth,  but  '  I  am  a  preast,  I  am  a  preast  ;  fy,  fy  :  all  is  gone.' 
"Whill  they  war  thus  occupyed  with  the  Cardinall,  the  fray  rises 
in  the  toune.  The  Provest  assembles  the  communitie,  and  cumis 
to  the  fowseis  syd,  crying,  'What  have  ye  done  with  my  Lord 
Cardinall  ?  Whare  is  my  Lord  Cardinall  ?  Have  ye  slayne  my 
Lord  Cardinall  ?  Let  us  see  my  Lord  Cardinall.'  Thei  that 
war  within  answered  gentilye,  '  Best  it  war  unto  yow  to  returne 
to  your  awin  houssis ;  for  the  man  ye  call  the  Cardinall  has 
receaved  his  reward,  and  in  his  awin  persone  will  truble  the 
warld  no  more.'  But  then  more  enraigedlye  thei  cry,  '  We 
shall  never  departe  till  that  we  see  him,'  And  so  was  he 


THE  PROSE   OF   THE  REFORMATION    145 

brought  to  the  East  blokhouse  head,  and  schawen  dead  ower  the 
wall  to  the  faythless  multitude,  which  wold  not  beleve  befoir  it 
saw  :  How  miserably  lay  David  Betoun,  cairfull  Cardinall.  And  so 
thei  departed,  without  Requiem  alternant,  and  Requiescat  in  pace, 
song  for  his  saule.  Now,  becaus  the  wether  was  hote  (for  it  was 
in  Maij,  as  ye  have  heard)  and  his  funerallis  could  not  suddandly  be 
prepared,  it  was  thowght  best,  to  keap  him  frome  styncking,  to  geve 
him  great  salt  ynewcht,  a  cope  of  lead,  and  a  nuk  in  the  boddome 
of  the  Sea-toore  (a  place  whare  many  of  Goddis  childrene  had  bein 
empreasoned  befoir)  to  await  what  exequeis  his  brethrene  the 
Bischoppes  wold  prepare  for  him. 

These  thingis  we  wreat  mearelie  [merrily].  But  we  wold  that 
the  Reader  should  observe  Goddis  just  judgmentis,  and  how  that 
he  can  deprehend  the  worldly  wyse  in  thare  awin  wisdome,  mak 
thare  table  to  be  a  snare  to  trape  thare  awin  feit,  and  thare  awin 
presupposed  strenth  to  be  thare  awin  destructioun.  .  .  ."  * 

This  is  superb,  if  not  distinctively  Christian,  and  the  "  These 
thingis  we  wreat  mearelie  "  is  the  stroke  of  a  conscious  or 
unconscious  master.  It  reveals  Knox's  temperament  like  a 
flash  of  lightning. 

Not  even  the  most  stalwart  opponent  of  his  views  will  deny 
that  Knox  was  cast  in  a  great  mould,  or  that  there  was  some- 
thing colossal  about  his  genius.  What  he  might  have  been 
without  this  element  of  the  titanic  we  may  guess  when  we 
review  the  life  of  George  Buchanan2  (1506-82),  a  man  as 
destitute  of  the  Aristotelian  greatness  of  soul  as  a  scholar  of  his 
parts  and  accomplishments  well  could  be.  A  Celt  from  the 
Lennox  by  birth,  he  was  educated  partly  at  the  University  of 
Paris,  partly  at  that  of  St.  Andrews,  where  he  came  into 

1  History  of  the  Reformation,  bk.  i.  in  Works,  ed.  Laing,  vol.  i.  pp.  174 
et  seq.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  style  and  language  of  the  History  (as 
Mr.  Hewison  has  pointed  out,  apud  Winzet's  Certain  Tractates,  vol.  ii. 
p.  151),  are  not  nearly  so  Anglified  as  those  of  the  earlier  pamphlets, 
though  it  would  seem  that,  at  one  time  at  all  events,  even  Knox's  preach- 
ing was  considered  to  savour  of  Anglicism.  See  Mr.  Guthrie's  ed.  of  the 
History,  ut  sup.,  pref.,  p.  xii. 

3  Opera  Omnia,  ed.  Ruddiman,  ed.  1715  ;  Leyden,  1725.  Vernacular 
Writings,  ed.  P.  Hume  Brown,  S.T.S.,  1892.  George  Buchanan,  Humanist 
and  Reformer,  by  P.  Hume  Brown,  Edin.,  1890. 

K 


146    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

contact  with  John  Major,  the  representatative  of  the  old 
learning,  as  Buchanan  was  to  be  of  the  new.  He  graduated 
M.A.  at  Paris,  in  1528,  and  became  a  teacher  in  St.  Barbe, 
one  of  the  fifty  colleges  comprehended  in  that  University  ; 
but  he  hated  this  course  of  life,  of  which  he  has  duly  com- 
memorated the  dtsagrtments  in  a  Latin  poem.  Returning  to 
Scotland  in  1535,  he  became  involved  in  a  quarrel  with  the 
Franciscans,  whom  he  had  lampooned  in  the  Somnlum  and  the 
Palinodia.  His  most  stinging  satire  against  their  order,  the 
Franciscanus,  was  not  completed  until  1560.  Ultimately  he 
was  compelled  to  flee  to  France,  by  way  of  England,  in  1539, 
and  for  the  next  three  years  he  acted  as  Regent  at  the  College 
of  Bordeaux.  Thereafter  he  accepted  an  appointment  at  the 
newly  instituted  University  of  Coimbra,  where  he  composed 
his  version  of  "  that  singulare  werke  of  Dauid  his  Psalmes,  in 
Latine  meter  and  poesie,"  as  Knox  describes  it,  and,  among 
other  things,  the  poems  to  Leonora  ("Matre  impudica  filia 
impudicior,"  is  the  promising  exordium  of  one  of  them),  which 
doubtless  gave  him  increased  facility  in  the  art  of  reviling 
women.  He  returned  from  Portugal  to  France  in  1552,  and 
his  compositions  during  the  next  decade  embrace  an  elaborate 
metrical  didactic  treatise,  De  Sphaera  (circ.  1557),  and  an 
epithalamium  on  the  marriage  of  the  luckless  "  nymph  "  to 
whom  his  Psalms  were  dedicated,  and  whom  he  was  after- 
wards to  assail  with  all  the  ferocity  of  senile  spite,  and  all  the 
weapons  of  unscrupulous  calumny. 

In  the  early  sixties  we  behold  Buchanan  back  in  Scotland, 
writing  Latin  masques  z  for  the  Court,  reading  Livy  with  the 
Queen,  pensioned  by  her  bounty,  and  asking  for  more.2  In 
short,  we  find  him  basking  in  the  sunshine  of  royal 

1  Among  Buchanan's  works  are  four  tragedies — two  on  classical,  two 
on  Scriptural  subjects — of  which  we  need  say  no  more  than  that  they  are 
all  modelled  on  Seneca,  and  have  little  of  interest  or  moment  in  them  save 
their  excellent  Latin. 

2  Let  it  be  mentioned  that  Buchanan's  apologists  desire  it  to  be  borne 
in  mind  that  the  pension  was  very  irregularly  paid,  if  paid  at  all. 


THE  PROSE   OF   THE  REFORMATION    147 

favour.  But  Buchanan  was  by  far  too  high-minded  and 
public-spirited  a  man  to  let  the  recollection  of  such  incidents 
stand  in  the  way  of  his  turning  and  rending  the  hand  that  had 
caressed  and  fed  him.  After  the  murder  of  Darnley,  he 
became  the  obedient  instrument  of  the  faction  which  sup- 
ported the  infant  King  against  his  mother.  He  proceeded 
with  the  Commissioners  to  London  in  1568,  and  there  laid 
before  the  Queen  of  England  the  formal  indictment  against 
her  cousin  known  as  the  Detectio.  This  document  is  practically 
worthless  as  throwing  any  light  upon  the  tangled  history  of 
the  period,  for  Buchanan  dutifully  set  down  what  he  was  told, 
and  not  what  himself  knew  or  had  ascertained.1  It  contains 
at  least  one  manifest  cock-and-bull  story,  and  is  grossly  incon- 
sistent in  many  particulars  with  the  account  which  Buchanan 
gave  of  the  same  events  in  his  Historia.2  It  is  unnecessary  to 
suppose  that  he  lied  deliberately,  if  he  did  lie.  His  motives 
were  probably  of  the  most  conscientious  description,  as  he 
understood  conscience.  Besides,  "  the  subject  was  one  after 
the  humanist's  own  heart,  commanding  as  it  did  the  interest 
of  Europe,  and  offering  the  most  splendid  scope  for  all  the 
turns  of  Ciceronian  rhetoric.  Buchanan  wrote  it  in  the  full 
consciousness  that  his  reputation  as  a  scholar  was  in  question."  3 
Who  could  help  taking  great  pains  to  slander  his  friend  and 
Queen  in  circumstances  and  under  the  influence  of  motives 
such  as  these  ?  If  this  be  the  last  word  to  be  said  for  their 
hero  by  Buchanan's  champions,  we  may  suggest  that  it 
would  be  safer  for  them  to  fall  back  upon  the  old  excuse  of 
the  fondness  for  "Billingsgate"  which  distinguished  all  the 
humanists. 

Times  were   indeed  changed  with   George  Buchanan.     It 
was  no  longer — 

1  So  at  least  testifies  Sir  James  Melville,  who  adds  that  by  this  time 
Buchanan  was  become  "  sleeprie  and  cairles." 

2  See  Lang,  The  Mystery  of  Mary  Stuart,  p.  34. 

3  George  Buchanan,  by  P.  Hume  Brown,  utsup.,  p.  213. 


148    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

"  Nympha,  Caledoniae  quae  nunc  feliciter  orae 

Missa  per  innumeros  sceptra  tueris  avos  : 
Quae  sortem  antevenis  mentis,  virtutibus  annos, 
Sexum  animis,  morum  nobilitate  genus  ;  " 

and  so  forth  ;  but  it  was — 

"  Quamvis  vetusto  stemmate  splendeas, 
Regina,  Princeps  optima  principum, 
Quacunque  magnum  sol  per  orbem 
Flammiferos  agitat  jugales,"  &c., 

and  the  "  Regina "  was  Elizabeth.  The  sentiments,  how- 
ever, which  he  subsequently  expressed  in  his  De  jure  Regni 
apud  Scotos  ( 1579),  sentiments  of  a  strong  anti-monarchical  cast, 
can  scarcely  have  recommended  him  to  his  new  patroness,  and 
the  preferment  which  he  was  now  to  enjoy  came  to  him  in 
Scotland.  In  1566  he  had  been  appointed  Principal  of  St. 
Leonard's  College,  in  St.  Andrews — a  house  that  had  always 
been  well  disposed  to  the  new  learning  ;  and  in  1570  he  was 
appointed  tutor  to  his  three-year-old  sovereign.  Unless 
tradition  be  a  lying  rogue,  he  carried  out  the  educational 
theories  of  Solomon  to  their  utmost  extent  upon  the  person  of 
his  unfortunate  pupil.  But  of  much  cry  came  little  wool,  for 
he  succeeded  in  turning  out  a  youth  only  less  inhuman, 
arrogant,  and  pedantic  than  himself.  During  the  last  decade 
of  his  life  he  held  several  public  offices,  presumably  of  a 
lucrative  nature,  and  it  is  astonishing  that  he  should  have  died 
leaving  barely  enough  money  to  pay  the  charges  of  his  funeral. 
His  later  years  were  devoted  to  the  composition  of  his  Rerum 
Scoticarum  Historia,  in  twenty  books  ;  a  work  of  moderate 
authority  and  huge  bulk,  first  published  in  1582,  and  little 
likely  to  be  reprinted  now. 

Whatever  Buchanan's  faults  may  be  as  a  man,  it  is  pretty 
generally  agreed  that  he  has  none  as  a  Latinist,  He  enjoyed 
probably  a  higher  reputation  in  the  learned  circles  of  Europe 
than  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  any  of  his  countrymen  ;  and  he 
was  looked  upon  at  once  as  an  unrivalled  scholar  and  as  a  great 


THE  PROSE   OF   THE  REFORMATION    149 

poet.  Montaigne,  his  umquhil  pupil  at  Bordeaux,  speaks  of 
him  as  ce  grand  pohe  Ecossais ;  Grotius  describes  him  as  numen 
illud  Scotits ;  and  Joseph  Scaliger,  who  was  not  his  pupil,1 
pronounces  him  to  be  far  and  away  the  greatest  Latin  poet  in 
Europe.2  His  principal  achievement  in  Latin  verse  was  his 
rendering  of  the  Psalms^  which  (I  cannot  help  agreeing 
with  Mr.  Saintsbury)  should  never  have  been  undertaken, 
but  which,  once  undertaken,  has  probably  been  carried 
through  by  him  with  the  highest  degree  of  success  possible 
or  conceivable.3  That  any  one  can  seriously  prefer  Bucha- 
nan's verses,  elegant  and  correct  as  they  may  be,  to  the 
majestic  prose  of  the  Vulgate  is  indeed  almost  incredible,  but 
that  is  no  reason  for  declining  to  award  the  palm  of  merit  to 
Buchanan  rather  than  to  Arthur  Johnstone  (infray  p.  245), 
his  most  formidable  rival  in  a  delightful  art.  The  reader  who 
cares  to  dip  into  Buchanan's  Psalms^  will  find  the  46th  and 
the  1 37th  as  satisfactory  as  any  of  them. 

Buchanan's  contributions  .  to  vernacular  prose  are  not 
numerous,  and  have  been  collected  in  a  convenient  volume  by 
the  Scottish  Text  Society.  He  drew  up  an  elaborate  scheme 
for  the  reorganization  of  his  own  university,  which  is  well  worth 
the  attention  of  educational  theorists  and  reformers  ;  and  was, 
besides,  responsible  for  an  Admonitioun  to  the  Trew  Lordls 
(1571),  and  a  political  satire  entitled  Chamaeleon  (same  year), 
directed  to  the  address  of  Maitland  of  Lethington.  Of  the 
Admonitioun  and  Chamaeleon  Mr.  Hume  Brown  has  spoken 
with  rare  enthusiasm.  They  are,  he  declares,  "  the  finest 


1  See  Mark  Pattison,  Essays,  Oxford,  1889,  i.  p.  134. 

2  The  same  critic's  complimentary  couplet  is  worth  quoting  : — 

"  Imperii  fuerat  Romani  Scotia  limes. 
Romani  eloquii  Scotia  finis  erit." 

3  See  Mr.  Saintsbury's  instructive  chapter  on  "  The  Harvest  Time  of 
Humanism,"  in  his  Earlier  Renaissance,  Edin.,  1901. 

4  There  is  a  neat  little  edition  (Edin.,  1815),  which  may  doubtless  be 
picked  up  second-hand  for  a  modest  sum. 


ISO    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

specimens  we  possess  of  vernacular  Scottish  prose.  In  no  other 
writer  who  has  used  the  Scottish  tongue  as  his  instrument, 
have  we  the  same  combination  of  natural  gifts  with  the 
disciplined  skill  of  the  literary  artist  which  we  find  in 
Buchanan."  z  I  confess  that  to  me  this  eulogy  seems  gro- 
tesquely exaggerated,  and  that  Buchanan's  prose,  as  regards 
style,  appears  no  very  wonderful  thing  after  all.  But  even  to 
take  a  somewhat  broader  view,  neither  of  these  brochures  can 
be  classed  with  the  really  great  pamphlets  of  literature. 
Buchanan  never  got  rid  of  the  characteristic  taint  of  the 
academic  politician — a  class  of  which  he  is  a  thoroughly 
representative  member.  The  Chamaeleon^  indeed,  opens  well 
enough,  as  the  reader  shall  see  for  himself: — 

"  Thair  is  a  certane  kynd  of  beist  callit  chmaeleon,  engenderit  in 
sic  cuntreis  as  ye  sone  hes  mair  strenth  in  yan  in  this  yle  of 
Brettane,  the  quhilk,  albeit  it  be  small  of  corporance,  noghtyeless 
it  is  of  ane  strange  nature,  the  quhilk  makis  it  to  be  na  less  celebrat 
and  spoken  of  than  sum  beastis  of  greittar  quantitie.  The  proprietie 
is  marvalous,  for  quhat  thing  evir  it  be  applicat  to,  it  semis  to  be  of 
the  samyn  cullour,  and  imitatis  all  hewis  except  onelie  the  quhyte 
and  reid,  and  for  yis  caus  ancient  writtaris  commounlie  comparis  it 
to  ane  flatterare,  quhilk  imitatis  all  ye  haill  maneris  of  quhome  he 
f enzeis  him  self  to  be  freind  to  except  quhyte,  quhilk  is  takin  to  be 
ye  symboll  and  tokin  gevin  commounlie  in  divise  of  colouris  to 
signifee  sempilnes  and  loyaltie,  and  reid  synifying  manlines  and 
heroyicall  courage.  This  applicatioun  being  so  usit  yit  peradven- 
ture  mony  that  hes  nowther  sene  ye  said  beist,  nor  na  perfyte 
portraict  of  it  wald  beleif  sic  thing  not  to  be  trew.  I  will  therfore 
set  furth  schortlie  ye  descriptioun  of  sic  ane  monsture  not  lang  ago 
engendrit  in  Scotland  in  ye  cuntre  of  Lowthiane  not  far  frome 
Hadingtoun,  to  yat  effect  yat  ye  forme  knawin,  the  moist  pertiferus 
nature  of  ye  said  monsture  may  be  moir  easilie  evitit  ;  for  yis 
monstre,  being  under  coverture  of  a  mannis  figure,  may  easeliar 
endommage  and  wersid  be  eschapit  than  gif  it  wer  moir  deforme 
and  strange  of  face,  behaviour,  schap,  and  memberis.  Praying  ye 
reidar  to  apardoun  the  febilnes  of  my  waike  spreit  and  engyne,  gif 


Vernacular  Writings,  ut  sup.,  Pref.  p.  vj, 


THE  PROSE   OF   THE  REFORMATION    151 

it  can  not  expreme  perfytelie  ane  strange  creature  maid  be  nature, 
other  willing  to  schaw  his  greit  strenth  or  be  sum  accident  turnit 
be  force  frome  ye  commoun  trade  and  course."  J 

But  it  is  disappointing  as  it  proceeds.  The  allegory  is  but  ill 
sustained,  and  the  piece  is  too  closely  packed  with  dates  and 
facts,  presented  in  a  somewhat  unattractive  manner.  It  is 
upon  his  Latin,  not  upon  his  Scots,  that  the  splendid  edifice  of 
Buchanan's  fame  must  continue  to  rest,  and  we  cannot  do 
better  in  parting  from  him  than  cite  the  charitable  judg- 
ment of  Archbishop  Spottiswoode  :  "  His  bitterness  in 
writing  of  the  Queen  and  troubles  of  the  time  all  wise 
men  have  disliked.  But  otherwise,  no  man  did  merit  better 
of  his  nation  for  learning,  nor  thereby  did  bring  to  it  more 
glory."  2 

The  leading  controversialists  on  the  side  of  the  ancient 
modes  of  faith,  worship,  and  church  government  may  be 
somewhat  more  briefly  disposed  of.  The  ablest  and  most 
active  of  these  was  Ninian  Winzet  3  (1518-92),  a  native 
of  Renfrew,  who,  after  being  (in  all  probability)  educated  at 
Glasgow  College,  held  the  post  of  master  of  the  Grammar 
School  in  the  burgh  of  Linlithgow.  While  there,  he  is  said  to 
have  engaged  in  a  public  disputation  with  Knox  in  1559; 
but  two  years  afterwards  he  was  expelled  from  his  office  for 
refusing  to  accept  the  reformed  version  of  the  faith.  Being 
now  at  leisure,  he  began  to  play  a  prominent  part  in  the 
religious  campaign,  and  in  1562  published  in  succession  three 
TractatSj  the  chief  feature  of  which  is  a  challenge  of  the 

1  Vernacular  Writings,  p.  42. 

-  History  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  vol.  ii.  p.  300.  We  may  compare 
the  judgment  of  the  Edinburgh  reviewer  (1755),  probably  Dr.  Robertson 
himself,  to  the  effect  that  "  the  force  of  Buchanan's  numbers,  the  elegance 
of  his  manner,  and  the  undaunted  spirit  of  liberty  he  breathes,  entitle  him 
to  be  named  with  the  most  chosen  spirits  of  Leo  X.'s  age,  and  reflect  a 
splendour  upon  the  rise  of  science  in  the  North." 

s  Certain  Tractates,  and  other  works,  ed.  Hewison,  S.  T.  S.,  1888-90. 
See  also  the  Maitland  Club  edition,  ed.  Laing,  1835. 


152     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

validity  of  Protestant  orders ;  a  challenge  which,  though 
frequently  repeated,  was  never  taken  up  by  Knox  or  any  of 
his  immediate  followers.  In  the  same  year  he  produced  The 
Last  Blast  of  the  Trompet  of  Godis  Word  aganis  the  usurpit 
auctor'ite  of  Johne  Knox,  the  title  of  which,  obviously  sug- 
gested by  the  famous  First  Blast,  sufficiently  explains  its 
character.  This  was  more  than  flesh  and  blood  could  stand. 
The  magistrates  of  Edinburgh — by  this  time  staunch  advo- 
cates of  liberty  of  conscience — "  raided  "  the  printing  office, 
seized  the  printer,  and  confiscated  his  property,  Winzet 
himself  contriving  to  slip  through  their  fingers  (infra, 
p.  161). 

But  he  had  made  the  country  too  hot  to  hold  him,  and  he 
quitted  Scotland  for  the  Continent.  In  1563  he  published  at 
Antwerp  The  Bufy  of  Four  Scoir  Thre  Questions  tueching  Doc- 
trine^ Ordour  and  Maneris,  proponit  to  the  precheouris  of  the 
Protestants  in  Scotland^  which  had  already  been  circulated  in 
manuscript  in  Edinburgh.  In  the  same  town  and  in  the  same 
year  appeared  his  translation  of  the  Commonitorium  of 
Vincentius  Lerinensis.  Winzet  presently  found  a  harbour  of 
refuge  in  the  University  of  Paris,  where  he  acted  as  proctor  for 
the  German  "nation,"  arid  lectured  on  philosophy  with  great 
applause.  He  was  in  England  in  1571  on  the  service  of 
Queen  Mary,  and  in  1574  he  made  a  stay  at  the  infant 
University  of  Douay.  His  exertions  on  behalf  of  the  Church 
were  finally  rewarded  in  1577,  when  the  Pope  made  him,  per 
saltum,  Abbot  of  the  Bendictine  Monastery  of  St.  James's, 
Ratisbon,  an  office  which  he  held  until  his  death  in  1592.  A 
Flagellum  Sectariorum  and  a  Velitatio  in  Georgium  Buchananum 
(both  1582),  the  latter  an  attack  upon  the  De  jure  regni, 
were  among  the  productions  of  his  pen  while  he  presided  over 
the  House  of  an  Order  which  has  always  been  honourably 
distinguished  for  literary  industry. 

Winzet  is  not  by  any  means  free  from  the  violence  which 
has  marked  religious  controversy  in  all  ages,  and  not  least  in 


THE  PROSE   OF   THE  REFORMATION    153 

the  age  of  the  Reformation.  He  has  no  hesitation  in  describing 
Knox  as  "cruentus  ille  caedium  rebellionumque  minister,"  and, 
again,  as  "  cruentus  seditionum  architectus  et  pestis  maxima." 
We  see  him  "  letting  himself  go  "  in  the  following  extract  : — 

"  Lat  us  turne,  I  say,  and  pray,  That  the  Lorde  of  the  winezarde  send 
us  lauchfull  ireu  workmen  thairto,  baith  to  schute  oute  the  unclene 
bans,  quha  be  filthie  leving  and  sueingeing  in  thair  stinkeande 
styis  infectis  the  tender  burgeounis  of  the  yong  wynis  :  and  to  schut 
out  or  cut  of  alsua  the  wyld  sangleris  [boars  =  sangliers]  — that  is, 
the  proude  schismatikis  and  obstinat  heretikis,  na  wayis  sociale  to 
the  companie  of  Christiane  Catholiks  -  quha,  in  hie  arrogance  of 
thair  maister  Lucifer,  trampis  down  the  heuinlie  incres  and  all 
decent  policie  of  the  samyn  winzarde,  drest  and  deckit  be  the  former 
workmen,  unfenzeit  policiaris  [improvers]  of  the  samin."  * 

But  he  does  not  emulate  the  mixture  of  unction  and  rancour 
which  gives  so  remarkable  a  flavour  to  Knox's  best  controver- 
sial writing.  Of  Winzet  it  may  be  said  that  he  was  perhaps 
the  most  candid  controversialist  of  his  age  on  either  side. 
With  Knox,  the  supporters  of  the  Reformation  are  all  saints. 
Erskine  of  Dun,  for  example,  he  speaks  of  as  one  "  whome 
God  in  these  days  had  marvelouslie  illuminated,"  and  the  only 
sign  of  that  illumination  that  we  know  of  is  that  in  his  youth 
he  had  killed  a  priest.  James  Melville  (infra  p.  163)  also 
speaks  of  Erskine  as  "  that  notable  instrument  in  the  Kirk 
of  Scotland."  But  while  Winzet  attacked  the  enemy 
hotly,  he  was  frank  enough  to  admit  the  shortcomings 
of  the  unreformed  Church.  He  thus  makes  a  valuable  addi- 
tion to  the  overwhelming  consensus  of  testimony  to  the 
ignorance,  inefficiency,  and  immorality  of  the  pre-Reformation 
priesthood  ;  and,  if  he  brings  out  one  point  more  clearly  than 
another,  it  is  the  loss  of  influence  by  those  "  dumb  dogs,"  the 
parochial  clergy,  who  had  apparently  for  the  most  part  ceased 
to  preach  at  all.  The  familiar  abuses  are  thus  set  forth  in  the 
following  ironical  passage  : — 

1  From  The  Last  Blast,  in  Certain  Tractates,  tit  sup.,  i.  p.  45. 


154    LITERARY  HISTORY   OF  SCOTLAND 

"  And  albeit  the  time  be  schort,  sumthing  of  zour  prais  man  we 
speik.  But  quhidder  sal  we  begin  zour  commendation  and  louing 
at  zour  haly  lyfes,  or  at  zoure  helthful  doctrine,  we  ar  doutsum. 
Sen  zour  godly  leving  garnisit  with  chastitie,  fasting,  prayer,  and 
sobritie,  be  the  worthi  frutis  thairof  (what  nedis  mair)  is  patent  to 
al  man  !  Zour  merchandrice,  zour  symonie,  zour  glorious  estait, 
zour  solicitute  be  manage,  efter  to  haif  brocht  the  baronis  to  be 
impis  of  zour  posteritie,  and  witnessing  in  all  aiges  to  cum  of  zour 
godlines,  quhay  speiks  not  of  it  ?  Zour  liberalise  to  the  pure,  zour 
magnific  collegeis  of  godly  learnit  in  zour  cumpanie,  zour  nurissing 
of  pure  studentis  of  ryche  ingynis,  able  efter  to  reull  the  Kirk  of 
God  in  helthful  teachement,  all  cuntreis  and  collegis  dois  deplore  ! 
Zour  godly  and  circumspect  distributioun  of  benefices  to  zour 
babeis,  ignorantis,  and  filthy  anis  [ones],  al  Ethnik,  Turk  and  Jow 
may  lauch  at  it,  that  being  the  special  ground  of  al  impietie  and 
division  this  day  within  ye,  O  Scotland  !  Zour  wyse,  saige  and 
grave  familiar  servands,  void  of  al  vanitie,  bodily  lustis,  and  heresie, 
ar  spokin  of  to  zour  prayse,  God  wate  !  Zour  dum  doctrine  in 
exalting  ceremoneis  only,  without  ony  declaration  of  the  samin,  and, 
fer  mair,  keiping  in  silence  the  trew  word  of  God,  necessar  to  al 
manis  salvation,  and  not  resisting  manifest  errours,  to  the  warld  is 
knawin  !  Quhat  part  of  the  trew  religion  be  zour  sleuthf  ul  dominion 
and  princelie  estait  is  not  corruptit  or  obscurit  ?  Hes  not  mony, 
throw  inlak  of  techement  in  mad  ignorance,  mysknawin  their  deuty, 
quhilk  we  al  aucht  to  our  Lord  God,  and  sua  in  thair  perfite  beleif 
hes  sairlye  stummerit  ?  "  x 

Winzet  writes  in  the  vernacular,  and  his  prose  is  forcible, 
if  not  pretentious.  Only  once  or  twice  does  he  rise  to  such  a 
strain  of  eloquence  as  this  : — 

"Bot  zit,  O  mercyful  God,  quhat  deidly  sleip  is  this  that  hes 
oppressit  yow,  that  in  sa  gret  uproir,  tumult,  and  terrible  clamour  ze 
walkin  nocht  f urth  of  zour  dreme,  and  in  sa  gret  dainger  of  deth,  ze 
haif  na  regard  of  zour  awin  lyves  nor  utheris  ?  Awalke  !  awalke  ! 
we  say,  and  put  to  zour  hande  stowtlie  to  saif  Petiris  schip  :  for  He 
nother  slepis  nor  slummeris  quha  behaldis  al  zour  doingis,  and  seis 
zoure  thochtis,  bot  sail  require  the  blude  out  of  your  handis  of  the 
smallaste  ane  that  sail  perise  throw  zour  negligence."  2 

Half  a  dozen  men  with  Winzet's  boldness  and  command   of 

1  From  The  First  Tractate,  in  Certain  Tractates,  ut  sup.,  i.  p.  4. 

2  From  The  First  Tractat,  in  Certain  Tractates,  ut  sup.,  p.  6. 


THE  PROSE   OF   THE  REFORMATION    155 

speech  might  perhaps  have  successfully  rallied  the  drooping 
forces  of  "halie  Kirk."  But,  with  two  or  three  honour- 
able exceptions,  the  Churchmen  of  that  generation  were  either 
too  much  appalled  by  the  catastrophe  which  had  overtaken 
them,  or  too  well  aware  of  the  inherent  badness  of  their 
case,  to  offer  a  sufficiently  stout  resistance  in  the  pulpit  or  the 
press  to  the  onslaught  of  the  Reformers.  We  have  seen  two 
of  these  exceptions  in  John  Hamilton  and  Winzet.  Yet 
another  was  Quintine  Kennedy  (circ.  1520-64),  the  Abbot 
of  Crossraguel,  who  held  a  public  disputation  with  Knox  in 
1562,  and  whose  Compendius  Tractive  (1558)  *  is  an  excellent 
specimen  of  sound  Middle  Scots  prose.  The  like  commenda- 
tion may  be  bestowed  upon  what  has  come  down  to  us  of  the 
work  of  David  Fergusson  2  (1525-98),  minister  of  Dunferm- 
line,  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  the  Reformers  of  the  second 
rank.  His  Sermon  before  the  Regent  and  Nobility  (1571),  in 
which  he  emphasised  the  duty  of  giving  an  adequate  main- 
tenance to  the  reformed  clergy,  is  admirably  vigorous,  and  is 
quite  one  of  the  best  examples  of  a  class  of  literature  soon  to 
become  a  very  large  one.  Fergusson  contrasts  favourably 
with  the  learned  and  pious  Robert  Rollock  3  (1555-99),  the 
first  Principal  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  whose  Lectures 
on  the  Passion  and  the  Resurrection  are  characteristic  speci- 
mens of  the  minute  and  over-elaborate  manner  of  expounding 
Holy  Scripture  which  survived  in  the  Reformed  Kirk  down  to 
the  last  generation. 

The  tone  of  the  Roman  controversialists  who  became  active 
at  the  time  of  the  "  counter-reformation  "  4  is  different  from 
Winzeti.  The  most  eminent  of  the  band  was  James  Tyrie 

1  IVodrow  Society  Miscellany,  vol.  i.  (and  last),  1844.  The  same  interest- 
ing collection  contains  an  Answer  to  the  Tractive  by  John  Davidson, 
"  Maister  of  the  Paedagog  of  Glasgw "  (i.e.,  Principal  of  Glasgow 
College),  published  in  1563. 

-  Tracts,  ed.  Laing  and  Lee,  Bannatyne  Club,  1860. 

3  Select  Works,  ed.  Gunn,  Wodrow  Society,  1844. 

4  See  Catholic  Ttactatcs  of  the  Sixteenth  Century,  ed.  Law,  S.T.S.,  1901, 


156    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

(1543-97),  described  by  David  Buchanan  as  "vir  optimis 
naturae  dotibus  praeditus."  A  letter  addressed  by  him  to  his 
brother  had  elicited  an  Answer  from  "  Schir  John  Knox  " 
himself  in  1572.  Of  this  Answer,  Tyrie  published  a  Refu- 
tation in  Paris  in  1573.  J°hn  Hay  (1546-1618)  was  the 
author  of  Certa'ine  Demandes  concerning  the  Christian  Religion 
(1580),  which  was  translated  into  French  and  German,  and 
elicited  answers  from  Protestant  divines  on  the  Continent. 
John  Hamilton,  who  died  prior  to  i6u,and  who  must  not 
be  confounded  with  the  Hamilton  of  the  Catechism,  wrote  Ane 
Catholik  and  Facile  Traictise  in  1581,  which  he  supplemented 
with  Certane  Orthodox  and  Catholik  Conclusions,  and  in  1600 
brought  forth  another  Facile  Traictise,  which  professed  to 
contain  "  ane  infallible  reul  to  discerne  trew  from  fals 
religion."  Whether  it  fulfilled  this  promise,  it  lies  not  within 
our  province  to  determine.  Nicol  Burne,  about  the  yeare 
1580,  suffered  imprisonment  and  banishment  for  adhering  to 
the  tenets  of  Rome,  and  in  1581  produced  The  Disputation 
concerning  the  controversit  headdis  of  Religion.  Adam  King,  a 
professor  of  philosophy  and  mathematics  in  Paris,  translated  the 
Catechism  of  Peter  Canisius,  and  prefixed  to  it  a  Kallendar 
(1588),  which  is  not  without  interest  for  those  skilled  in  such 
matters.  Lastly,  an  unknown  writer  put  together  Ane  schort 
Catholik  Confession  (circ.  1588),  in  answer  to  the  Negative 
Confession  compiled  by  John  Craig  (circ.  1512-1600),  which 
had  been  printed  in  London  in  1581  ;  a  circumstance  which 
gave  occasion  for  the  revival  of  the  old  charge  of  Anglicising 
against  the  Protestants.1 

All  these  works,  as  Mr.  Law  has  pointed  out,  have  in  com- 
mon a  tendency  to  ignore  the  corruptions  of  the  unreformed 

1  "  Giff  King  James  the  fyft  var  alyve,  quha  hering  ane  of  his  subjectis 
knap  suddrone,  declarit  him  ane  trateur  :  quhidder  vald  he  declaire  you 
triple  traitoris,  quha  not  onlie  knappis  suddrone  in  your  negative  con- 
fession, hot  also  hes  causit  it  to  be  imprentit  in  London  in  contempt  of  our 
native  language  ? "  (Hamilton's  Catholik  Traictise,  in  Catholic  Tractates 
ut  sup.  p.  105.) 


THE  PROSE   OF   THE  REFORMATION     157 

Kirk,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  the  older  company  of  its  cham- 
pions were  frank  enough  to  admit.  The  later  men  prefer  to 
carry  the  war  into  the  enemy's  country,  and  have  no  scruple 
in  charging  the  protagonists  of  the  reformed  establishment 
with  every  species  of  iniquity.  Knox  was  naturally  a  favourite 
object  for  such  accusations,  which,  perhaps,  reached  the  top- 
most pinnacle  of  calumny  in  Archibald  Hamilton's  De  confusione 
Cahiniance  Seethe  apud  Scotos  Ecclesite  (Paris,  1577)-  Nicol 
Burne  was  not  far  behindhand,  and  the  gem  of  his  Disputation, 
from  the  bibliographical  point  of  view,  is  a  set  of  unprintable 
verses  which  do  him  no  credit.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the 
charges  so  indiscriminately  preferred  are  in  almost  every  case 
unsupported  by  a  single  atom  of  trustworthy  evidence.  As 
might  naturally  be  expected,  the  treatises  we  have  specified 
cover  much  the  same  ground  in  much  the  same  way.  If  in- 
vidious distinctions  are  to  be  made,  the  later  Facile  Traictise  of 
John  Hamilton  will  probably  be  found  to  be  the  most  vigorous, 
animated,  and  trenchant  of  the  collection. 

It  is  something  of  a  relief  to  turn  from  all  this  chopping  of 
theology  to  the  works  of  writers  who,  partisans  as  they  may 
have  been,  were  yet  not  by  any  means  absorbed  in  the  ecclesi- 
astical questions  of  the  hour.  In  Robert  Lindsay  of  Pitscottie 
( 1 532-78), J  it  will  be  generally  conceded,  Scotland  produced 
her  foremost  historian  in  the  vernacular.  Our  information 
with  regard  to  Lindsay's  life  is  of  the  most  meagre  description, 
but  we  do  know  that  Pitscottie  is  the  name  of  a  farm  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Cupar,  and  that  the  historian  was  a  Fife  man. 

The    Historie   and   Cronicles  of  Scotland2   begins   with    the 

1  The  dates  commonly  assigned  are  1500-65,  but  I  am  disposed  to 
accept  at  all  events  the  date  of  death  given  by  Mr.  Mackay  as  above,  there 
being  no  good  reason  to  doubt  that  the  continuation  of  the  History  from 
1565  to  1575,  first  printed  in  the  S.  T.  S.  ed.,  is  genuine. 

3  Ed.  Mackay,  S.  T.  S.,  2  vols.,  1899.  Mr.  Mackay  had  the  satisfaction  of 
introducing  to  the  world  the  portion  of  the  Cronicles  which  had  been 
missing  until  its  discovery  by  Mr.  Scott,  of  Halkshill,  after  the  purchase  of 
a  MS.  at  the  Phillipps  sale. 


1 58     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

accession  of  James  II.  in  1437  and  goes  down  to  1575.  For 
the  first  twenty-three  or  twenty-four  years  it  is  merely  a 
continuation  of  Bellenden's  translation  of  Boece  ;  from  1460 
to  the  death  of  James  V.  in  1542  it  is  compiled  from 
a  number  of  authorities  named  by  the  author  ; T  and  from 
1542  onwards  it  deals  with  events  through  which  Pitscottie 
had  himself  lived,  though  doubtless  he  did  not  disdain 
such  assistance  as  could  be  derived  from  the  same  sources  of 
information.  It  must  be  confessed  that,  particularly  in  the 
matter  of  dates,  his  accuracy  is  not  always  unimpeachable, 
though  the  responsibility  may  rest  with  copyists  and  not  with 
the  author.  But  his  chief  merit  consists  in  the  artless  and 
engaging  manner  in  which  he  tells  his  tale.  There  is  an  easy 
flow  in  his  narrative  more  pleasing  and  effective  than  any 
attempt  at  eloquence  would  probably  have  been  ;  and  no  author 
narrates  with  greater  gusto  or  to  better  purpose  the  well-known 
anecdotes  with  which  the  history  of  Scotland  is  so  happily 
diversified.  Thus,  if  he  produces  no  impression  of  power  such 
as  the  narrative  of  John  Knox  is  so  well  calculated  to  give,  he 
is  very  far  from  being  insignificant  or  dull.  He  has  a  sense  of 
humour  and  a  shrewd  cast  of  mind,  which  is  unobtrusive  but 
thoroughly  serviceable.  Let  our  first  extract  tell  of  the  cele- 
brated apparition  to  James  IV.  in  Linlithgow — an  occurrence 
for  which  Sir  David  Lyndsay  vouches  as  an  eye-witness  : — 

"  At  this  tyme  the  king  come  to  Lythtgow,  quhair  he  hapnit  for 
the  tyme  to  be  at  consall,  werie  sad  and  dollarous,  makand  his 
devotioun  to  God  to  send  him  good  chance  and  fortoun  in  his 
woage.  In  this  mean  tyme  thair  come  ane  man  clade  in  ane  blue 
goune  in  at  the  kirk  doore  witht  ane  roll  of  lynning  claith,  ane  pair 
of  bottouns  on  his  feit  to  the  great  of  his  lege,  witht  all  wther  hose 
and  claithis  conforme  thair  to,  hot  he  had  nothing  on  his  heid  hot 


1  These  authorities  include  Patrick,  Lord  Lyndsay  of  the  Byres,  Sir 
William  Scott  of  Balweary,  .Sir  Andrew  Wood  of  Largo,  John  Major, 
Sir  David  Lyndsay,  Andrew  Wood,  the  familiar  servant  of  James  V.( 
Andrew  Fernie  of  that  ilk,  and  Sir  William  Bruce  of  Earlshall. 


THE  PROSE   OF   THE  REFORMATION     159 

syde  reid  zallow  hair  behind  and  on  his  halffitis,  quhilk  wan  doune 
to  his  schoulderis,  hot  his  forheid  was  held  and  bair.  He  semit  ane 
man  of  lij  zeiris,  wytht  ane  great  pyk  staff  in  his  hand,  and  come 
fast  fordward  amang  the  lordis  cryand  and  speirand  for  the  king, 
sayand  he  desirit  to  speik  witht  him ;  quhill  at  the  last  he  come 
quhair  the  king  was  sittand  in  the  dask  at  his  prayeris.  Bot  quhene 
he  saw  the  king  he  maid  him  lyttill  reverence  or  sallutatioun,  bot 
leinit  doun  groufflingis  on  the  dask  befoir  him,  and  said  to  him  in 
this  maner  as  eftir  followis  : — 'Schir  king,  my  mother  has  send  me 
to  the  desiring  the  nocht  to  pase  at  this  tyme  quhair  thow  art  pur- 
posit,  ffor  gif  thow  dois  thow  wilt  nocht  fair  weill  in  thy  journay  nor 
nane  that  passis  witht  thee  ;  forther  scho  bad  the  nocht  mell  witht 
no  wemen  nor  wse  witht  thair  counsall,  nor  lat  them  nocht  tuitch 
thy  body  nor  thow  thairs,  for  and  thow  do  it  thow  wilbe  confoundit 
and  brocht  to  schame.'  Be  this  man  had  spokin  thir  wordis  in  the 
kingis  grace,  the  ewin  song  was  neir  done,  and  the  king  panssit  on 
thir  wordis  studeing  to  gif  him  ane  ansuer,  bot  in  the  meane  tyme, 
befor  the  kingis  face  and  in  presentis  of  all  his  lordis  that  was  about 
him  for  the  tyme,  this  man  wanischit  away  and  could  in  no  wayis  be 
sen  nor  comprehendit,  bot  wanischit  away  as  he  had  bene  ane  blink 
of  the  sone  or  ane  quhipe  of  the  whirle  wind  and  could  no  more  be 
seine."  * 

Here,  too,  is  his  account  of  the  death  of  James  V.  : — 

"  Be  this  the  post  came  out  of  Lythtgow  schawing  to  the  king 
goode  tydingis  that  the  quene  was  deliuerit.  The  king  inquyrit 
'  wither  it  was  man  or  woman.'  The  messenger  said  '  it  was  ane 
fair  douchter.'  The  king  ansuerit  and  said  :  '  Adew,  fair  weill,  it 
come  witht  ane  lase,  it  will  pase  witht  ane  lase.'  And  so  he  recom- 
mendit  himself  to  the  marcie  of  Almightie  God,  and  spak  ane  lyttill 
then  frome  that  tyme  fourtht,  bot  turnit  his  bak  into  his  lordis  and 
his  face  into  the  wall.  At  this  tyme  Dawid  Bettoun,  cardienall  of 
Scottland,  standing  in  presentis  of  the  king,  seing  him  begin  to  faill 
of  his  strength  and  naturall  speiche,  held  ane  through  of  papir  to  his 
grace  and  caussit  him  subscryve  the  samin  quhair  the  cardenall 
wrait  that  plessit  him  for  his  awin  particular  weill,  thinkand  to  haue 
autorietie  and  prehemenence  in  the  goverment  of  the  countrie,  bot 
we  may  knaw  heirbe  the  kingis  legacie  was  werie  schort,  ffor  in  this 
maner  he  depairtit  as  I  sail  zow  tell.  He  turnit  him  bak  and  luikit 
and  beheld  all  his  lordis  about  him  and  gaiff  ane  lyttill  smyle  and 


From  Pitscottie's  History,  ed.  S.  T.  S.,  i.  p.  258. 


160    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

lauchter,  syne  kyssit  his  hand  and  offerit  the  samyn  to  all  his  lordis 
round  about  him,  and  thairefter  held  wpe  his  handis  to  God  and 
zeildit  [yielded]  the  spreit."  : 

There  is  no  striving  after  pathos.  Everything  is  simple  and 
unaffected.  Yet  the  passage  is  at  once  as  touching  and  as 
dignified  as  such  a  passage  ought  by  rights  to  be. 

.While  the  opinions  of  Pitscottie  were  those  of  the  Reformers, 
John  Leslye  (1526-96),  Bishop  of  Ross,  was  an  active  sup- 
porter of  Queen  Mary  and  of  the  old  Church.  He  was  much 
more  a  statesman  and  a  man  of  affairs  than  Lindsay,  but  it  may 
be  doubted  whether  his  Historie  of  Scotland  has  benefited  from 
that  circumstance.  The  first  draft  of  the  work 2  had  been 
finished  in  Scots  by  about  1570,  and  the  complete  work, 
embracing  the  history  of  Scotland  (with  a  most  interesting 
survey  of  the  country)  down  to  1436,  in  seven  books,  and  the 
story  of  the  period  between  1436  and  1561  in  three  more,  was 
published  in  Latin  at  Rome  in  1578.  This  version  was  trans- 
lated into  Scots  by  Father  James  Dalrymple,  of  the  monastery 
of  Ratisbon,  in  1596.3  A  continuation  of  the  work  down  to 
1571  is  contained  in  a  MS.  in  the  Vatican,  and  was  printed  in 
Forbes-Leith's  Narratives  of  Scotch  Catholics  A  It  is  unfortunate 
that  Leslye  chose  to  address  the  polite  world  of  Europe  rather 
than  the  mass  of  his  countrymen.  Yet  Dalrymple's  transla- 
tion is  by  no  means  an  uninteresting  or  despicable  performance. 
On  the  contrary,  the  translator  shows  considerable  command 
of  language,  and  a  decided  literary  gift.  The  flaw  in  his  style 
is  too  close  an  adherence  to  the  constructions  of  his  original, 
and  this  he  carries  so  far  as  to  follow  even  the  order  of  the 
words  in  Latin.  Leslye's  statements  may  not  be  always  trust- 
worthy, for  his  aim  in  writing  the  Historie  was  unquestionably 
political.  But  his  intellectual  powers  were  really  considerable  ; 
he  is  not  involved  or  ambiguous,  and  his  sense  of  humour  is  as 

1  From  Pitscottie's  History,  ed.  S.  T.  S.,  i.  p.  407. 

2  Ed.  Bannatyne  Club,  1830. 

3  Ed.  Cody  and  Murison,  S.  T.  S.,  1888-95.  «  Edin.,  1885. 


THE  PROSE   OF   THE  REFORMATION     161 

keen  as  we  have,  so  far,  generally  found  it  to  be  in  Scottish 
writers.  His  account  of  the  raiding  of  the  printing  office  by 
the  magistrates  of  Edinburgh  is  an  excellent  example  of  quiet 
tun  : — 

"  This  mater  maid  Mr.  Ninian  [Winzet]  verie  inviet  with  the 
haeretickis,  and  verie  saire ;  quhairfore,  quhen  tha  hard  that  he 
was  busie  with  the  prenter  in  setting  furth  a  buik,  quhairby  he 
thocht  to  compleine  of  Knox  to  the  Nobilitie  for  falsing  his  promis 
(be  this  onlie  way,  he  thocht,  he  mycht  prouoik  thame  til  ansuer), 
thay  consult  to  hinder  his  labour,  to  tak  Mr.  Ninian,  to  punise  the 
printer.  The  magistrates  with  the  suddartis  [soldiers]  brak  in 
upon  the  prenter,  the  buikes  that  tha  fand  tha  tuik.  Johne  Scot 
the  prenter,  quhen  of  al  his  gudes  spoyled  him  tha  had,  tha 
cloised  him  in  prisone ;  bot  Mr.  Ninian,  quhom  with  sa  gude  wil 
tha  wald  haue  had,  mett  the  magistret  in  the  yett,  bot  becaus  tha 
knew  him  nocht  tha  mist  him,  and  sa  he  chaiped  [escaped]  ;  the 
heretickis  war  wae,  the  Catholickis  luiche." ' 

The  following  character  of  James  V.  is  in  a  more  serious 
vein,  and  stands  in  piquant  contrast  to  Knox's  terse  description 
of  that  monarch  already  noted  (supra,  p.  142). 

"  This  first  he  regairdet  maist,  that  his  table  was  nocht  diligat  and 
dilitious,  as  diligat  personis  requiret,  nouther  was  he  ouer  skairs, 
narraw,  or  gredie.  Gif  his  clathis  was  onything  ornat,  he  studiet 
neuer  to*  follow  the  fassoune  of  the  Court  or  brauitie  [bravery  = 
splendour]  of  women.  From  pryd  he  was  far,  and  sa  far,  that  quha 
evir  he  saw  gevin  to  this  vice,  he  was  ay  in  thair  contrare,  and  ay 
offendet  with  thame.  He  was  a  manteiner  of  Justice,  an  executor 
of  the  lawis,  a  defender  of  the  innocent  and  the  pure  [poor]. 
Quhairthrouch  he  was  namet  commounlie  be  his  speciall  nobilitie, 
the  pure  manis  king.  For  the  pure  opprest  with  the  potent  he 
helpet  ay,  and  the  potent  nocht  spairing  the  indigence  of  the  pure 
and  nedie  he  ouirthrew,  and  that  with  gret  seueritie.  Althoch  in 
this  seueritie  mycht  ay  be  seine  in  him  a  meruellous  benignitie,  quha 
put  not  out,  albeit  he  mycht,  the  lyf e  of  offendaris,  bot  spairing  thair 
lyfe,  outher  put  thame  in  prissoune,  or  tuke  a  soume  of  money  fra 
thame,  that  way  punissing  thame.  Ffor  neuer  man,  tha  say,  he  put 


The  Historic  of  Scotland,  u(  sup.,  vol.  ii.  p.  467. 
L 


162     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

doune,  or  fra  him  tuke  his  lyfe,  hot  to  manteine  justice,  or  to  mak 
wicket  persounes  an  exemple  to  the  gude ;  this  cheiflie  he  wrocht 
amang  thame  to  mitigat  thair  crueltie,  stanche  thair  hardines,  and 
baldnes  quha  keipet  the  bordouris  and  war  wardanis.  This  way 
quhen  he  diet,  his  Realme  he  left  ryche,  the  Treasure  nocht  tume 
[empty]  and  bair  of  money,  bot  meruelloslie  instoret  with  gold, 
siluer,  and  otheris  thingis  :  that  na  man  neides  to  meruel,  quhen  he 
was  tane  frome  thame,  to  be,  nocht  as  a  king  fra  subjectes,  bot  as 
clientis  fra  thair  patroune,  or  barnes  fra  thair  father.  Quhilk  in  thair 
lamentatioune  mycht  be  seine,  when  with  teiris  infinit  they  lamented 
him,  as  al  man  mycht  sie  at  his  departing,  and  at  his  burial,  as 
said  is." ' 

Both  extracts  fully  display  the  fault  of  style  to  which  reference 
has  been  made. 

Certain  prose  works  which  possess  either  a  literary  or  an 
historical  value,  or  both,  fall  next  to  be  mentioned.  The 
Historie  and  Cronlkle  of  the  House  and  Surname  of  Seytoun 2 
(1561),  by  Sir  Richard  Maitland  of  Lethington  (infra,  p.  201), 
is  pleasing  enough  for  other  reasons  than  its  brevity,  but  cannot 
be  described  as  of  capital  importance.  'The  Memoriale  of 
Transactions  in  Scotland 3  (1569-73),  compiled  by  Richard 
Bannatyne  (d.  1605),  Knox's  secretary,  is  the  work  of  a 
faithful,  but  far  from  brilliant,  hack.  The  Diurnal  of 
Remarkable  Occurrents*  (1513-75),  kept  by  an  anqnymous 
author,  is  more  intelligent,  though  it  is  simply  a  businesslike 
and  straightforward  narrative  of  facts  arranged  in  chronological 
order.  Here  is  the  account  it  gives  of  the  "  putting  away  "  of 
Darnley  : — 

"  Upoun  the  tent  day  of  Februar,  at  twa  houris  befoir  none  in  the 
mornyng,  thair  come  certane  tratouris  to  the  said  proveistis  hous, 
quhairin  wes  our  soueranis  husbane  Henrie,  and  ane  seruand  of  his, 
callit  Williame  Tailzeour,  Hand  in  thair  naikit  beddis ;  and  thair 


1  Historic  of  Scotland,  ut  sup.,  ii.  p.  261.  2  Ed.  Maitland  Club,  1829. 

3  Ed.  Dalyell,  1806  ;  ed.  Pitcairn  for  Bannatyne  Club,  1836. 
•t  Ed.  Bannatyne  Club,  1833. 


THE  PROSE   OF   THE   REFORMATION     163 

privilie,  with  wrang  keyis  opnit  the  durres,  and  come  in  upoun  the 
said  prince,  and  thair  without  mercie  wyrreit  him  and  his  said  ser- 
uand  in  thair  beddis  ;  and  thairefter  tuke  him  and  his  seruand  furth 
of  that  hous,  and  keist  him  naikit  in  ane  yaird  beyond  the  theif  raw, 
and  syne  come  to  the  hous  agane  and  blew  the  hous  in  the  air,  swa 
that  thair  remanit  nocht  ane  stane  upoun  ane  uther  undistroyit. 
This  tressoun  wes  of  long  tyme  befoir  conspirit,  and  that  be  the 
quenis  maist  familiars ;  and  becaus  it  should  have  bene  the  less 
suspectit,  thaj  blew  the  said  hous  in  the  air,  to  caus  the  pepill  under- 
stand that  it  wes  ane  suddane  fyre.  And  at  fyve  houris  the  said  day, 
the  said  prince  and  his  seruand  wes  fundin  lying  deid  in  the  said 
yaird,  and  was  tane  into  ane  house  in  the  Kirk  of  feild,  and  laid  quhill 
thaj  war  burijt."  J 

Of  greater  moment  than  any  of  these  productions  are  the 
Memorials  of  Sir  James  Melville  of  Hallhill  2  (1535-1617), 
which  cover  the  period  between  1549  and  1593.  Melville 
played  a  part  in  the  events  of  his  time  sufficiently  noteworthy, 
though  scarcely  so  conspicuous  as  he  himself  supposed  ;  and  his 
work,  which  is  written  with  enjoyment  and  animation,  shows 
every  indication  of  a  penetrating  intellect  and  an  observant  eye. 
Even  better  than  these  Memorials^  however,  is  the  Diary  3  of 
his  namesake,  "Mr."  4  James  Melville  (1556-1614),  nephew  of 
Andrew  Melville,  the  champion  of  Presbytery  ;  minister  of 
Kilrenny,  and  Professor  of  Oriental  Languages  at  St.  Andrews. 
The  Diary,  which  runs  from  1556  to  1601,  has  been  justly 
characterised  as  "  one  of  the  most  delightful  books  of  its  kind 
in  the  language,"  5  and  no  one  can  dip  into  its  pages  without 
becoming  conscious  that  he  is  being  brought  face  to  face  with 
a  singularly  attractive  personality.  Melville's  Scots  is  racy, 
vigorous,  and  idiomatic,  and  it  is  to  him  that  we  owe  the 
famous  description  of  John  Knox  at  St.  Andrews,  which  may 
once  more  be  reproduced  : — 

1  From  A  Diurnal  of  Occurrcuts,  p.  105. 

-  Ed.  Bannatyne  Club,  1827.  3  Ed.  Bannatyne  Club,  1829. 

4  This,  the  technical  designation  of  the  Scots  clergy,  has,  I  fear,  been 
almost  wholly  superseded  by  the  commonplace  and  insipid  "  Reverend,' ' 
except,  perhaps,  in  the  official  documents  of  the  Church  Courts. 

5  Hume  Brown,  'John  Knox,  ut  sup.,  vol.  ii.  p.  267. 


164    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

"  Bot  of  all  the  benefites  I  haid  that  yeir  was  the  coming  of  that 
maist  notable  profet  and  apostle  of  our  nation,  Mr.  Jhone  Knox  to  St. 
Andros,  wha,  be  the  faction  of  the  Quein  occupeing  the  castell  and 
town  of  Edinbruche,  was  compellit  to  remove  therefra  with  a 
number  of  the  best,  and  chusit  to  com  to  St.  Andros.  I  hard  him 
teatche  ther  the  prophecie  of  Daniel  that  simmer  and  the  wintar 
following.  I  haid  my  pen  and  my  litle  book,  and  tuk  away  sic 
things  as  I  could  comprehend.  In  the  opening  upe  of  his  text  he 
was  moderat  the  space  of  an  halff  houre ;  bot  when  he  enterit  to 
application,  he  maid  me  sa  to  grew  and  tremble,  that  I  could  nocht 
haid  a  pen  to  wryt.  .  .  .  Mr.  Knox  wald  sum  tyme  com  in  and  repose 
him  in  our  colleage  yeard,  and  call  us  schollars  unto  him,  and  bless  us, 
and  exhort  us  to  knaw  God  and  his  wark  in  our  contrey,  and  stand  be 
the  guid  causes,  to  use  our  tyme  weill,  and  lern  the  guid  instructione, 
and  follow  the  guid  exemple  of  our  maisters.  ...  I  saw  him  everie 
day  of  his  doctrine  go  hulie  and  fear  [warily],  with  a  furring  of 
martriks  about  his  neck,  a  staff  in  the  an  hand,  and  guid  godly 
Richart  Ballanden  his  seruand  haldin  upe  the  uther  oxter,  from 
the  Abbay  to  the  paroche  Kirk,  and  be  the  said  Richart  and  another 
seruant  lifted  upe  to  the  pulpit,  whar  he  behovit  to  lean  at  his  first 
entrie,  bot,  or  [before]  he  had  done  with  his  sermon,  he  was  sa 
actiue  and  vigorus,  that  he  was  lyk  to  ding  that  pulpit  in  blads  and 
flie  out  of  it."  ' 

This  chapter  may  be  fitly  concluded  with  a  glance  at  the 
writings  of  King  James  VI.,  "  the  only  English  Prince  who 
has  carried  to  the  throne  knowledge  derived  from  reading, 
or  any  considerable  amount  of  literature." 2  Waiving  the 
question  of  what  service  that  knowledge  and  that  stock  of 
literature  were  to  him  in  discharging  the  duties  of  his  exalted 
station,  we  must  admit  that  the  Scottish  Solomon  had  had  a 
great  deal  of  learning  flogged  into  him  by  Buchanan,  and  that, 
while  the  natural  talents  of  a  shrewd  though  narrow  mind 

1  From  James  Melville's  Diary,  ut  sup.,  pp.  20,  21,  26.    No  accessible 
edition  of  this  work,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  exists  ;  and  I  may,  therefore, 
be  excused  for  pointing  such  as  desire  a  little  to  extend  their  acquaintance 
with  this  interesting  author,  to  Henley  and  Whibley's  Book  of  English 
Prose,  1894,  p.  107  ;   Craik's  English  Prose,  vol.  i.  p.  505  ;  and  Chambers's 
Cydopccdia  of  Literature,  1901,  vol.  i.  p.  229. 

2  Mark  Pattison,  Isaac  Casaubon,  p.  296. 


THE  PROSE   OF   THE   REFORMATION    165 

were  thoroughly  misdirected,  they  may  have  been  sharpened 
rather  than  blunted  by  the  training  he  had  undergone. 

James  wrote  poetry  as  well  as  prose,  and  his  first  published 
effort  was  The  Essayes  of  a  Prentise  in  the  Divine  Art  of  Poesie 
(1584), z  a  work  whose  chief  interest  lies  less  in  the  "  Essayes" 
themselves  than  in  the  Schort  -Treatise  in  prose  by  which  they 
are  prefaced.  This  introduction  bears  to  contain  "  some  reulis 
and  cautelis  to  be  observit  and  eschewit  in  Scottis  poesie," 
though  the  author  professes  to  be  no  believer  in  the  efficacy  of 
such  canons.  "  Gif  Nature  be  nocht  the  cheif  worker  in  this 
airt,"  he  wisely  observes,  "  Reulis  wilbe  bot  a  band  to  Nature, 
and  will  mak  you  within  short  space  weary  of  the  haill  art ; 
whairas,  gif  Nature  be  cheif,  and  bent  to  it,  reulis  will  be  ane 
help  and  staff  to  Nature."  He  begins  by  teaching  shortly  the 
'laws  of  "  ryming,  fete,  and  flowing."  Never  rhyme  twice  on 
the  same  syllable  ;  beware  of  inserting  long  words  "  hinmest  in 
the  lyne,"  and  so  forth.  In  all  matters  of  short  and  long 
"your  eare  man  be  the  onely  judge,  as  of  all  other  parts  of 
flowing,  the  verie  twichestane  whairof  is  musique."2 

He  goes  on  to  treat  of  vocabulary,  and  recommends  the 
tyro  to  "  waill "  his  words  according  to  the  purpose.  If  his 
purpose  be  of  love,  he  shall  use  "  commoun  language,  with 
some  passionate  wordis,"  if  his  purpose  be  of  landward  affairs, 
he  shall  use  "  corruptit  and  uplandis  wordis."  In  fine,  what- 
ever the  subject,  the  poet  must  use  vocabula  artis,  "  whairby  ye 

1  The  collected  edition  of  King  James's  Works  is  the  folio  of  1616.     The 
Counterblast  and  other  pieces  figure  in  Mr.  Arber's  series  of  reprints  ;  and 
a  convenient  little  volume  (ed.   Rait,  1900),   contains   the   Treatise,   the 
Essayes,  and  the  Counterblast,  together  with  an  excellent  introduction. 

2  James  recanted  this  sound  doctrine  in  the  Basilikon  Doron,  where  he 
bids   Prince     Henry   remember    that   "  it  is   not   the   principal!   part    of 
a  poeme  to  rime  right,  and    flow    well  with  many  pretie   wordes  :   but 
the  chief   commendation   of  a  poem  is,  that    when    the    verse    shall  be 
shaken  sundrie  in  prose,  it  shall  bee  found  so  rich  in  quick  inventions  and 
poetic  flowers,  and  in  faire  and  pertinent  comparisons,  as  it  shall  retaine 
the  lustre  of  a  Poeme  although  in  prose."     This  appears  to  be  the  old 
fallacy  of  identifying  poetry  with  "  rethorique." 


1 66    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

may  the   mair  vivelie    represent  that  persoun  whais    pairt  ye 
paint  out."    He  next  urges  the  use,  as  far  as  possible,  of  allitera- 
tion, especially  "  in  Tumbling  verse  for  flyting,"  and  touches 
on  three  special  ornaments,  namely,  comparisons,  epithets,  and 
proverbs.     He  warns  his  reader  against  treating  his  themes  in 
a  hackneyed  manner  (see  supra,  p.  81,  «.)  and  enjoins  variety. 
If  you  must  say  something  about  the  sunrise,  "  tak  heid,  that 
what  name  ye  giue  to  the  Sunne,  the  Mone,  or  uther  starris, 
the  ane  tyme,  gif  ye  happin  to  wryte  thairof  another  tyme, 
to  change  thair  names."     If  you  call  the  sun  Titan   at  one 
time,  call  him  Phcebus  or  Apollo  the  next.     Invention  should 
be  cultivated,  and  it  is  best  for  a  poet  not  to  compose  of  "sene 
subjects,"  nor  to  translate.     Also,  he  should  "  be  war  of  wry- 
ting  any   thing  of  materis   of   commoun  weill,  or    uther    sic 
graue  sene  subjectis,  because  nocht  onely  ye  essay  nocht  your 
awin  Inventioun,  as  I  spak  before,  but  lykewayis  they  are  too 
graue  materis  for  a  poet  to  mell  in."     Here,  we    may    con- 
jecture,  is  the  voice  of  the  youthful   king   himself,  and  not 
merely  his  preceptor's.     The  Treatise,  which  is  really  "  schort," 
as  it  professes  to  be,  closes  with  a  chapter,  which  we  could  have 
wished  longer,  on  different  kinds  of  verse,   with  illustrations 
from  the  Scots  poets.     To  say  that  the  piece  as  a  whole  has 
much  substantive  value  would  be  to  say  too  much.    It  is  neces- 
sarily immature,  for  the  author  was  at  most  seventeen  when 
he  wrote  it.     But  it  presents  some  points  of  interest ;  it  doubt- 
less gives  expression  to  many  of  the   ideas  of  criticism  current 
at   the  time  ;  and  it  is   not  destitute  of  insight  or  acuteness. 
When    Queen    Elizabeth    enquired    of    Sir    James    Melville 
whether  her  cousin   Queen    Mary  played    well    on  the  lute 
and  virginals,  that   diplomatic  courtier  replied  that  she  played 
"  reasonably  for    a   Queen."     We  may    apply   the  saying    to 
Queen  Mary's  son  in  respect  of  his  literary  criticism,  wherein 
he  owes  a  good  deal  to  Gascoigne. 

Nothing,  indeed,  that  James  wrote  is  wholly  without  merit 
of  some  sort.     But  his  remaining  works  need  not  detain    us 


THE  PROSE   OF   THE  REFORMATION     167 

long.  His  dialogue  on  Dtemonologie  (1597)  snows  hi"1  m  fu^ 
agreement  with  the  sternest  sort  of  Presbyterian  divines,  who 
were  zealous  in  obtempering  the  Mosaic  prohibition  against 
suffering  a  witch  to  live.  But  in  the  'Basilikon  Doron  (1599) 
we  see  his  not  unnatural  dislike  to  Presbytery  in  full  vigour, 
though  he  was  unable  to  give  effect  to  it  in  practice  until  after 
his  accession  to  the  throne  of  England.  From  that  date, 
whatever  he  wrote  (and  he  had  a  strong  taste  for  theological 
and  political  controversy)  was  written  in  English,  not  in 
Scots,  and  therefore,  though  the  celebrated  Counterblaste  to 
Tobacco  (1604)  must  be  mentioned,  no  extract  is  presented 
from  what  is  a  highly  entertaining,  and  by  no  means  ill- 
composed  pamphlet.1  With  the  close  of  the  sixteenth 
century  it  may  be  said  that  the  use  of  the  distinctively  Scots 
tongue  for  the  ordinary  purposes  of  literary  prose  practically 
ceased.  This  result,  as  we  have  shown,  was  largely  brought 
about  by  the  facts  that  the  reforming  party  in  Scotland  had  • 
been  closely  associated  with  the  reforming  party  in  England, 
and  that  the  service  books  and  the  versions  of  the  Scrip- 
tures which  circulated  in  Scotland  were  from  an  English 
pen.  Such  an  event  as  the  union  of  the  Crowns  was  well 
fitted  to  put  the  finishing  stroke  to  a  process  which  had  been 
in  operation  for  half  a  century,  nor  was  there  anything  in 
the  history  of  the  seventeenth  century  that  tended  to  promote 
the  rehabilitation  of  the  national  dialect.  The  object  of  the 
Royalist  party  in  England  was  to  establish  Episcopacy  in 
Scotland,  the  object  of  the  Covenanters  in  Scotland  was  to 
force  Presbyterianism  upon  England.  Everything  thus  made 
for  the  use  of  a  common  and  identical  literary  medium 
of  expression.  If  any  one  was  burning  to  give  utterance  to 
some  private  revelation  of  religious  or  political  truth,  he  no 

1  A  counter  counterblast  was  published  ten  years  later  (Edin.,  1614),  by 
William  Barclay,  M.D.  (b.  1570,  d.  ?),  entitled  Nepenthes  or  The  Verities  of 
Tabacco.  It  is  worth  looking  at  for  those  to  whom  the  Miscellany  of  the 
Spalding  Club,  1841  (vol.  i.  p.  257)  is  available. 


1 68     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

longer  wrote  (unless  by  way  of  jest,  or  as  a  tour  de  force)  in 
Scots,  but  in  the  best  English  he  could  muster.  It  is  true  that 
it  was  not  until  after  the  Union  of  the  Parliaments  that  a 
conscious  and  concerted  effort  was  made  to  purge  Scottish 
prose  from  every  trace  of  the  vernacular  idiom.  But  its 
presence  in  written  speech,  though  unmistakable,  and  at  times 
obtrusive,  had  for  long  before  been  accidental  and  precarious, 
rather  than  natural  and  inevitable  ;  and  we  have  now  reached 
a  point  at  which  we  are  justified  in  saying  of  true  Scots  prose, 
in  the  dying  words  of  David  Beaton,  "  Fy  !  fy  !  All  is  gone." 


CHAPTER   IV 

THE      VERSE      OF      THE      REFORMATION  :    THE      BALLADS  :    THE 
LAST    OF    THE    "  MAKARIS  " 

THE  preceding  chapter  has  proved  to  us  that  the  members 
of  the  Reforming  party  were,  upon  the  whole,  rather  more 
disposed  than  their  adversaries  during  the  earlier  years  of  the 
Reformation  to  appeal  through  the  medium  of  the  press  to 
the  general  public  of  Scotland.  If  this  be  true  of  set  treatises 
on  theological  or  historical  topics — of  what  we  may  call 
"  full-dress  "  polemics — it  is  even  more  true  of  the  ephemeral 
forms  of  literature  which  poured  from  the  printing  offices 
during  the  latter  half  of  the  sixteenth  century.  In  the 
course  of  that  period,  as  Mr.  Cranstoun  tells  us,1  "  the  country 
was  literally  deluged  with  ballads  containing  rough-and-ready 
pictures  of  passing  events  ;  circumstantial  details  of  deeds  of 
darkness  ;  satirical  effusions  directed  against  those  who,  from 
their  position  or  abilities,  took  a  prominent  part  in  affairs 
secular  or  sacred  ;  and  in  some  cases  ebullitions  of  spite  and 
rancour  and  personal  abuse."  A  few  of  such  broadsides  have 
by  good  fortune  been  preserved,2  and  of  these  few  only  a  very 
small  proportion  are  not  on  the  Reformers'  side. 

1  Introduction  to  Satirical  Poems,  ut  infra,  p.  ix. 

-  They  are  all  collected  in  Cranstoun's  Satirical  Poems  of  the  Time  of 
the  Reformation,  S.  T.  S.,  2  vols.,  1891-93.  For  what  is  known  of  Robert 
Lekpreuik,  who  printed  most  of  them,  and  a  great  deal  else  of  Reforma- 
tion literature,  see  Dickson  and  Edmond's  Annals  of  Scottish  Printing, 
Cambridge,  1890. 

169 


i;o    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

The  collection,  as  a  whole,  displays  a  fair  command  or 
the  arts  of  rhyme  and  metre,  and  there  is  no  want  of  variety 
in  the  styles  essayed  by  the  several  authors.  An  elaborate 
piece  of  alliterative  rhyme,  entitled  Aganls  Sklanderous  Tungis,  is 
from  the  pen  of  the  second  son  of  Sir  Richard  Maitland,  of 
Lethington,  and  shall  be  quoted  from  hereafter  (infra,  p.  206). 
Sir  William  Kirkaldy,  of  Grange,  who  had  been  one  of  Beaton's 
murderers,  and  who  was  hanged  in  1573  ^or  navmg  espoused 
the  cause  of  Mary,  contributes  Ane  ballat  of  the  Gaptane  of  the 
Castell  in  the  elaborate  measure  of  The  Cherry  and  the  Slae 
(infra  y  p.  216),  to  cope  with  which  his  powers  were  barely 
adequate.  Nicol  Burne,  or  some  other  champion  of  the 
unreformed  Church,  makes  a  spirited  attack  in  the  Lewd 
Ballet  (aptly  enough  named)  on  the  morals  of  the  Protestant 
clergy.  One  or  two  cases,  like  that  of  Paul  Methven,  once  a 
baker  in  Dundee,  and  afterwards  a  preacher  until  his  deposi- 
tion, gave  him  a  handle  of  which  he  made  vigorous  use.  In 
long  fourteens  he  charges  the  Reformed  ministers  with 
immorality  even  more  glaring  and  unabashed  than  that  of 
their  predecessors  in  office  : — 

"  The  subject  now  commandis  the  Prince  and  Knox  is  grown  a  King  ; 
Quhat  he  willis  obeyd  is,  that  maid  the  Bishop  hing  "- 

and  so  on.     His  numbers  are  fluent  and  tripping  enough,  but 
the  rest  of  his  pasquinade  must  remain  unquoted  here. 

The  most  powerful  among  the  versifiers  whose  scanty 
remains  have  thus  been  gathered  together  is  unquestionably 
Robert  Sempill  (I53O-95),1  of  whom  little  that  is  certain 
is  known  save  that  he  was  not  Robert,  the  fourth  Lord  of  that 
name.  He  is  extraordinarily  coarse,  violent,  and  brutal  ;  no 
touch  of  humanity  or  good  humour  relieves  his  habitual 
squalor  ;  and  yet  there  is  a  rude  and  persistent  vigour  in  his 
work  which  raises  it  above  the  level  of  the  average  ballad- 

1  In  addition  to  Mr.  Cranstoun's  anthology,  see  The  Sempill  Ballatcs, 
cd.  Stevenson,  Edin.,  1872. 


THE    VERSE   OF  THE  REFORMATION    171 


monger.  Johnet  Reidy  Ane  Violet^  and  Ane  ^uhyty  and  The 
'Defence  of  Crissell  Sandelands  are  disgraceful  enough,  while 
Margret  Fleming  comes  near  to  being  infamous.  Nevertheless 
a  substantial  degree  of  merit  can  scarcely  be  denied  to  the 
author  of  the  Complaint  upon  Fortune^  poem  in  ab  ab  bcbc^  whose 
homely  strength  is  well  displayed  in  the  following  quatrain  :  — 

"  Sa  fortun  mountit  neuer  man  sa  hie 

Fostered  with  folie,  suppose  she  make  them  faine, 
Bot  with  one  tit  sho  turnis  the  quheill  ye  sie, 
Doun  gois  their  heid,  up  gois  their  heillis  agane." 

His  most  remarkable,  as  it  is  his  longest,  piece  is  the  Legend  of 
the  Lymmaris  Lyfe  (1584),  a  furious  assault  upon  Patrick  Adam- 
son,  Archbishop  of  St.  Andrews,  the  bete  noire  of  the  stalwart 
Presbyterian  section  in  the  Kirk  of  Scotland,  and  probably 
a  man  of  no  very  high  character,  though  of  unquestionable 
ability.  The  following  lines  from  the  Preface  to  the  Legend 
(in  ab  ab  be  be]  will  show  the  spirit  in  which  Sempill  attacked 
him,  as  the  champion  of  the  maimed  system  of  Episcopacy 
which  then  prevailed  in  the  Scottish  Church  —  the  representative 
of  the  "  Pestiferous  Prelates  that  Papistrie  pretendis  "  :— 

"  Judas  Iscariot  for  a  gleib  of  geir 

Betrayed  his  master  like  a  traytor  tod  ; 
Annas  and  Caiaphas,  gif  they  both  was  heir, 
Could  doe  no  mair  to  slea  the  sanctis  of  God  ;  " 

and  again  — 

"  Albeit  they  now  be  Tulchin  bischops  stylit, 

Having  proude  kingis  and  counsallis  to  decoir  them, 
Auld  God  is  God  and  will  not  be  begyllit, 
When  Pluto's  palice  beis  provydit  for  them." 

The  main  body  of  the  performance  itself,  which  is  in 
octosyllabics,  heaps  its  victim  with  the  most  miscellaneous 
and  indiscriminate  accusations.  Adamson  is  rich  ;  he  fleeces 


i;2     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

the  poor  by  means  of  "  double  tacks  "  [leases],  &c.,  &c.  ;  yet 
he  can  get  nothing  in  the  town  of  St.  Andrews  except  for 
ready  money,  and  he  "  ran  "  his  embassy  to  England  on  the 
most  paltry  scale.  He  "  bilked "  all  the  tradesmen  on  his 
way  to  London  by  promising  payment  on  the  return  journey, 
and  then  coming  home  by  a  different  route.  In  the  English 
capital  he  carried  his  Scots  manners  to  Whitehall,  "  which 
is  a  thing  inhibit  thair,"  and  failed  to  tip  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury's  porter  at  Lambeth  Palace.  He  is  a  systematic 
practitioner  of  witchcraft,  and  lets  off  all  witches  who  are 
brought  before  him  for  trial.  It  is  unnecessary  to  proceed 
with  the  recapitulation  of  Adamson's  offences.  We  rise  from 
the  poem  as  favourably  disposed  to  the  object  of  its  attack  as 
we  feel  towards  those  whom  Churchill  or  Junius  selects  as 
his  prey.  Individual  passages  may  be  spirited  and  amusing  ; 
but  considered  as  a  whole  the  Legend  overshoots  its  mark, 
for  the  author's  talent  is  incommensurate  with  his  zeal.  A 
satirist  is  none  the  worse  for  having  a  bad  temper,  but  mere 
venom,  though  a  great  help,  will  not  always  supply  a  deficiency 
of  brains  or  literary  skill. 

The  most  remarkable  of  the  popular  lyrics  connected  with 
the  Reformation  are  those  contained  in  Ane  compendious  Booke 
of  Godly  and  Spiritual!  Songs^1  more  familiarly  known  as  The 
Gude  and  Godlie  Ballatis.  The  authorship  of  this  curious 
work  is  attributed  mainly  to  three  brothers,  James,  John,  and 
Robert  Wedderburn,  of  Dundee,  who  flourished  in  the  first 
half  of  the  sixteenth  century,  who  were  all  alumni  of  St. 
Andrews,  and  to  whom  (especially  to  John)  had  been  vouch- 
safed what  their  latest  editor  terms  an  "  invaluable  gift  of 
poesy."  The  collection  would  appear  to  have  existed  in  some 
form  or  other  in  the  fifth  decade  of  the  century.  It  is  certain 
that  metrical  psalms  were  in  use  among  the  adherents  of  the 
new  movement,  and  George  Wishart  is  stated  to  have  sung 
one  on  the  night  of  his  apprehension.  But  of  this  early 
1  Ed.  Laing,  1868  ;  ed.  Mitchell,  S.  T.  S.,  1897. 


THE    VERSE   OF   THE  REFORMATION    173 

edition  no  traces  remain  ;  and  the  first  one  with  which  we  are 
acquainted  is  that  of  1567,. so  fortunately  recovered  through 
the  sagacity  and  good  fortune  of  Professor  Mitchell,  and  repro- 
duced by  him  for  the  Scottish  Text  Society. 

The  Compendious  Booke  opens  (after  a  Kalendar)  with  the 
Commandments,  the  Apostles  Creed,  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and 
the  words  of  the  Institution  of  the  Sacraments.  These  are 
followed  by  a  somewhat  amplified  version  in  metre,  which, 
from  the  literary  point  of  view,  presents  no  striking  feature  of 
interest.  As  regards  doctrine,  it  may  be  noted  that  the  teach- 
ing of  the  Reformation  is  presented  in  all  its  purity,  uncon- 
taminated  by  Lutheran  eccentricities,  or  by  any  hint  of  the 
innovations  dear  to  the  English  sectaries  of  the  succeeding 
century.  The  festival  of  Christmas  is  not  "  burked,"  and  the 
doctrine  of  the  sacraments  is  of  that  distinctively  "  high  " 
type  which  has  ever  been  characteristic  of  the  reformed  Kirk 
of  Scotland  in  her  happiest  moments.  The  object  of  the 
authors  was,  doubtless,  as  Dr.  Mitchell  tells  us,  "  to  quicken 
to  purer  faith  and  higher  life,"  by  setting  forth  "  with  fond 
affection  and  winning  simplicity  the  great  truths  of  the 
Gospel."  We  may  think  that  some  of  the  methods  pursued 
by  the  compilers  towards  this  laudable  end  were  not  very 
felicitously  chosen,  but  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the 
result  of  their  labours  was  long  "  treasured  in  the  hearts  of  the 
people." 

The  Catechism  portion  of  the  book  concluded,  we  come  to 
a  number  of  sacred  lyrics,  most  of  them  translations  from  the 
German  ;  and  it  is  to  Germany  that  the  Ballatis  owe,  perhaps, 
their  heaviest  debt.  The  idea  of  such  a  collection  was  by  no 
means  original.  The  Reformed  Churches  of  Germany, 
Sweden,  and  France  had  been  beforehand  with  the  Church 
of  Scotland  in  providing  material  for  their  people  to  sing,  and 
it  need  not  be  said  what  a  remarkable  and  important  addition 
to  the  literature  of  the  first-named  country  was  supplied  by 
the  Lutheran  hymns.  The  Wedderburn  translations  rarely 


174    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

if  ever  attain  the  magnificent  effects  compassed  by  their 
originals.  But  they  surpass  Coverdale's  Goostly  Psa/mes  and 
Spiritual/  Songes^  an  analogous  work,  the  precise  relation  of 
which  to  the  Compendious  Booke  still  remains  something  of  a 
mystery.  The  metres  employed  are  not  lacking  in  variety, 
and  the  two  following  stanzas  exhibit  the  application  to  sacred 
themes  of  a  measure  with  which  every  one  is  familiar  in 
another  context : — 

"  Rycht  sorelie  musing  in  my  mynde, 
For  pitie  sore  my  hart  is  pynde, 
Quhen  I  remember  on  Christ  sa  kynde, 

That  sauit  me : 
Nane  culd  me  saif,  from  thyne  till  Ynde, 

Bot  onlie  hie. 

He  is  the  way,  trothe,  lyfe,  and  lycht 
The  varray  port  till  heaven  full  rycht. 
Quha  enteris  nocht  be  his  greet  mycht 

Ane  theif  is  he  : 
That  wald  presume,  be  his  awin  mycht 

Sauit  to  be." ' 

Passing  over  the  metrical  versions  of  various  psalms  which 
compose  the  next  section  of  the  volume,  and  of  which  it  must 
suffice  to  say  that  suitability  for  singing  does  not  at  first  sight 
strike  the  reader  as  being  their  most  prominent  quality,  we 
come  to  the  last,  and  by  far  the  most  interesting,  portion  of 
the  contents.  The  Roman  Church  had,  on  the  recurrence  or 
certain  seasons,  allowed  the  tunes  appropriated  to  the  most 
solemn  hymns  to  be  used  in  conjunction  with  words  which 
were  undoubtedly  secular,  and  often  disreputable  and  profane. 
On  these  occasions  the  parish  church  was  turned  into 
the  scene  of  a  rather  risky  "  soiree,"  and  the  service  ot  the 
Church  was  parodied  in  a  far  from  reverent  manner  for 
the  entertainment  of  the  audience.  The  Reformers  sought 

1  Anc  Compendious  Booke,  ed.  Mitchell,  ut  sup.,  p.  6r.  This  piece 
appears  to  be  original,  but  a  song  with  the  same  opening  words  is 
mentioned  in  The  Complaynt  of  Scotland, 


THE    VERSE   OF   THE  REFORMATION     175 

to  improve  upon  this  custom  by  the  converse  process  of 
wedding  devotional  or  religious  language  to  popular  airs, 
and  it  must  be  owned  that  nothing  probably  could  have  been 
better  calculated  to  secure  the  dissemination  of  their  principles 
among  the  masses.  The  device  has  always  been  popular  with 
the  founders  of  religious  sects,  though  its  efficacy  at  the  present 
day  is  open  to  considerable  doubt.  What  contributed  to  its 
success  in  the  Gude  and  Godl'ie  Ballatis  was  the  strong  tincture 
of  humour  and  satire  which  the  authors  occasionally  contrived 
to  infuse  into  their  rhymes.  While  a  mere  hymn  set  to  a 
secular  tune  would  have  been  a  feeble  instrument  for  con- 
version or  edification,  the  combination  of  hymn  with  pas- 
quinade might  well  prove  irresistible,  and  the  faint  suggestion 
of  the  profane  or  illicit  so  dear  to  a  certain  type  of  religious 
mind  could  not  fail  to  stimulate  curiosity.  It  is  certainly  the 
daring  employment  of  what  we  may  fairly  call  parody  or 
burlesque  that  engages  and  detains  our  interest  in  those 
singular  compositions. 

Take,  for  example,  the  spirited  lyric,  With  huntis  up. 

"  With  huntis  up,  with  huntis  up, 

It  is  now  perfite  day, 
Jesus,  our  King,  is  gaine  in  hunting, 
Quha  tykis  to  speid  thay  may. 

Ane  cursit  Fox  lay  hid  in  rox, 

This  lang  and  mony  ane  day, 
Deuoring  scheip,  quhill  he  mycht  creip, 

Nane  mycht  him  schaip  away. 

It  did  him  gude  to  laip  the  blude 

Of  zung  and  tender  lambis, 
Nane  culd  he  mis,  for  all  was  his, 

The  zung  ains,  with  thair  dammis. 

The  hunter  is  Christ,  that  huntis  in  haist, 

The  hundis  ar  Peter  and  Paull, 
The  Paip  is  the  Fox,  Rome  is  the  rox, 

That  rubbis  us  on  the  gall."  ' 


1  A  nc  Compendious  Bookc,  ut  sup.,  p.   174. 


1 76    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

An  excellent  spiritual  song  for  a  revivalist  meeting  ;  but  not 
more  inspiriting  than  several  others  in  the  anthology.  What 
does  the  reader  say  to  this  ? 

"  Johne  cum  kis  me  now, 
Johne  cum  kis  me  now, 
Johne  cum  kis  me  by  and  by, 
And  mak  no  moir  adow. 

The  Lord  thy  God  I  am, 
That  Johne  dois  the  call ; 
Johne  representit  man, 
Be  grace  celestiall  ; 

For  Johne  Goddis  grace  it  is 
(Quha  list  till  expone  the  same) ; 
Oh,  Johne,  thowdid  amiss, 
Quhen  that  thow  loste  his  name  ; "  : 
or  to  this  ? 

"  For  our  gude  man  in  heuin  dois  regne, 
In  gloire  and  blis  without  ending, 
Quhair  Angellis  singis  euer  Osan 
In  laude  and  pryse  of  our  gude  man. 
Till  our  gud  man,  till  our  gud  man 
Keip  faith  and  lufe  till  our  gud  man  ; " 2 

or  to  this  ? 

"  Quho  is  at  my  windo,  quho,  quho  ? 
Go  from  my  windo,  go,  go. 
Quha  callis  thair  sa  lyke  ane  stranger  ? 
Go  from  my  windo,  go. 

Lord  I  am  heir  ane  wratcheid  mortall 
That  for  thy  mercy  dois  cry  and  call 
Unto  the  my  Lord  Celestiall, 

Se  quho  is  at  my  windo,  quho." 3 

Neither,  as  may  be  imagined,  are  instances  wanting  of  songs 
or  ballads  which  were  obviously  written  of  an  earthly,  being 
adapted  to  meet  the  case  of  a  heavenly,  love.4 

1  Ane  Compendious  Booke,  ut  sup.,  p.  158. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  198.  3  Ibid.,  p.  132. 

4  The  songs  mentioned  in  The  Complaynt  of  Scotland,  which  are  parodied 
in  the  Compendious  Bookc,  will  be  found  on  reference  to  the  appendix  to 
this  Chapter. 


THE    VERSE   OF   THE  REFORMATION    177 

"  Downe  be  yon  Riuer  I  ran, 
Downe  be  yon  Riuer  I  ran, 

Thinkand  on  Christ  sa  fre, 
That  brocht  me  to  libertie 
And  I  ane  sinful  man. 

"  Quha  suld  be  my  lufe  bot  he, 
That  hes  onlie  sauit  me, 

And  be  his  deith  me  wan,"  &c.' 

and — 

"  All  my  lufe,  leif  me  not, 
Leif  me  not,  leif  me  not, 
All  my  lufe,  leif  me  not, 

This  myne  allone ; 
With  ane  burding  on  my  bak, 
I  may  not  beir  it,  I  am  sa  waik, 
Lufe,  this  burding  fra  me  tak, 
Or  ellis  I  am  gone  ;  "  2 

both  tell  the  same  tale,  and  all  that  can  be  said  is  that  the 
adaptations  are  decidedly  less  offensive  than  anything  of  the 
same  sort  in  modern  hymnology.  By  a  curious  accident  we 
are  presented  in  one  instance  with  both  original  and  parody. 
The  last  piece  in  the  edition  of  1567  is  Welcum  Fortoun,  welcum 
againe^  which  makes  no  pretence  of  being  religious,  and  is  in 
fact  a  love-poem  of  very  considerable  merit  and  unimpeachable 
decency.  Earlier  in  the  book  will  be  found  the  spiritual 
version  which  follows  the  other  tolerably  closely.4  By  what 
oversight  the  former  verses  obtained  admittance  to  the  pages 

1  Compendious  Bookc,  tit  sup.,  p.  168.  3  Ibid.,  p.  220. 

3  "  Welcum,  Fortoun,  welcum  againe, 

The  day  and  hour  I  may  weill  bless, 
Thou  hes  exilit  all  my  paine, 
Quhilk  to  my  hart  greit  plesour  is." 

Ibid.,  p.  222. 

4  "  Welcum,  Lord  Christ,  welcum  againe, 

My  joy,  my  comfort,  and  my  bliss, 
That  culd  me  saif  from  hellis  paine, 
Bot  onlie  thow  nane  was  nor  is.'1 

Ibid.,  p.  171. 
M 


i;8    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

of  the  collection  it  is  vain  to  conjecture.  It  is  possible  that 
printers  were  as  sportive  in  those  days  as  they  are  alleged 
sometimes  to  be  now.  In  any  event,  the  General  Assembly 
took  cognisance  of  the  mistake  in  1568,  and  ordained  the 
offending  poem  to  be  deleted  from  the  Book  :  a  command 
which  was  duly  obeyed. 

It  need  scarcely  be  said  that  the  Gude  and  Godlie  Ballatis 
utter  no  uncertain  sound  as  to  the  corruptions  of  the  unre- 
formed  Church.  The  greed  and  immorality  of  the  clergy 
are  vigorously  scourged,  and  a  return  to  the  order  arid  dis- 
cipline of  the  primitive  Church  is  advocated. 

"  God  send  euerie  Priest  ane  wyfe, 
And  euerie  Nunne  ane  man, 
That  thay  mycht  leue  that  haly  lyfe 
At  first  the  Kirk  began. 

Sanct  Peter  quhome  nane  can  reprufe 
His  lyfe  in  mariage  led  ; 
All  guide  Preistis,  quhome  God  did  lufe 
Thai  maryit  wyffis  had."  ' 

Such  is  the  very  sensible  aspiration  of  the  authors — perhaps  we 
may  say  of  Robert  Wedderburn,  the  Vicar  of  Dundee,  who, 
in  common  with  the  majority  of  his  professional  brethren,  had 
endeavoured  to  anticipate  the  arrival  of  this  happy  state  or 
matters  by  forming  a  connection  with  a  female,  who  bore  him 
two  sons,  and  who  indeed  has  by  some  been  supposed  to  be  no 
other  than  the  heroine  of  the  Fortoun  poem. 

The  gem  of  the  Ballatis^  however,  is  a  lyric 2  which  Dr. 
Mitchell  deliberately  mutilated  in  his  edition,  and  of  which 
we  present  here  so  much  as  is  presentable  : — 

"  The  Paip,  that  Pagane  full  of  pryde, 
He  hes  us  blindit  lang, 
For  quhair  the  blind  the  blind  dois  gyde 
Na  wounder  baith  ga  wrang  ; 


1  Compendious  Bookc,  ut  sup.,  p.  188. 

3  It  is  introduced  with  excellent  effect  into  The  Abbot,  ch.  xv. 


THE    VERSE   OF   THE  REFORMATION    179 

Lyke  Prince  and  King  he  led  the  Regne 

Of  all  iniquitie  : 

Hay  trix,  tryme  go  trix,  under  the  grcne  wod  tre. 

Bot  his  abominatioun 

The  Lord  hes  brocht  to  lycht ; 

His  Popisch  pryde  and  thrinfald  Crowne 

Almaist  hes  loste  thair  mycht. 

His  plak  Pardonis  ar  bot  lardonis 

Of  new  fund  vanitie  : 

Hay  trix,  &c. 

His  Cardinallis  hes  cause  to  murne, 

His  Bischoppis  borne  aback, 

His  Abbotis  gat  ane  uncouth  turne, 

Quhen  schavelingis  went  to  sack, 

With  Burges  wyffis  thay  led  thair  lyves, 

And  fure  better  nor  we  : 

Hay  trix,  &c. 

His  Carmelitis  and  Jacobinis, 
His  Dominikis  had  greit  do, 
His  Cordeleris  and  Augustinis, 
Sanct  Frances  ordour  to  ; 
Thay  sillie  Freiris  mony  zeiris 
With  babling  blerit  our  Ee  : 
Hay  trix,  &c. 

The  blind  Bischop,  he  culd  notcht  preiche, 

For  playing  with  the  lassis, 

The  sillie  Freir  behulffit  to  fleiche 

For  almous  that  he  assis  [begs], 

The  Curat  his  Creid  he  culd  nocht  reid, 

Schame  fall  the  cumpanie  ; 

Hay  trix,  &c. 

Of  lait  I  saw  thir  lymmaris  stand 

Lyke  mad  men  at  mischeif, 

Thinking  to  get  the  upper  hand, 

Thay  luke  efter  releif. 

Bot  all  in  vaine,  go  tell  them  plaine, 

That  day  will  never  be  : 

Hay  trix,  &c. 


i8o    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

O  Jesu  !  gif  thay  thocht  greit  glie 

To  se  Goddis  word  downe  smorit, 

The  Congregatioun  maid  to  flie, 

Hypocrisie  restorit, 

With  messis  sung  and  bellis  rung, 

To  thair  Idolatrie  ; 

Marie,  God  thank  zow,  we  sail  gar  brank  zow, 

Befoir  that  tyme  trewlie."  ' 

The  note  is  that,  not  merely  of  militant,  but,  of  triumphant 
Protestantism,  and  the  piece,  whose  origin  has  not  been  traced, 
may  pretty  safely  be  assigned  to  the  years  immediately  suc- 
ceeding 1560.  It  practically  announces  the  victory  of  the  new 
movement  in  Scotland,  and  even  the  modern  upholders  of  the 
old  faith  must  surely  acknowledge  that  in  its  high  spirits  and 
vigour — even  in  its  coarseness  and  brutality — there  is  a  strong 
tincture  of  the  masterfulness  which  enabled  Knox  to  prevail  in 
his  struggle  with  "  principalities  and  powers."  Whether  it  is 
the  utterance  of  a  typical  Christian  is,  of  course,  a  totally 
different  matter.  The  "fond  affection,"  the  "winning 
simplicity,"  the  "  deep  and  yearning  tenderness,"  which  Dr. 
Mitchell  attributes  to  the  book  as  a  whole,  are  certainly  not 
very  conspicuous  here.  But,  regarded  from  the  literary  stand- 
point, the  performance  is  an  admirable  popular  broadside,  which 
has  the  great  merits  of  being  violent,  and  of  "singing  itself" 
even  in  the  ears  of  the  most  unmusical.  With  what  thunders 
of  applause  would  it  be  received  in  any  gathering  of  the 
faithful  !  We  have  seen  that  the  supreme  Court  of  the 
reformed  Kirk  was  fastidious.  But  it  never  allowed  fastidious- 
ness to  override  policy  and  discretion.  H/ekum,  Fortouny  was 
proscribed  :  The  Palp,  that  Pagan  full  of  Pride,  was  wisely 
ignored.  To  proscribe  him,  might  have  been  to  weaken  the 
security  of  the  treasure-house  occupied  by  the  Ballatis  in  "  the 
hearts  of  the  people."  Here,  if  anywhere  in  the  Compendious 
Booke^  do  we  get  the  echt  volksthumlich^  the  true  "  communal  " 
touch,  as  the  phrase  goes. 

1  Compendious  Booke,  ut  sup.,  p.  204. 


THE   BALLADS  181 

This  brings  us  face  to  face  with  the  "  problem "  of  the 
Ballads  (if  problem  indeed  there  be),  and,  having  thus  far  care- 
fully staved  it  off,  we  may  shirk  its  consideration  no  longer.1 
It  presents  questions  on  which  critics  have  for  long  differed, 
and  still  differ  ;  questions,  too,  to  which  a  definite  and  cate- 
gorical answer  is  often  impossible.  The  problem  cannot  be 
adequately  discussed  without  overstepping  the  bounds  of  purely 
Scottish  literature  ;  but  we  shall  endeavour,  in  sketching  the 
attitude  of  the  contending  factions,  to  restrict  our  divagations 
within  as  narrow  limits  as  possible. 

Broadly  speaking,  the  critics  of  ballad  literature  may  be 
divided  into  those  who  maintain  that  the  ballad  (in  which  term 
the  traditional  lyrical,  as  well  as  narrative,  poem  may  be 
included)  is  an  extremely  ancient  form,  and  those  who 
maintain  that  it  is  comparatively  modern.  The  former  school, 
or  at  least  the  more  reasonable  section  thereof,  does  not,  as  I 
understand,  contend  that  this  or  that  ballad  as  we  now  possess 
it  is  the  specific  work  which  came  into  existence  many  centuries 
ago.  The  contention  rather  is  that  the  ballad,  generically 
speaking,  may  be  traced  to  an  age  in  which,  as  it  were,  every 
man  was  his  own  minstrel,  and  that  the  indications  of  this 
descent,  however  obscured  by  the  accidents  resulting  from  oral 

1  Among  innumerable  authorities  on  the  Ballad  question,  consult  Scott, 
Minstrelsy  of  the  Scottish  Border,  3  vols.,  1802-3,  introduction;  the  same 
author's  "Introductory  Remarks  on  Popular  Poetry,"  and  "Essay  on 
Imitations  of  the  Ancient  Ballad  "  in  the  1833  edition  of  that  work  ;  all 
reprinted,  with  a  Prefatory  Note  by  the  editor,  in  Mr.  T.  F.  Henderson's 
admirable  edition  of  the  Minstrelsy,  4  vols.,  Edin.,  1902. ;  Mr.  A.  Lang  in 
the  Encyclopedia  Britannica,  s.v.  "  Ballads"  (1875)  ;  the  same  author  apiid 
Cliaiubcrs's  Cyclopedia  of  English  Literature,  vol.  i.,  1901,  pp.  520-41  ; 
Mr.  T.  F.  Henderson,  Scottish  Vernacular  Literature,  ut  sup.,  Chapter  XI.  ; 
Mr.  G.  Gregory  Smith,  The  Transition  Period,  Chapter  VI.,  which  gives 
a  very  clear  and  instructive  survey  of  the  subject  ;  and  Professor 
F.  B.  Gummere,  The  Beginnings  of  Poetry,  New  York,  1901.  As  regards 
editions  of  the  Ballads  themselves,  by  far  the  greatest  is  that  of  the  late 
Professor  F.  J.  Child,  The  English  and  Scottish  Popular  Ballads,  5  vols., 
Boston,  U.S.,  1882-98.  I  have  here  generally  referred  to  Mr.  Henderson's 
edition  of  Scott's  Minstrelsy,  ut  sup.  Aytoun's  Ballads  of  Scotland,  2  vols., 
Edin.,  1858,  is  convenient  and  good.  See  also  infra,  p.  386,  «. 


1 82     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

transmission,  or  by  the  deliberate  "  faking  "  of  modern  editors, 
are  still  perceptible,  in  the  versions  we  know,  to  the  sympathetic 
mind. 

The  most  recent  and,  at  first  sight,  most  formidable  champion 
of  the  "communal"  theory  of  the  origin  of  ballads — the  theory 
that  "  the  ballad  has  in  it  elements  which  go  back  to  certain 
conditions  of  poetic  production  utterly  unknown  to  the  modern 
poem  of  art " — is  Professor  Gummere.1  With  an  enviable  air 
of  certainty  which  brooks  no  opposition,  he  lays  down 
the  most  sweeping  general  propositions,  and  these  he  illus- 
trates by  innumerable  instances  drawn  from  a  wide  range 
of  reading  and  set  forth  with  plenty  of  quasi-scientific 
jargon  about  "curves  of  evolution,"  and  "  differencing 
elements,"  and  the  "  centrifugal  tendency "  in  morals.  In- 
structive and  entertaining  as  these  examples  are,  they  rarely 
prove  what  they  are  adduced  to  demonstrate.  But  what 
matter  ?  The  blessed  word  "  communal  "  remains,  and  its 
magic  properties  act  as  a  solvent  for  every  puzzle.  To  state 
Mr.  Gummere's  view  at  once  briefly  and  intelligibly  is  not 
very  easy,  but  it  appears  to  come  to  this,  as  expounded  at 
length  in  his  fifth  chapter,  that  in  the  course  of  tribal,  or 
communal,  dancing  and  singing,  the  ballad  somehow  or  other 
glided  into  being.  It  sprang  in  a  mysterious  manner  from  the 
heart,  or  the  throat,  or  the  legs,  of  the  "  people  "  ;  and  no  one 
individual  could  lay  claim  to  its  authorship.  It  was  then 
"  popular  "  as  opposed  to  "  literary,"  "  communal  "  as  opposed 
to  "artistic."  It  is  doubtless  unfortunate  that  no  pure  specimen 
of  a  form  of  utterance  which  "  growed  "  in  so  remarkable  a 
manner  should  have  reached  us.  But  there  are  abundant  traces 
of  it  in  the  ballads  and  lyrics  which  have  been  preserved.  The 
faulty  rhymes,  the  constant  repetitions,  the  recurrence  of 
numbers  like  "  three"  and  "seven,"  all  these  symptoms,  it  is 
urged,  point  to  a  state  of  primitive  culture  in  which  deliberate 
Art  was  impossible.  Above  all,  there  are  a  tone  and  ffOo^  about 
'  Beginnings  of  Poetry,  ut  sup.  p.  16^, 


THE  BALLADS  183 

the  ballad  which  stamp  it  as  essentially  the  work  or  the 
community.  The  genuine  ballad  was  a  superior  production. 
We  must  not  confound  it  with  broadsides  vended  in  the 
streets.  These  are  "sharply  sundered  from  the  good  old 
songs," x  which  in  essence  were  decent  and  respectable. 
Moreover,  the  "  communal "  character  of  the  ballad  is  further 
demonstrated  (it  is  said)  by  the  fact  that  the  making  of  the 
ballad  has  been  practically  "a  closed  account,"  since  the 
invention  of  printing,  or  at  least  since  the  diffusion  of  the 
arts  of  reading  and  writing.  "  The  revival  of  learning  broke 
up  the  communal  ballad  "  ; 2  and  thenceforth  no  one  has  been 
able  to  reproduce — or  even  perhaps  to  counterfeit  with  com- 
plete success — the  genuine  article.3 

Such  is  the  celebrated  "  communal "  theory  of  the  origin  of 
a  certain  species  of  poetry.  On  the  mere  ground  of  probability 
it  is  far  from  convincing  ;  and  in  so  obscure  a  region  pro- 
bability is  perhaps  the  most  that  can  fairly  be  sought  for.  It 
appears  to  me  as  difficult  to  hold  that  so  artificial  a  thing  as 
even  the  rudest  and  most  primitive  poetry  is  not  the  work  of 
one  man,  as  it  is  to  believe  that  the  simplest  domestic  utensil 
is  the  "  work  of  the  community  "  in  the  sense  alleged,  and  not 
of  the  individual.  The  Story  of  Ung  is  as  applicable  to  literature 
as  to  the  plastic  arts.  But  the  inherent  weakness  of  the  main 
theory  is  demonstrated  by  an  examination  of  the  subsidiary 
contentions  put  forward  in  support  of  it.  The  very  features 
relied  upon  by  the  upholders  of  the  antiquity  of  the  ballad 
are  pointed  to  by  the  advocates  on  the  other  side  as  proclaiming 
the  "  literary  "  and  conventional  character  of  that  sort  of  com- 
position ;  and,  whether  this  suggestion  is  right  or  wrong,  it  is 
impossible  from  internal  evidence  to  determine  how  far  such 
mannerisms  are  the  "  artless  "  artifices  of  an  amateur — "  a 
mere  child  in  such  matters  " — or  the  deliberate  devices  of  an 
"  old  hand,"  seeking  to  follow  the  practice  of  "  the  trade." 
Nor  is  the  distinction  taken  between  the  "  decency  "  of  the 
1  Beginnings  of  Poetry,  ut  sup.,  p.  170.  *  Ibid.,  p.  177  «.  3  Ibid.,  p.  168. 


1 84    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

modern  ballad  and  the  "indecency"  of  the  broadside  one  whit 
more  convincing.  It  is  said  that  at  a  volks-feste,  at  which  the 
whole  community  turned  out  with  wives  and  families,  gross 
ribaldry  and  obscenity  would  never  have  been  tolerated.1  The 
works  even  of  anthropologists  might  be  searched  in  vain  for  any 
more  ludicrous  hypothesis  than  one  according  to  which  the 
Fescennine  drama  should  have  been  a  model  of  decorum,  and 
the  comedies  of  Aristophanes  a  sort  of  child's  guide  to  manners. 
That  there  is  a  community  of  tone  and  sentiment  in  the 
ballads  of  Great  Britain — possibly  in  the  ballads  of  the  world — 
is  of  course  perfectly  true.  But  that  no  more  proves  their 
"  communal "  origin  in  the  sense  contended  for  than  the 
existence  of  a  Chaucerian  "  school  "  of  poetry  proves  that  such 
poetry  sprang  from  the  heart  of  the  masses.  In  the  days  or 
the  Saturday  Review  under  Douglas  Cook,  or  of  the  Spectator 
under  Mr.  Hutton,  or  of  the  National  Observer  under  Mr. 
Henley,  there  was  a  striking  similarity  of  tone  and  style 
about  the  articles,  insomuch  that  the  paper  might  almost 
have  seemed  to  be  written  by  one  man.2  But  does  that  prove 
the  "  communal  "  origin  of  a  single  number  of  those  organs  ? 
Does  it  prove  that  the  contributions  emanated  by  some  in- 
scrutable means  from  the  whole  staff  collectively  and  found 
their  way  piecemeal  and  imperceptibly  to  the  composing- 
room  ?  Probably  not.  What  the  fact  really  meant  was  that 
every  one  of  the  contributors  was  striving  to  imitate  a  particular 
model,  to  adhere  to  a  particular  convention  prescribed  by  a 
man  of  commanding  ability  in  journalism.  Even  so,  ballads 
were  written  by  men  of  varying  degrees  of  ability.  An 


1  "  It  is  to  be  remembered  that  communal  poetry,  sung  in  a  representa- 
tive throng,  cannot  well  be  obscene  ;  made  by  the  public  and  in  public,  it 
cannot  conceivably  run  against  the  public  standard  of  morality  "  (Gum- 
mere,  ut  sup.  p.  170).  The  indecencies,  it  seems,  were  later  inventions  for 
"grooms  and  the  baser  sort"  ;  the  ballad  of  oral  tradition  was  for  the 
community  as  a  whole. 

-  Mr.  Bagehot  has  dealt  with  this  phenomenon  in  his  invaluable  Physics 
and  Politics,  1872. 


THE  BALLADS  185 

infinity  of  grades  of  excellence  ranges  from  the  best  minstrels 
at  the  top  to  the  worst  at  the  bottom.  But  the  dullest 
attempted  in  his  blundering  way  to  copy  the  example  set  by 
the  most  brilliant  and  popular ;  and  the  doggerel  which  recounts 
the  fate  of  Mr.  Weare  who  lived  in  Lyon's  Inn  is  as  much 
ballad — belongs,  that  is  to  say,  to  the  same  genre,  is  "  produced 
under  the  same  conditions,"  and  is  impregnated  with  the  same 
"  folk-spirit " — as  the  gallant  and  inspiring  stanzas  which  tell 
us  of  Otterbourne  or  Klnmont  Willie.  That  it  is  worse  poetry 
is  true,  but  is  not  to  the  purpose.  The  difference  is,  not  that 
between  two  distinct  species  of  art,  but,  the  difference  between 
the  work  of  a  botcher  and  of  an  artist  in  the  same  kind. 

That  the  "  account "  of  the  ballad  maker  "  closed  "  some- 
where in  the  sixteenth  century  would  thus  appear  not  to  be 
the  case.  But  even  if  we  take  Mr.  Gummere's  view,  and 
decline  to  recognise  the  ballad's  poor  and  declasse  relations, 
the  statement  is  singularly  unhappy.  The  art  of  producing 
poetry  touched  with  the  popular  spirit  continued  for  long  after 
the  interest  of  the  populace  had  been  dissipated  among  other 
forms  of  literature.  Scott  in  himself  supplies  an  over- 
whelming refutation  of  the  theory,  whether  we  take  him 
as  the  author  of  the  Harlaw,  or  of  Donald  Caird,  or  of  Carle 
now  the  King's  Come^  or  of  Proud  Maisie.*  But  the  remarkable 
thing  is  that  the  true  ballad  gift  was  shared  by  writers  without 
a  tithe  of  Scott's  genius,  and  in  some  instances  by  writers 
whose  "  environment,"  it  might  have  been  thought,  was  far 
from  favourable  to  its  cultivation.  Lady  Wardlaw  (1677—1727) 
had  it,  as  her  Hardyknute,  with  all  its  solecisms,  bears  witness  ; 
Mickle  had  it  ;  Joanna  Baillie  had  it  ;  Leyden  had  it  ;  none 
of  them  in  perfection,  but  all  in  a  greater  or  less  degree.  Even 
Surtees  had  more  than  a  touch  of  it ;  while  Hogg,  of  course, 
had  it  in  ample  measure.  In  our  own  day  it  has  made  its 
reappearance  in  some — though  not  all — of  Mr.  Kipling's 

1  Mr.  Gummere,  it  is  only  fair  to  say,  faces  up  to  the  instance  of  Scott, 
p.  169. 


1 86    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Barrack-room  Ballads^  and  certain  other  poems.  It  may  be 
replied,  indeed,  that  a  trained  intelligence  can  detect  the 
genuine  antique  from  the  most  exquisite  modern  imitation. 
But  we  may  safely  defy  the  expert  to  discriminate  between 
the  touches  which  are  Scott's  and  the  touches  which  are  not, 
in  the  Minstrelsy^  though  we  may  have  our  suspicions  that  the 
best  are  all  Scott's  :  a  conclusion  far  from  pleasing  to  the 
advocate  of  "  communal  origin."  Or,  again,  it  may  be  said 
that  the  ballads  as  we  know  them  are  so  adulterated,  partly  by 
transmission  per  ora  virum,  and  partly  by  editorial  industry, 
that  we  can  only  catch  a  very  faint  whiff  of  the  genuine  com- 
munal flavour.  That  may  be  so  ;  but  if  it  is,  there  is  an  end 
.  to  all  controversy.  We  can  only  take  the  ballads  as  we  find 
them,  and  it  is  waste  of  time  to  argue  about  the  characteristics 
of  productions  which  no  one  has  ever  seen  or  heard,  and  whose 
very  existence  depends  upon  bare  conjecture. 

Mr.  Lang,  at  one  time  a  warm  supporter  of  the  "  com- 
munal "  theory,  is  much  too  intelligent  and  acute  to  commit 
himself  to  the  uninviting  paradoxes  of  Mr.  Gummere.  He 
refuses  to  swallow  "  communal  "  authorship  ;  "  there  must 
have  been  an  original  author,"  he  admits,1  though  he  very 
properly  points  out,  what  no  one  can  deny,  that  the  work 
of  that  author  has  only  been  transmitted  to  us  as  patched  and 
altered  by  reciters.  But  this  concession  knocks  the  bottom  out 
of  the  "communal"  theory  as  expounded  by  Mr.  Gummere, 
and  the  mystic  word  seems  no  longer  necessary.  Mr.  Lang, 
however,  endeavours  to  retain  the  community  in  another  way. 
He  notes  that  many  ballads  deal  with  tales,  the  plot  of  which 
is  familiar  to  every  nation  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  The 
savage  tribes  of  Australia,  the  Patagonians,  the  Red  Indians, 
the  Finns,  the  Scandinavians,  the  Ancient  Greeks,  the  Celts, 
and  so  on,  have  independently  evolved  marchen  identical  in 
theme  and  treatment  with  one  another.  The  origin  of  such 
marchen  may  be  traced  back  to  prehistoric  times.  Must  not 
1  Chambers 's  Cyclopcedia,  ul  supra,  vol.  i.  p.  521. 


THE  BALLADS  187 

the  ballads  in  which  they  are  occasionally  embodied  also  go 
back  to  prehistoric  times  ?  And  is  not  the  literary  method 
of  the  ballad  suggestive  of  a  period  when  the  professional 
minstrel  did  not  exist,  and  when,  the  song  once  made,  the 
maker  of  it  retired  into  his  former  obscurity,  and  it  became 
the  possession  of  the  community,  or  tribe,  or  race  ? 

The  former  question  may,  I  think,  be  answered  by  pointing 
out  that  while  the  marchen  may  very  possibly  be  infinitely 
older  than  the  crystallised  "  myth,"  it  does  not  follow  that  its 
literary  expression  in  verse  is  older  than  the  set  poem  in  which 
the  myth  is  incorporated.  It  may,  therefore,  quite  well  be  that 
a  Ballad  is  more  modern  than  a  Romance,  though  the  marchen 
which  forms  its  subject  is  much  older  than  the  derivative  myth 
with  which  the  Romance  deals.  The  second  question  has 
already  been  answered,  to  the  effect  that  none  of  the  ballads 
we  possess  can  justly  be  described  as  "non-literary."  On  the 
contrary,  all  betray  the  finger  of  the  professional,  whether  he 
was  skilful  in  his  vocation  or  unskilful.  The  community  may 
have  been  quick  in  catching  up  a  new  song  or  metrical  tale, 
but  it  could  not  catch  it  up  before  it  was  made.  The  diffusion 
over  a  wide  area  of  identical  traditions,  and  the  close  corre- 
spondence that  may  be  discovered  between  the  ballad  literatures 
of  different  countries,  do  not  seem  much  to  affect  the  question 
of  the  origin  of  the  ballad  as  a  form  of  literary  art,  though  they 
may  be  highly  relevant  considerations  in  ascertaining  the  origin 
of  marchen  and  myths.1  The  great  thing  is  to  have  got  rid 
of  the  "  communal  "  theory  in  its  extreme  form,  with  its  false 
antithesis  between  the  "  literary  "  or  "  artistic  "  on  the  one 
hand,  and  the  "  popular  "  or  "  communal  "  on  the  other.  The 
antithesis  had  its  origin  in  the  sensations  of  ingenuous  delight 
with  which  the  critics  of  the  eighteenth  century  hailed  the 
discovery  of  a  new  poetry,  different  from  the  poetry  sanctioned 

1  A  reviewer  of  Mr.  Henderson's  ed.  of  Scott's  Minstrelsy  in  the  Times 
(Literary  Supplement)  of  November  yth,  1902,  thinks  that  the  difficulty 
arising  from  "diffusion"  has  never  been  satisfactorily  treated. 


i88     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

by  the  rigid  canons  of  orthodox  taste.  But  those  feelings  have 
had  time  to  calm  down,  and  we  are  in  a  position  to  see  the 
whole  perspective  more  clearly.  We  can  sympathise  with 
Johnson  in  his  criticism  and  parody  of  the  Ballad  ;  we  can 
admit  that  "  flatness  and  insipidity  "  are  its  besetting  imper- 
fection.1 And,  thus  endeavouring  to  approach  it  without  the 
natural  prepossession  of  those  who  have  deterre  something — as 
of  a  dog  that  has  unearthed  a  truffle — we  are  driven  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  great  "  communal  "  theory  will  only  hold 
water  if  "  communal "  be  so  pared  down  in  meaning  as  to 
become  equivalent  to  "  anonymous."  That  the  ballads  are 
that,  no  one  will  probably  deny. 

Those  who  maintain  that  the  ballad  is  comparatively 
modern,  would  have  us  remember  that  it  represents  no 
healthy  reaction  from  the  elaboration  and  artificiality  of  the 
metrical  romance,  but  is  merely  a  sign  of  decadence — "  part 
of  the  literary  debris  of  the  Middle  Ages."2  Its  very  metre 
in  narrative,  they  assure  us,  may  be  confidently  traced  to  that 
of  romance  and  allegory,  through  the  medium  of  the  six-line 
stanza  employed  by  Chaucer  in  Sir  Thopas.  Its  mannerisms,  sup- 
posed at  one  time  to  be  indicative  of  primitive  simplicity,  are, 
for  this  class  of  critics,  as  we  have  seen,  the  surest  proof  that 
the  ballad  is  of  late  origin.  Epic  and  Romance  are,  in  truth, 
prior  both  in  fact  and  logic  to  popular  poetry.  "  The  profes- 
sional and  dignified  purpose  comes  first  in  the  literary  process  ; 
there  is  no  opportunity  in  the  early  stages  for  the  popular."  3 
The  corruption  of  the  minstrel,  in  effect,  is  the  generation  of 
the  ballad-maker.  "  So  far  from  the  ballad  being  a  spontaneous 
product  of  popular  imagination,  it  was  a  type  of  poem  adapted 
by  the  professors  of  the  declining  art  of  minstrelsy  from  the 
romances  much  in  favour  with  the  educated  classes.  Every- 
thing in  the  ballad — matter,  form,  composition — is  the  work 

1  Scott's  Minstrelsy,  ed.  Henderson,  ut  sup.,  vol.  i.  p.  9. 

2  Gregory  Smith,  The  Transition  Period,  ut  sup.,  p.  186. 

3  Gregory  Smith,  ut  sup.,  p.  233. 


THE  BALLADS  189 

of  the  minstrel  :  all  that  the  people  do  is  to  remember  and 
repeat  what  the  minstrel  has  put  together  ;  and,  in  order  to 
assist  the  memory,  the  minstrel  continues  to  use  from  age 
to  age  stereotyped  moulds  of  diction  no  less  artificial  than 
the  stilted  phraseology  of  literary  poetry  criticised  by  Words- 
worth."1 Thus,  while  the  later  ballads  are  as  a  rule  inferior 
to  the  earlier  in  poetical  merit,  even  the  earlier  belong  to  what 
was  essentially  a  decadent  period,  and  "  what  the  people  con- 
tributed to  the  making  of  the  ballads  was  no  more  than  the 
taste  and  sentiment  which  characterise  them.  They  preserved 
them,  it  is  true,  in  their  memories  after  they  had  been  com- 
posed, but  the  matter  not  less  than  the  form  of  the  poem  was, 
as  a  rule,  furnished  exclusively  by  the  minstrel,  who  adapted 
the  ancient  traditions  of  an  art  originally  intended  to  please  the 
tribal  chieftain  or  feudal  lord,  to  the  temper  of  a  popular 
audience."2 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  Professor  Child  was  not 
spared  to  digest  his  views  upon  the  origin  of  ballads  and 
popular  poetry  into  an  orderly  treatise.  It  seems  probable 
that  he  was  "a  moderate  and  judicious  friend  of  the  popular 
origin  of  ballads."  3  But,  failing  the  invaluable  assistance 
which  his  advocacy  could  not  but  have  rendered  to  that 
cause,  the  present  author  is  disposed  to  think  the  considera- 
tions advanced  by  Mr.  Gregory  Smith  and  Mr.  Courthope 
unanswerable.  They  have  the  great  merit  of  taking  the 
ballads  as  they  are — not  as  they  may  have  been,  or  ought  to 
have  been.  They  are  admittedly  applicable  to  the  not  incon- 
siderable class  of  ballads  deriving  immediately  from  romance — 
the  ballads  which  deal  with  such  subjects  as  King  Arthur  and 
Sir  Cornwall^  or  The  Marriage  of  Sir  Gawain.  And  they 
have  the  advantage  of  being  in  substantial  accordance  with 
the  opinions  deliberately  arrived  at  by  Scott.  4  Scott's  instinct 

1  Courthope,  History  of  English  Poetry,  vol.  i.,  1895,  p.  468.     The  whole 
of  chapter  xi.,  on  "  The  Decay  of  English  Minstrelsy,"  is  well  worth  study 

2  Courthope,  nt  sup.,  vol.  i.  p.  445.  3  Lang,  ut  sup.,  p.  524. 
4  Minstrelsy,  ed.  Henderson,  ut  sup.,  vol.  iii.  p.  310. 


LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

in  such  matters  was  by  no  means  infallible  ;  its  failing 
generally  lent  to  the  side  of  a  superior  antiquity.  In  one 
point,  however,  these  views  appear  to  require  some  modification. 
It  would  be  rash,  I  think,  to  deny  that  metrical  versions  of 
marchen  may  have  existed  at  a  date  considerably  prior  to  the 
development  of  "full-dress"  romance  or  epic.  But,  for  our 
purposes,  it  is  also  unnecessary  to  do  so,  for,  though  fragments 
of  such  metrical  performances  may  be  incorporated  in  the 
ballads,  they  cannot  now  be  picked  out  except  on  wholly 
arbitrary  and  unconvincing  principles  of  selection,  and  each 
ballad  as  a  whole  belongs  to  a  literary  class  almost  as  well 
defined  as  that  of  the  Golden  Targe  or  the  Essay  on  Man.* 
It  may  be  a  question  whether  the  theory  of  the  supporters 
of  the  ballad's  modern  origin  is  susceptible  of  world-wide 
application.  But  they  stand  beyond  all  dispute  on  exception- 
ally firm  ground  as  regards  the  ballads  of  Scotland,  which  are 
admittedly  more  complete  and  finer  from  a  literary  point 
of  view  than  those  of  any  other  country.  While  certain 
English  ballads  may  possibly  go  back  as  far  as  the  middle  ot 
the  fourteenth  century,  it  is  a  plain  and  solid  fact  that  "  there 
remain  but  the  merest  fragments  of  anonymous  popular  Scots 
poetry  which  can  he  referred  to  the  fifteenth  century " 2 
even,  and  the  great  bulk  of  what  we  possess  does  not  exist  for 
us  at  any  time  anterior  to  the  sixteenth  century.  The  earliest 
ballad  in  his  collection  is  scarce,  says  Scott,  coeval  with 
James  V.3  And  what,  perhaps  more  than  any  other  circum- 
stance, disposes  of  the  "  communal  origin  "  theory  is  this,  that 
in  the  case  of  three  ballads,  confessedly  of  the  highest  excel- 
lence, we  are  able  to  fix  with  practical  certainty  the  date  of 


1  This  is  not  to  say  that  the  work  of  "vicious  intromitters,"  as  Scott 
happily  terms  them,  may  not  often  be  readily  detected.     See,  for  example, 
the  additions  to  The  Young  Tamlane  (Minstrelsy,  ut  sup.,  vol.  ii.  p.  388) 
supplied  by  "  a  gentleman  residing  near  Langholm,"  to  which  Mr.  Hen- 
derson calls  attention. 

2  Gregory  Smith,  ul  sup.,  p.  211.          3  Minstrelsy,  ut  sup.,  vol.  i.  p.  55. 


THE  BALLADS  191 

the  events  which  they  commemorate.1  The  ballad  of  The 
Queen's  Marie,  or  Mary  Hamilton,  deals  with  the  results  of  an 
intrigue  between  a  French  apothecary  and  a  French  maid  at 
the  Court  of  Queen  Mary,  which  ended  in  the  execution  of 
both  the  guilty  parties  in  1563.2  The  ballad  or  Kinmont 
Willie  refers  to  an  exploit  of  Scott  of  Buccleuch  in  the  year 
1596.  As  for  the  ballad  of  Sir  Patrick  Spens — the  most 
celebrated  of  all  Scottish  popular  poems,  a  composition  which 
Professors  of  Rhetoric  have  been  in  use  to  recite  to  their 
classes  as  illustrative  of  the  simple  and  unadorned  glories  of 
early  Scots  popular  verse — no  one  now  believes  it  to  refer  to 
an  event  (which  never  occurred)  shortly  prior  to  the  death 
of  Alexander  III.  ;  and  it  is  assigned  with  a  high  degree  of 
probability  to  the  year  when  rumours  were  current  of  a 
disaster  which  had  overtaken  the  expedition  of  James  VI.  and 
Sir  Patrick  Fans  (not  Spens)  in  1589  to  negotiate  a  marriage 
for  the  King  with  Anne  of  Denmark.  All  three  ballads  are 
typical  specimens  of  the  class  ;  all  three  are  saturated  with  the 
"folk-spirit";  and  all  three  were  composed  under  conditions 

1  The  same  thing  is  true  of  the  following  among  other  ballads,  to 
whose  names  I  add  the  date  of  the  events  to  which  they  respectively  refer  : 
Lord  Maxwell's  Good-night  (circ.  1608),  Jamie  Telfer  (close  of  the  sixteenth 
century),  The  Raid  of  Reidswire  (1575),  Dick  o'  the  Cow  (circ.  1590),  The 
Lads  of  Wamphray  (1593),  The  Duel  of  Wharton  and  Stuart  (1609)  ;  and, 
of  course,  the  ballads  of  the  Covenant  and  the  "  persecution,"  such  as  The 
Battle  of  Philiphaugh  (1645),  Pcntland  Hill,  London  Hill,  and  Both-well 
Brig  (all  1679),  which,  though  decidedly  inferior  in  poetical  merit  and 
inaccurate  in  historical  detail,  are  nevertheless  admitted  even  by  Mr. 
Lang,  to  be  "  true  survivals  of  the  ancient  style ''  (Blackwood's  Magazine, 
vol.  clviii.  p.  389  11.).  As  for  the  fragment  known  as  Armstrong's  Good 
Night,  it  has  been  thought  to  be  very  late,  and  to  have  a  possible  Jacobite 
application.  But  could  anything  more  truly  volksthuinlich  be  imagined 
than  the  Hey  Johnnie  Cope  of  Adam  Skirving  ?  That  it  is  throughout  in 
the  humorous  vein  does  not  appear  to  me  to  exclude  it  from  the  class  of 
poems  with  which  we  are  here  dealing. 

*  Mr.  Lang  has  succeeded  in  displacing  the  ingenious  hypothesis  that 
the  ballad  celebrates  the  fate  of  a  Scots  waiting  woman  at  the  Court  of 
Peter  the  Great,  anno  1719  (see  Blackwood's  Magazine,  vol.  Iviii.  p.  391). 
But  the  sixteenth  century  is  as  inconvenient  a  date  as  the  eighteenth  for 
the  thick-and-thin  supporters  of  the  "  communal "  theory. 


192     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

identical  with  those  under  which  poetry  has  been  written  in 
historical  times,  or  at  all  events  such  as  to  render  the  idea  of 
"communal"  authorship  preposterous.1 

Whatever  may  be  the  disputes  of  critics  with  regard  to  the 
origins  of  popular  poetry,  there  can  be  but  one  opinion  as  to 
the  superiority  of  the  Scottish  versions  of  the  ballads  to  those 
which  were  current  in  England.  The  wandering  minstrel, 
through  whose  agency  ballads  obtained  publicity,  appears  to 
have  fallen  into  graver  obloquy  and  contempt  in  England  than 
in  Scotland,  though  even  in  Scotland  the  "jongleur"  class 
stood  in  no  very  high  repute  ;  and  in  England  printed  copies 
of  the  ballads  are  met  with  much  more  frequently  and  at  a 
much  earlier  date  than  in  Scotland.  Now  oral  tradition  has 
probably  been  unkind  to  much  popular  verse,  which  has 
suffered  and  been  corrupted  "  like  sermons  repeated  by  children 
and  serving  lasses  in  a  Presbyterian  family  exercise  "  2  ;  but  it 
has  dealt  less  harshly  with  it  than  the  early  printer,  who 
brought  to  his  work  the  taste  of  the  town  rather  than  of  the 
country,  who  was  not  averse  from  "  editing  "  what  he  printed 
so  as  to  gratify  the  palate  of  his  urban  clients,  and  who  thus 
was  apt  to  stereotype  and  fix  for  posterity  the  tamest  and  most 
commonplace  version,  in  place  of  the  most  spirited  and 
distinguished,  of  any  given  ballad.  The  Waverley  novels 
done  into  "  journalese  "  would  present  some  analogy  to  the 
Battle  of  Otterbourne  as  rendered  in  the  Chevy  Chase  of  1580. 
But,  be  the  explanation  what  it  may,  the  fact  of  the  superiority 
of  the  Scots  ballads  is  incontestable  and  uncontested  ;  and  in 
truth  they  hold  their  own  with  the  corresponding  class  of 
literature  in  any  country. 

1  It  may  be  argued  that  certain  songs,  &c.,  enumerated  in  the  Complaynt 
of  Scotland  (vide  the  Appendix  to  this  chapter),  some  of  which  have  reached 
us  in  one  form  or  another,  must  have  been  well  recognised  Folk-poems, 
Volkslicder,  in  1549,  when  that  work  appeared.     Esto ;  but  quomodo  constat 
that  they  can  be  traced  back  for  any  great  length  of  time,  or  that  they 
emanated  from  the  "  community  "  and  not  from  an  individual  ? 

2  Colvill's  Whig's  Supplication  (i6tfi);  Apology  to  the  reader. 


THE  BALLADS  193 

A  century  of  enthusiastic  and  undiscriminating  praise  has 
certainly  atoned  for  the  neglect  which  our  ballads  had  pre- 
viously suffered  at  the  hands  of  serious  critics,  and  for  the 
ridicule  with  which  they  were  assailed  when  they  began  to 
steal  into  the  notice  of  the  learned.  Extravagance  of  detrac- 
tion has  been  more  than  met  by  extravagance  of  eulogy  ;  and 
it  was  perhaps  natural  that  in  the  attempt  to  do  justice  to  the 
splendid  qualities  which  all  but  the  worst  ballads  unquestion- 
ably possess,  the  defects  which  mar  all  but  the  best  should 
have  been  ignored.  The  magnificent  simplicity  with  which 
the  effects  are  achieved,  the  astonishing  directness  with  which 
the  minstrel  hastens  to  his  mark,  the  masterly  touch  with 
which  the  deepest  chords  of  emotion  in  the  human  breast  are 
swept — it  is  not  unnatural  that  these  should  make  us  willing 
to  conceal  from  ourselves  the  lapses  into  something  indistin- 
guishable from  doggerel  which  obtrude  themselves  in  most 
ballads  of  any  considerable  length.  Auld  Maitland,  for  ex- 
ample, is  flat  and  tedious  in  the  extreme.  Few  such  composi- 
tions, whether  historical,  or  quasi-historical,  or  romantic,  are 
so  well  sustained  throughout  as  Kinmont  Willie^  or  The  Queen's 
Marie,  or  Jamie  Telfer,  or  The  Young  Tamlane^  which  are  too 
long  for  quotation  here.  We  must  content  ourselves  with 
three  specimens  which,  however  defective  in  quantity,  assuredly 
leave  little  to  be  desired  in  point  of  quality.  The  first  is  a 
Lyke-wake  Dirge  of  singular  impressiveness  and  power. 


"  This  ae  nighte,  this  ae  nighte, 

Every  nighte  and  alle  ; 
Fire  and  sleete,  and  candle  lighte, 
And  Christe  receive  thye  saule. 


When  thou  from  hence  away  are  paste, 

Every  nighte  and  alle  ; 
To  Whinny-muir  thou  comest  at  laste, 

And  Christe  receive  thye  saule. 
N 


194    LITERARY  HISTORY   OF  SCOTLAND 

If  ever  them  gavest  hosen  and  shoon, 

Every  nighte  and  alle  ; 
Sit  thee  down  and  put  them  on  ; 

And  Christe  receive  thye  saule. 

If  hosen  and  shoon  thou  ne'er  gavest  nane, 

Every  nighte  and  alle  ; 
The  whinnes  shall  pricke  thee  to  the  bare  bane, 

And  Christe  receive  thye  saule. 

From  Whinny-muir  when  thou  mayst  passe, 

Every  night  and  alle, 
To  Brigg  o'  Dread  thou  comest  at  laste, 

And  Christe  receive  thye  saule. 

From  Brigg  o'  Dread  when  thou  mayst  passe, 

Every  night  and  alle  ; 
The  fire  shall  never  make  thee  shrinke  ; 

And  Christe  receive  thye  saule. 

If  meat  or  drink  thou  never  gavest  nane, 

Every  nighte  and  alle  ; 
The  fire  will  burn  thee  to  the  bare  bane  ; 

And  Christe  receive  thye  saule. 

This  ae  nighte,  this  ae  nighte, 

Every  nighte  and  alle  ; 
Fire  and  sleete,  and  candle  lighte, 

And  Christe  receive  thy  saule."  ' 

The  second  is  Fair  Helen  of  Kirconnell,  an  exquisite  example 
of  its  kind. 

"  I  wish  I  were  where  Helen  lies  ! 
Night  and  day  on  me  she  cries  ; 
O  that  I  were  where  Helen  lies, 
On  fair  Kirconnell  Lee  ! 

Curst  be  the  heart  that  thought  the  thought, 
And  cursed  the  hand  that  fired  the  shot, 
When  in  my  arms  burd  Helen  dropt, 
And  died  to  succour  me  ! 


Minstrelsy,  ut  sup.  vol.  iii.  p.  170. 


THE  BALLADS  195 

0  think  na  ye  my  heart  was  sair, 

When  my  love  dropt  down  and  spak  nae  mair  ! 
There  did  she  swoon  wi'  meikle  care, 
On  fair  Kirconnell  Lee. 

As  I  went  down  the  water  side, 
None  but  my  foe  to  be  my  guide, 
None  but  my  foe  to  be  my  guide, 
On  fair  Kirconnell  Lee. 

1  lighted  down,  my  sword  did  draw, 
I  hacked  him  in  pieces  sma', 

I  hacked  him  in  pieces  sma', 

For  her  sake  that  died  for  me. 

O  Helen  fair,  beyond  compare  ! 
I'll  make  a  garland  of  thy  hair, 
Sail  bind  my  heart  for  evermair, 
Until  the  day  I  die  ! 

O  that  I  were  where  Helen  lies  ! 
Night  and  day  on  me  she  cries ; 
Out  of  my  bed  she  bids  me  rise, 
Says  '  Haste  and  come  to  me  ! ' 

0  Helen  fair  !  O  Helen  chaste  ! 
If  I  were  with  thee,  I  were  blest. 
Where  thou  lies  low,  and  takes  thy  rest, 

On  fair  Kirconnell  Lee. 

1  wish  my  grave  were  growing  green, 
A  winding-sheet  drawn  ower  my  een, 
And  I  in  Helen's  arms  lying, 

On  fair  Kirconnell  Lee. 

I  wish  I  were  where  Helen  lies, 
Night  and  day  on  me  she  cries  ; 
And  I  am  weary  of  the  skies, 

For  her  sake  that  died  for  me."  ' 


1  Minstrelsy,  ut  sup.,  vol.  iii.  p.  126.  Mr.  Henderson's  addition  to 
Scott's  prefatory  observations  on  this  ballad  well  illustrates  how  com- 
plicated and  obscure  a  problem  it  is  to  trace  such  a  composition  to  its 
original. 


196    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

The  third  is  Lord  MaxweWs  Goodnight^  a  poem  which  throws 
what  used  to  be  called  a  "  lurid  "  light  upon  the  condition  of 
the  Borders  at  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century. 


"  'Adieu,  madame,  my  mother  dear, 

But  and  my  sisters  three  ! 
Adieu,  fair  Robert  of  Orchardstane  ! 

My  heart  is  wae  for  thee. 
Adieu,  the  lily  and  the  rose, 

The  primrose  fair  to  see  : 
Adieu,  my  ladye,  and  only  joy  ! 

For  I  may  not  stay  with  thee. 


'  Though  I  hae  slain  the  Lord  Johnstone, 

What  care  I  for  their  feid  ? 
My  noble  heart  their  wrath  disdains : 

He  was  my  father's  deid. 
Both  night  and  day  I  laboured  oft 

Of  him  avenged  to  be  ; 
But  now  I've  got  what  lang  I  sought, 

And  I  may  not  stay  with  thee. 


'  Adieu  !  Drumlanrig,  false  wert  aye, 

And  Closeburn  in  a  band  ! 
The  Laird  of  Lag,  frae  my  father  that  fled, 

When  the  Johnston  struck  aff  his  hand. 
They  were  three  brethren  in  a  band — 

Joy  may  they  never  see  ! 
Their  treacherous  art,  and  cowardly  heart, 

Has  turn'd  my  love  and  me. 


'  Adieu  !  Dumfries,  my  proper  place, 

But  and  Carlaverock  fair  ! 
Adieu  !  my  castle  of  the  Thrieve, 

Wi'  a'  my  buildings  there  : 
Adieu  !  Lochmaben's  gates  sae  fair, 

The  Langholm-holm,  where  birks  there  be 
Adieu  !  my  ladye,  and  only  joy, 

For,  trust  me,  I  may  not  stay  wi'  thee. 


THE  BALLADS  197 

'  Adieu  !  fair  Eskdale  up  and  down, 

Where  my  puir  friends  do  dwell ; 
The  bangisters  will  ding  them  down, 

And  will  them  sair  compell. 
But  I'll  avenge  their  feid  mysell, 

When  I  come  o'er  the  sea  ; 
Adieu  ;  my  ladye  and  only  joy, 

For  I  may  not  stay  wi'  thee.' 

'  Lord  of  the  land  ! ' — that  ladye  said, 

'  O  wad  ye  go  wi'  me, 
Unto  my  brother's  stately  tower, 

Where  safest  ye  may  be  ! 
There  Hamiltons  and  Douglas  baith 

Shall  rise  to  succour  thee.' 
'  Thanks  for  thy  kindness,  fair  my  dame, 

But  I  may  not  stay  with  thee.' 

Then  he  tuik  aff  a  gay  gold  ring, 

Thereat  hang  signets  three  ; 
'  Here,  take  thee  that,  mine  ain  dear  thing, 

And  still  hae  mind  o'  me  ; 
But,  if  thou  take  another  lord, 

Ere  I  come  ower  the  sea — 
His  life  is  but  a  three  days'  lease, 

Tho'  I  may  not  stay  wi'  thee.' 

The  wind  was  fair,  the  ship  was  clear, 

That  good  lord  went  away ; 
And  most  part  of  his  friends  were  there, 

To  give  him  a  fair  convey. 
They  drank  the  wine,  they  didna  spair, 

Even  in  that  gude  lord's  sight — 
Sae  now  he's  o'er  the  floods  sae  gray, 

And  Lord  Maxwell  has  ta'en  his  goodnight."  ' 

Even  in  this  last  comparatively  short  piece,  it  were  idle  to  deny 
that  there  are  traces  of  the  hack  balladmonger's  hand,  as  well 
as  of  the  hand  of  the  last  and  greatest  of  the  Minstrels.  Much 
more,  as  we  have  said,  in  the  extended  ballads  of  the  narrative, 
and  not  the  dramatic,  type,  must  we  be  prepared  to  find  long 

1  Minstrelsy,  nt  sup.,  vol.  ii.  p.  177. 


198    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

tracts  of  what  Scott  himself  has  accurately  described  as 
"  monotony,  languor,  and  inanity."  From  Scott  also  we 
get  a  plausible  and  authoritative  answer  to  the  inquiry, 
"  What  were  the  peculiar  charms  by  which  the  old  minstrel 
ballad  produced  an  effect  like  a  trumpet  sound  upon  the  bosom 
of  a  real  son  of  chivalry  ?  "  He  finds  the  explanation  in  "  the 
extreme  simplicity  with  which  the  narrative  moves  forward, 
neglecting  all  the  more  minute  ornaments  of  speech  and 
diction,  to  the  grand  object  of  enforcing  on  the  hearer  a 
striking  and  affecting  catastrophe.  The  author  seems  too 
serious  in  his  wish  to  affect  the  audience  to  allow  himself  to  be 
drawn  aside  by  anything  which  can,  either  by  its  tenor  or  the 
manner  in  which  it  is  spoken,  have  the  perverse  effect  of 
distracting  attention  from  the  catastrophe."  T 

But  upon  the  whole,  though  the  opinion  may  savour  of 
deadly  heresy  to  some,  it  seems  not  unreasonable  to  hold  that, 
from  the  purely  literary  point  of  view,  the  memorable  feature  of 
the  ballads  consists  in  the  extraordinary  vividness  and  power  of 
occasional  stanzas  or  passages  at  various  stages  of  the  journey 
to  the  denoument.  I  do  not,  of  course,  mean  that  the 
excellences  of  the  ballad  could  be  best  exhibited  in  a  collection 
of  "  elegant  extracts,"  however  well  chosen.  But  I  think  that 
what  stirs  the  blood  and  arrests  the  imagination  is,  less  the 
poem  considered  as  a  whole,  than  the  presence  in  it  at  intervals 
of  such  verses  as,  once  heard  or  read,  inevitably  "  echo  in  the 
heart  "  and  haunt  the  memory  for  ever — verses  unmatched  in 
their  own  or  any  other  language  for  their  abundance  in  the 
very  stuff  of  poetry.  It  may  be — 

"  My  hounds  may  a'  rin  masterless, 

My  hawks  may  fly  from  tree  to  tree, 
My  lord  may  grip  my  vassal  lands, 
For  there  again  maun  I  never  be  !" 


1  Essay  on  Imitations  0}  the  Ancient  Ballad,  apud  Minstrelsy,  tit  sup., 
vol.  iv.  p.  6. 


THE  BALLADS  199 

from  Jamie  Telfer ;  *  or — 

"  To  seik  het  water  beneith  cauld  ice, 

Surely  it  is  a  greit  folie — 
I  have  asked  grace  at  a  graceless  face, 
But  there  is  nane  for  my  men  and  me  ! " 

from  Johnie  Armstrong ;  2  or — 

"  Lang,  lang,  may  the  maidens  sit, 

Wi'  their  goud  kaims  in  their  hair, 
A'  waiting  for  their  ain  dear  loves  ! 
For  them  they'll  see  nae  mair," 

from  Sir  Patrick  Spens ;  3  or — 

"  Late  at  e'en,  drinking  the  wine, 

And  e'er  they  paid  the  lawing, 
They  set  a  combat  them  between 
To  fight  it  in  the  dawing," 

from    The  Dowie  Dens  of  Yarrow  ;  4  or — 

"  O  little  did  my  mother  ken, 
The  day  she  cradled  me, 
The  lands  I  was  to  travel  in, 
Or  the  death  I  was  to  die, 

from  The  Queens  Marie  ;  5  or — 

"  My  wound  is  deep  ;  I  fain  would  sleep  ; 
Take  thou  the  vanguard  of  the  three  ; 
And  hide  me  by  the  braken  bush, 
That  grows  on  yonder  lilye  lee,"  6 

from  The  Battle  of  Otterbourne.  Without  such  verses  as  these, 
I  venture  to  think  that  the  ballads,  however  interesting  as 
curiosities,  however  valuable  for  the  student  of  anthropology  or 

1  Minstrelsy,  ut  sup.,  vol.  ii.  p.  5.  2  Ibid.,  vol.  i.  p.  356. 

5  Ibid.,  vol.  i.  p.  230.        4  Ibid.,  vol.  iii.  p.  182.         5  Ibid.,  vol.  iii.  p.  371. 

6  Ibid.,  vol.  i.  p.  291.     It  can  never  be  forgotten  how  this  verse  among 
others  was  repeated  by  Scott  with  tears  on  his  visit  to  "  Castle  Dangerous  " 
in  July,  1831.     See  Lockhart,  Life  of  Scott,  1893,  p.  727. 


200    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

folklore,  must  needs  have  forfeited  their  right  to  more  than 
passing  mention  in  anything  that  pretends  to  be  a  history  of 
literature. 

Before  bidding  a  final  adieu  to  the  sixteenth  century — so 
momentous  an  epoch  both  in  Scottish  history  and  Scottish 
letters — we  must  say  something  of  certain  poets  who  bring  to 
a  conclusion — some  of  them  not  unworthily — the  illustrious 
roll  of  the  old  Scottish  "  makaris."  Alexander  Arbuthnot 
(1538-83),  a  man  of  probity  and  learning,  dared  to  violate 
the  old  Scots  tradition  by  celebrating  in  a  poem  The  Praises  of 
Wemen ;  William  Fowler,  conjectured  to  have  been  parson  of 
Hawick,  translated  into  rhymed  "  fourteeners  "  The  Triumphs 
of  the  most  famous  Poet,  Mr.  Frances  Petrarke  (1587)  ; 
Stewart  of  Baldynneis  abridged  and  translated  the  Rolana 
Furious  of  Ariosto  ;  and  to  John  Burell,  an  Edinburgh 
burgess,  we  owe  an  indifferent  allegory  named  The  Passage  of 
the  Pilgremer,  and  a  metrical  description  of  the  royal  entry  into 
Edinburgh  in  1590.  William  Lauder,  minister  of  the  united 
parishes  of  Forgandenny,  Forteviot,  and  Muckarsie,  wrote 
Ane  compendious  and  breve  Tractate  concernyng  ye  office  and  dewtie 
of  Kyngis^  Spiritual/  T^astoris^  and  Temporall  Jugis*  (1556)  in 
somewhat  halting  rhymed  octosyllabics.  His  theory  is  that 
the  King  is  "  bot  constitute,  under  God,  as  ane  substitute." 
None  of  these  bards  count  for  much,  and  the  immor- 
tality of  John  Napier  of  Merchiston  (1550-1617)  is  assured 
in  virtue  rather  of  his  Mirifici  Logarithmorum  Canonis 
Descriptio  (1614)  than  of  his  Plaine  Discouery  (in  rhyme)  of  the 
Revelation  of  Saint  John  (1593),  eked  out  though  it  be  by 
certain  Oracles  of  Sibylla.  Alexander,  Earl  of  Glencairn,  who, 
in  the  early  days  of  the  Reformation  movement,  wrote  a 
satirical  epistle  from  the  Hermit  of  Loretto  to  his  brethren,  the 
Grey  Friars,2  need  not  detain  us  ;  nor  is  it  necessary  to  dwell 
at  any  length  upon  John  Rolland,  notary  in  Dalkeith,  and 

1  Ed.  Hall,  E.  E.  T.  S.,  1864. 

2  Quoted  by  Knox  in  his  History,  Works,  ed.  Laing,  vol.  i.  p.  72. 


THE  LAST  OF   THE  « MAKARIS"        201 

presbyter  in  the  diocese  of  Glasgow.  Rolland  wrote  two 
poems,  one,  The  Seuin  Sages,  the  date  of  which  is  about  1560  ; 
the  other,  and  probably  earlier,  entitled  The  Court  of  VenusJ- 
and  published  in  1575.  The  Court  of  Venus,  which  consists  of 
four  books,  and  is  in  aab  aab  bab,  is  one  of  the  last  of  the  poems 
modelled  on  the  mediaeval  allegory,  to  which  we  have  had 
occasion  so  often  to  refer.  It  is  admittedly  copied  from  The 
Pa/ice  of  Honour,  among  other  models,  and  its  purpose  is  to 
describe  the  trial  and  condemnation  of  Desperance  before  the 
tribunal  of  the  goddess  of  love.  This  not  very  exhilarating 
theme  is  handled  in  a  thoroughly  conventional  and  unoriginal 
manner,  and  all  the  embellishments  known  to  the  allegorical 
poet,  from  the  catalogue  downwards,  are  unsparingly  employed. 
Perhaps  the  most  that  can  be  said  for  it  is  that  it  offers  some 
tolerably  attractive  material  to  the  legal  antiquary.  The 
account  of  the  trial  is  copious  and  minute,  and  has  been 
thought  (justly  no  doubt)  to  reflect  with  more  or  less  accuracy 
the  forms  of  procedure  in  use  in  the  Scottish  consistorial  courts 
of  the  period. 

Much  more  important  than  Rolland  is  Sir  Richard  Maitland 
of  Lethington  (1496-1 586),2  the  father  of  the  celebrated 
Secretary  Maitland.  He  did  not  commence  poet  until  he  had 
reached  the  age  of  sixty,  and  his  tone  throughout  his  poetical 
works  is  that  of  one  who,  in  addition  to  the  physical  infirmity 
of  blindness,  has  "  fallen  on  evil  days  and  evil  tongues."  Few 
more  unaffectedly  pathetic  things  have  been  written  by  an  old 
man  than  his  Solace  in  Age,  which  has  certainly  none  of  the 
cheerfulness  about  it  that  we  associate  with  the  elder  Cato. 
Appalled  by  the  economic,  political,  and  ecclesiastical  con- 
vulsion called  the  Reformation,  Maitland  knew  not  which  way 
to  turn.  Everything  is  in  the  melting  pot. 

1  Ed.  Gregor,  S.  T.  S.,  1883-84.     The  accuracy  of  this  edition  has  been 
sharply  challenged  by  Mr.  Craigie  in  the  Modern  Quarterly  of  Language 
and  Literature,  vol.  i.  (1898),  p.  9. 

2  Poems,  Maitland  Club,  1830. 


202    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

"  The  grit  men  say  that  the  distress 
Cumis  for  the  pepillis  wickitness  ; 
The  peple  say,  for  the  transgressioun 
Of  the  grit  men,  and  thair  oppressioun, 

But  nane  will  their  awin  syn  confess  ;"  ' 

a  not  unprecedented  state  of  matters.  He  sees  the  faults  on 
both  sides  ;  the  errors  of  the  priests  who  had  been  unfaithful 
to  their  vows,  and  the  errors  of  the  "  fleschlie  gospellaris," 
whose  practice  falls  so  far  short  of  their  profession.  No  one  has 
painted  the  condition  of  the  country  in  the  third  quarter  of  the 
century  in  blacker  colours  than  he  in  his  poems  Aganis  the 
Oppressioun  of  the  Gomounis,  and  Aganis  the  theivis  of  LiddisdailL 

"  Thay  theifs  that  steillis  and  tursis  hame 
Ilk  ane  of  them  has  ane  to-name  ; 
Will  of  the  Lawis, 
Hab  of  the  Schawis  ; 
To  mak  bair  wawis 
They  thinke  na  schame. 

Thay  spuilye  puir  men  of  their  pakis, 
They  leif  them  nocht  on  bed  nor  bakis ; 
Baith  hen  and  cok, 
With  reil  and  rok 
The  Lairdis  Jok 
All  with  him  takis. 

They  leif  not  spindell,  spoone,  nor  speit, 
Bed,  bolster,  blanket,  sark,  nor  scheit, 
Johne  of  the  Parke 
Ryps  kist  and  ark 
For  all  sic  wark 
He  is  richt  meit."  z 

All  he  can  do  is  to  plead  for  a  genuine  concordia  ordinum 
against  the  common  enemy.  He  casts  a  wistful  look  back  to 
the  "  good  old  times." 

1  From  Miseric  the  frute  ofVycc,  in  Poems,  p.  35. 

2  Poems,  p.  52.     This   poem  will  also  be    found  in  Scott's  Minstrelsy, 
ed.  Henderson,  vol.   i.  p     187. 


THE  LAST  OF   THE   " MAKARIS"        203 

"  Quhair  is  the  blythness  that  hes  bein 
Bayth  in  brugh  and  landwart  sein. 
Amang  lordis  and  ladies  schein, 

Dansing,  singing,  game,  and  play  ? 
Bot  weill  I  wot  nocht  quhat  they  mein  ; 

All  merriness  is  worne  away. 

For  now  I  heir  na  worde  of  Yule 
In  kirk,  on  cassay,  nor  in  skuill ; 
Lordis  lettis  thair  kitchingis  cule, 

And  drawis  thame  to  the  Abbay  ; 
And  skant  hes  ane  to  keip  thair  mule  ; 

All  houshalding  is  worne  away. 

I  saw  no  gysaris  all  this  yeir, 
But  kirkmen  cled  lyk  men  of  weir, 
That  never  cummis  in  the  queir ; 

Lyk  ruffianis  is  thair  array, 
To  teitche  and  preitche  that  will  not  leir  ; 

The  kirk  gudis  thai  waste  away. 


And  we  hald  nather  Yule  nor  Pace, 
Bot  seik  our  meit  from  place  to  place  ; 
And  we  haive  nather  luk  nor  grace  ; 

We  gar  our  landis  dowbill  pay  ; 
Our  tennentis  cry,  '  Alace  !  Alace  ! 

That  routh  and  pittie  is  away  ! 

Now  we  haive  mair,  it  is  weill  kend, 
Nor  our  forbearis  had  to  spend  ; 
Bot  far  les  at  the  yeiris  end  ; 

And  never  hes  ane  mirrie  day  : 
God  will  na  ryches  to  us  send, 

Sua  lang  as  honour  is  away."  * 

Even  in  this  sea  of  misfortunes  he  tries,  with  a  sufficiently  bad 
grace,  to  assume  a  cheerful  countenance.  What  good  will 
repining  do  ? 

1  From  Satire  on  the  Age,  in  Poems,  p.  23. 


204    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

"  Quhen  I  have  done  considder 

This  warldis  vanitie, 
Sa  brukill  and  sa  slidder 

Sa  full  of  miserie  ; 
Then  I  remember  me, 

Theit  heir  thair  is  no  rest  ; 
Thairfoir,  appeirantlie, 

To  be  mirrie  is  best."  J 

Not,  it  must  be  confessed,  a  very  strong  incentive  to  rejoicing, 
but  quite  in  the  vein  of  Dunbar,  in  his  Mark  Tapley  mood. 

In  other  matters,  too,  there  is  the  seal  of  old  age  impressed 
upon  Maitland's  work.  His  Counsel!  to  his  Son  is  full  of  the  wisest 
advice,  but  it  smacks  something  of  Polonius,  and  we  may  assume 
that  that  astute  statesman  knew  all  that  it  contains  already. 
Maitland  is  never  tired  of  attacking  the  traditional  and  ineradi- 
cable foibles  of  all  classes  in  the  community,  and,  in  particular, 
the  frailties  of  the  gentler  sex,  whose  taste  for  "  newfangilnes  of 
geir  "  moves  him  to  hot  indignation.2  Here  are  some  of  his 
wishes  for  the  New  Teir : — 

"  Lordis  of  the  Seat,  mak  expeditioune, 
Gar  ever-ilk  man  mak  restitutioune 

Of  wrangous  land  and  geir  ; 
And  we  sail  eik  your  contributioune 

Now  into  this  new  yeir. 

Men  of  law,  I  pray  yow  mend  : 
Tak  na  ill  quarellis  be  the  end 

For  profeitis  may  appeir  ; 
Invent  no  thing  to  gar  us  spend 

Our  geir  in  this  new  yeir. 

God  grant  our  ladeis  chastitie, 
Wisdome,  meiknes,  and  gravitie  ; 

And  haive  na  will  to  weir 
Thair  claithing  full  of  vanitie, 

Now  into  this  new  yeir. 


1  From  Advyce  to  Lesom  Mirriness  in  Poems,  p.  84. 

2  See  his  Satire  on  the  Toun  Ladyes,  Poems,  p.  27. 


THE   LAST  OF   THE  "  MAKARIS"        205 

Bot  for  to  weir  habuilyement 
According  to  thair  stait  and  rent ; 

And  all  thingis  foirbeir 
That  may  thair  bairnes  gar  repent, 

Now  into  this  new  yeir. 


Grace  be  to  gud  burges  wyfis 
That  be  leisome  lawbour  thryvis, 

And  dois  vertew  leir  ; 
Thriftie  and  of  honest  lyfis 

Now  into  this  new  yeir. 

For  some  of  them  wald  be  weill  fed, 
And  lyk  the  Queinis  ladeis  cled, 

Thocht  all  thair  bairnes  sould  bleir  : 
I  trow  that  sic  sail  mak  ane  red 

Of  all  thair  pakkis  this  yeir. 

God  send  the  commounes  will  to  wirk, 
The  grund  to  labour,  and  nocht  irk 

To  win  gude  quheit  and  beir  ; 
And  to  bring  fuirth  baith  staig  and  stirk, 

Now  into  this  new  yeir. 

And  tak  away  thir  ydill  lownis, 
Craimes  crakeris,  with  clotitit  gownis  ; 

And  sornaris  that  ar  sweir  ; 
And  put  thame  in  the  gailyiounis, 

Now  into  this  new  year."  J 

They  are  as  seasonable  to-day  as  they  were  three  centuries 
and  more  ago,  and  as  they  will  be  three  centuries  and  more 
hence.  The  Crames  have  disappeared,  but  the  "  crackers " 
and  the  "ydill  lownis  "  may  still  be  discerned  without  difficulty, 
loitering  in  the  High  Street,  or  in  front  of  the  Register  House. 
On  the  novel  topic  of  The  Folie  of  Ane  auld  Manis  marryand 
ane  Young  Woman^  Sir  Richard  talks  sound  sense  : — 

1  On  the  New  Yeir,  in  Poems,  p.  i. 


2o6    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

11  Men  sould  tak  voyage  at  the  larkis  sang, 

And  nocht  at  evin  quhen  passit  is  the  day  ; 
Efter  mid-age  the  luifar  lyes  ful  lang, 
Quhen  that  his  hair  is  turnit  lyart  gray." 

From  the  specimens  quoted,  it  will  be  seen  that  Maitland 
was  a  thoroughly  competent  and  dexterous  versifier,  and  the 
same  inference  is  suggested  by  his  more  formal  poetry,  such  as 
the  verses  On  the  ^uenis  Maryage  to  the  Dolphin  of  France,  or 
those  On  the  ^uenis  arryvale  in  Scotland.  He  indulges  in 
alliteration,  and  in  pieces  of  this  nature  his  vocabulary  tends 
to  be  "  aureate."  "  O  Royell  Roy  !  thy  realme  ay  rewll  by 
rycht "  is  one  enthusiastic  line  from  a  loyal  address  to  King 
James  VI.  His  use  of  the  Banks  of  Helicon,  or  the  Cherrie  and 
the  Slae,  metre  is  not  perhaps  so  successful,  but  the  scheme  of 
Redemption  from  the  Creation  downwards  is  perhaps  an 
unpromising  one  for  treatment  in  that  elaborate  and  fluent 
stanza.  He  displays,  however,  a  good  deal  of  ingenuity  in  a 
poem  of  eight  lines  called  Gude  Counsals,  which  possesses  the 
singular  merit  that  "  ye  may  begin  at  ony  nuke  ye  will  and 
reid  backward  or  forward,  and  ye  sail  fynd  the  lyk  sentence 
and  meter."  He  transmitted  his  talents  to  his  son  Sir  John, 
to  whom,  at  all  events,  is  ascribed  a  poem,  Aganis  Sklanderous 
Tungis,  more  difficult  to  interpret  than  many  earlier  pieces,  and 
perhaps  worth  quoting  to  the  extent  of  a  couple  of  stanzas  : — 

"  Gif  ye  be  blythe,  your  lychtnes  thai  will  lak ; 

Gif  ye  be  grave,  your  gravite  is  clekit ; 
Gif  ye  lyk  musik,  mirthe,  or  myrrie  mak, 

Thai  sweir  ye  feill  ane  siring  and  bownis  to  brek  it ; 

Gif  ye  be  seik,  sum  slychtis  ar  suspectit, 
And  all  your  sairris  callit  secret  swnyeis  ; 

Dais  thai  dispyte,  and  be  ye  daylie  deckit 
Persave,  thai  say,  the  papingo  that  prwnzeis. 

Gif  ye  be  wyis,  and  weill  in  vertu  versit, 
Cwnning  thai  call  uncwmlie  for  your  kynd, 

And  sayis  it  is  bot  slychtis  ye  have  seirsit, 
To  cloik  the  crafte  quhairte  ye  ar  inclynd  ; 


THE   LAST   OF   THE   " MAKARIS"        207 

Gif  ye  be  meik,  yit  thai  mistak  your  mynd, 
And  sweiris  ye  ar  far  schrewdar  nor  ye  seme  : 

Swa  do  your  best,  thus  sail  ye  be  defynd, 
And  all  your  deidis  sail  detractourise  deme."  ' 

Whatever  may  be  our  estimate  of  Maitland's  poetical  gifts, 
he  deserves  to  be  kept  in  perpetual  remembrance  for  his 
invaluable  services  in  preserving  for  posterity  much  of  old 
Scots  poetry  which  might  otherwise  have  perished.  The 
Maitland  MSS.  2  were  compiled  by  him,  or  rather  under  his 
direction,  between  1555  and  1586;  and  the  collection  is  only 
rivalled  in  interest  and  importance  by  that  of  George  Banna- 
tyne  (circ.  1545 — clrc.  1608),  a  native  of  Newtyle  and  a 
prosperous  business  man  in  Edinburgh,  who  compiled  the 
anthology  which  bears  his  honoured  name  in  1568,  during  a 
visitation  of  the  plague. 3  Bannatyne  was  a  better  judge  of 
poetry  in  others  than  he  was  a  poet,  and  such  of  his  original 
verse  as  we  have  is  full  of  conceits  and  of  the  battered  cliches 
of  the  "  aureate  "  school  of  poetry.  The  reader  may,  however, 
be  interested  to  see  the  concluding  stanzas  of  a  piece  in  honour 
of  his  lady  love,  though  we  cannot  tell  whether  this  was  the 
relict  of  Bailie  Nisbet  whom  he  married  in  middle  life  : — 

"  Nocht  ellis  thairfoir  I  wryt  to  zow,  my  sweit, 

But  with  meik  hairt,  and  quaking  pen  and  hand, 
Prostratis  my  seruice  law  doun  at  zour  feit, 

Bot  nycht  and  day  quhill  I  may  gang  or  stand  ; 

Praying  the  Lord,  of  pety  excelland, 
To  plant  in  zow  ane  petifull  hairt  and  mynd, 

Conducting  zow  to  joy  euerlastand, 
Both  now  and  ay,  and  so  I  mak  ane  end. 


1  Aganis  Sklaiieicrons  Tungis  in  Satirical  Poems  of  the  Reformation,  ed. 
Cranstoun,  lit  sup.  i.  p.  254,  and  in  Maitland's  Poems,  ut  sup.,  App.,  p.  121. 

2  For  a  bibliographical   account  of   the   MS.   collections   see   Gregory 
Smith,  Specimens  of  Middle  Scots,  ut  sup.,  pp.  Ixvi.  et  seq. 

3  See  the  Memorials  of  George  Bannatyne  (Bannatyne  Club,  1829),  to 
which  Scott  contributed  a  characteristic  and  delightful  sketch  of  Banna- 
tyne's  life. 


208    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Go  to  my  deir  with  hummill  reuerence, 

Thow  bony  bill,  both  rude  and  imperfyte, 
Go  nocht  with  forgit  flattery  to  hir  presence, 

As  is  of  falset  the  custome,  use,  and  ryte  ; 

Causs  me  noch  BAN  that  evir  I  the  indyte, 
NA  TYNE  my  travell,  turnyng  all  in  vane  ; 

Bot  with  ane  faithfull  hairt,  in  werd  and  wryte, 
Declair  my  mynd,  and  bring  me  joy  agane. 

My  name  quha  list  to  knaw  let  him  tak  tent, 
Unto  this  littill  verse  next  presedent."  ' 

It  is  to  the  pious  industry  and  taste  of  this  excellent  man 
that  we  owe  the  preservation  (along  with  much  else  that  could 
ill  be  spared)  of  the  poetical  works  of  Alexander  Scott,2  "the 
Anacreon,"  as  Pinkerton  calls  him,  or,  as  we  might  say,  the 
Tom  Moore,  "  of  old  Scottish  poetry."  Of  Scott's  career  nothing 
certain  is  known,  though  we  may  infer  from  an  allusion  in  his 
younger  rival  Montgomerie  that  he  was  a  feckless  enough 
person,  and  given  to  spending  most  of  his  time  in  "  daffing." 
It  would  appear,  too,  that  he  was  unfortunate  in  love.  His 
wife  played  him  false,  and  he  avenged  himself  in  the  fearless 
old  fashion  by  violent  and  scurrilous  invectives  against  the 
whole  female  sex.  Thus  he  is  too  often  conspicuous  even 
among  the  old  "  makaris,"  who  were  far  from  being  mealy- 
mouthed,  by  the  unbridled  license  of  his  language.  The 
Ballad  maid  to  the  Derisioun  and  Scorne  of  Wantoun  IVemen 
has  little  to  draw  attention  to  it  except  an  extreme  coarseness  ; 
while,  in  another  vein,  the  Justing  and  Debait  up  at  the  Drum 
betuix  Wa  Adamsone  and  Joh'tne  Sym  (in  a  double  stanza  of 
eights  and  sixes  plus  a  bob  wheel)  merely  carries  on  the  not 
very  diverting  or  edifying  tradition  of  horseplay  and  buffoonery. 

But  Scott's  inspiration  was    sometimes    happier    than    this. 
His  metrical  versions  of  a  couple  of  psalms  may  be  nothing 

1  Memorials  of  George  Bannatyne  (Bannatyne  Club,  1829),  App.  iv.  p.  120. 
Abacuck  Bysset  (infra,  p.  250)  indulges  in  a  similar  jest  on  his  name  at  the 
end  of  his  prologue  (Specimens  of  Middle  Scots,  p.  241). 

2  Poems,  ed.  Cranstoun,  S.  T.  S.,  1896. 


THE  LAST  OF   THE   "MAKARIS"        209 

very  great,  but  no  one  can  ignore  his  New  Zeir  Gift  to  the 
£)uene  Mary  (1562).  Laboured,  no  doubt  it  is,  and  the 
alliteration  is  more  obtrusive  than  agreeable.  The  last  stanza, 
indeed,  which  begins — 

"  Fresch,  fulgent,  flurist,  fragrant  flour  famois"- 

is  a  miracle  of  what  Mr.  Cranstoun  happily  calls  "  elaborate 
trifling."1  But  the  rest  of  the  poem  is  not  so  fantastic,  and, 
though  the  material  is  by  this  time  familiar  to  us,  it  is  well 
presented.  The  clergy  of  the  old  ecclesiastical  order  are 
attacked  for  their  faults,  but  so  also  are  the  Protestants,  who 
may  be  seen  at  church 

"Singand  Sanct  Dauid's  psalter  on  thair  bulks"  ; 

but  in  their  private  walk  and  conversation  are  no  better  than 
they  should  be — 

"  Backbytand  nychtbouris,  noyand  thame  in  nuikis ; 
Ruging  and  raisand  up  kirk  rentis  lyk  ruikis." 

Covetousness  and  greed  have  stepped  in  to  the  places  occupied 
before  by  the  typical  vices  of  the  Churchmen,  and  the  effect  of 
the  revolution  upon  the  rural  population  is  vividly  sketched  in 
the  following  stanza  : — 

"  Pure  folk  are  famist  with  thir  fassionis  new, 
Thai  faill  for  fait  that  had  befoir  at  fouth  ; 
Leill  labouraris  lamentis  and  tennentis  trew, 
That  thai  ar  hurt  and  hareit  north  and  south  ; 
The  heidismen  hes  '  cor  mundum '  in  thair  mouth, 
Bot  nevir  with  mynd  to  give  the  man  his  meir  ; 
To  quenche  thir  quent  calamities  so  cowth, 
God  gife  thee  grace  aganis  this  gude  new  zeir."  2 

An  even  superior   performance  to  this  far  from  despicable 
poem  is  that  entitled  the  Lament  of  the  Master  of  Erskyn,  the 

1  Cf.  "  Haif  hairt  in  hairt,  ye  hairt  of  hairtis  hail"  (also  Scott's),  and 
Montgomery's  "Tak  tyme  in  tym,  or  tym  will  not  be  tane." 
-  New  Zeir  Gift  to  the  Queue  Mary,  11.  137-144. 

O 


210    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

lover  of  the  Queen  Dowager,  and  one  of  the  slain  at  Pinkie  in 
1547.     We  quote  a  few  verses  : — 

"  Departe,  departe,  departe, 
Alace  !     I  must  departe, 
From  hir  that  lies  my  hart, 

With  hairt  full  soir  ; 
Aganis  my  will  in  deid, 
And  can  find  no  remeid  ; 
I  wait  the  pains  of  deid 
Can  do  no  moir. 

Now  must  I  go,  alace  ! 
From  sight  of  her  sweit  face, 
The  ground  of  all  my  grace, 

And  soverane ; 

What  chance  that  may  fall  me 
Sail  I  nevir  mirry  be, 
Unto  the  tyme  I  see 

My  sweit  againe. 

I  go  and  wot  not  quhair  ; 
I  wander  heir  and  thair  ; 
I  weip  and  sigh  richt  sair, 

With  panis  smart ; 
Now  must  I  pass  away,  away, 
In  wilderness  and  wildsome  way, 
Alace  !  this  woful  day, 

We  should  departe. 

Adieu,  my  awin  sweit  thing, 
My  joie  and  comforting, 
My  mirth  and  solaceing, 

Of  earthly  gloir  ! 
Farewel,  my  ladye  brycht, 
And  my  remembrance  rycht, 
Farewel,  and  haue  guid  nycht, 

I  say  no  moir."  ' 

For   the  rest,  Scott  shows  himself  master  of  a  variety  of 
rhythms  and  measures,  and,  though  he  cannot  be  regarded  as 

1  From  the  Lament  of  the  Master  of  Erskyii,  11.  1-24,  and  41-48. 


THE  LAST  OF   THE  " MAKARIS"        211 

the  author  of  the  fine  lyric,  "  O  lusty  May  with  Flora 
Queene,"  which  happens  to  have  been  printed  by  Chepman 
and  Myllar  in  1508,  he  deserves  the  epithet  "  sweet-tongued  " 
bestowed  upon  him  by  Allan  Ramsay  for  his  efforts  "when 
lufe  and  bewtie  bid  him  spread  the  wing."  *  The  following 
little  lyric  is  as  favourable  a  specimen  of  his  quality  as  any 
other  : — 

"  Lo  !  quhat  it  is  to  lufe, 

Lerne  ye,  that  list  to  prufe, 
Be  me,  I  say,  that  no  wayis  may 
The  grund  of  grief  remufe, 
But  still  decay,  both  nycht  and  day  : 
Lo  !  quhat  it  is  to  lufe. 

Lufe  is  ane  fervent  fyre, 

Kendillit  without  desyre  ; 
Short  plesour,  lang  displesour  ; 

Repentence  is  the  hyre  ; 
Ane  pure  tressour  without  mesour  ; 

Lufe  is  ane  fervent  fyre. 

To  lufe  and  to  be  wyiss, 

To  rege  with  gud  adwyiss, 
Now  thus,  now  than,  so  gois  the  game, 

Incertain  is  the  dyiss  : 
Thair  is  no  man,  I  say,  that  can 

Both  lufe,  and  to  be  wyiss. 

Fie  alwayis  frome  the  snair  ; 

Lerne  at  me  to  be  ware  ; 
It  is  ane  pane  and  dowbill  trane 

Of  endles  wo  and  cair  ; 
For  to  refrane  that  denger  plane, 

Fie  alwayis  from  the  snair."  2 

He  is  not,  indeed,  comparable  to  the  English  poets  of  the 
Restoration  for  the  "ethereal  fire"  with  which  they  touch 

1  It  may  be  noted  that  one  of  the  few  modern  critics  to  do  justice  to 
Alexander  Scott  has  been  Mr.  Henley.  See  his  anthology  of  English 
Lyrics,  1897. 

*  A  Rondel  of  Luvc,  in  Poems,  p.  81. 


212    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

the  same  theme  ;  but  to  rival  the  "  sons  of  Belial "  in  this 
respect  is  a  privilege  which  has  not  always  been  vouchsafed 
even  to  genius  of  the  first  order.1 

For  all  his  versatility  and  accomplishment,  Scott  must  yield 
the  palm  to  Alexander  Montgomerie2  (circ.  1545 — circ.  1610), 
of  whom  it  may  be  doubtful  whether  he  ever  "  poured  the 
rural  lay  "  at  Finlayston  Castle  in  Renfrewshire,  or  resided  at 
Compston  in  the  Stewartry,  but  of  whom  we  know  with 
tolerable  certainty  that  he  held  a  post  at  the  Court  of  James 
VI.,  of  which,  for  some  reason  unknown,  he  was  deprived, 
and  that  he  "  enjoyed  "  a  pension  which  he  had  the  greatest 
difficulty  in  getting  paid.  Whether  he  was  ever  restored  to 
the  royal  favour  is  matter  of  conjecture.  He  certainly 
flattered  the  King  in  the  grossest  manner,  and  we  may  be 
sure  that  it  was  not  for  want  of  "  sifflications "  that  he 
languished  in  the  cold  shade  of  neglect.  Also  he  would 
appear  to  have  been  unfortunate  as  a  lover. 

Montgomerie's  devotional  poems  are  not  particularly  im- 
pressive, perhaps  owing  to  the  fact  that  they  seem  to  spring 
less  from  a  truly  religious  cast  of  mind  than  from  the 
depression  of  spirits  incident  to  worldly  misfortune.  He 
practically  admits  as  much  in  the  Godly  Prayer,  of  which  two 
stanzas  run  as  follows  : — 


•'  Peccavi  Pater,  miserere  mei  : 

I  am  not  worthy  to  be  cald  thy  chylde, 
Vho  stubburnely  haif  lookt  so  long  astray, 
Not  lyk  thy  sone,  hot  lyk  the  prodigue  wyld. 
My  sillie  saul  with  sin  is  so  defyld, 
That  Satan  seeks  to  catch  it  as  his  pray. 

God  grant  me  grace  that  he  may  be  begyld  : 
Peccavi,  Pater,  miserere  mei. 


1  See  a  striking  passage  in  Mr.  Raleigh's  Milton,  1900,  pp.  259  et  scq. 

2  Poems,  ed.  Irving  and  Laing,  Edin.,  1821  ;  ed.  Cranstoun,  S.  T.  S., 
1886-7. 


THE  LAST  OF   THE  "  MAKARIS"        213 

I  am  abashd  how  I  dar  be  sa  bald 

Befor  thy  godly  presence  to  appeir, 
Or  hazard  anes  the  hevins  to  behald, 

Vha  am  unvorthy  that  the  earth  suld  beir. 

Yit  damne  me  noght,  vhom  thou  hes  boght  so  deir  ; 
Sed  salvum  me  fac,  dulcis  fill  Dei, 

For  out  of  luk  this  leson  nou  I  leir, 
Peccavi,  Pater,  miserere  mei." x 

But  we  have  no  guarantee  that,  when  matters  mend,  the 
prodigal  will  not  return  to  the  pleasures  of  sin.  His  metrical 
versions  of  some  of  the  psalms  are  spirited  and  catch  the  ear. 
The  opening  verse  of  the  second  psalm,  for  instance,  is  decidedly 
striking — 

"Quhy  doth  the  Heathin  rage  andrampe, 
And  peple  murmur  all  in  vane  ? 
The  kings  on  earth  ar  bandit  plane, 
And  princes  ar  conjoinit  in  campe, 
Aganst  the  Lord  and  Chryst  ilk  ane. 
'  Come  let  our  hands, 
Brek  all  thair  bands,' 
Say  they,  '  and  cast  from  us  thair  yoks.' 
Bot  he  sail  evin 
That  dwells  in  hevin 
Laugh  thame  to  scorn  lyk  mocking  stoks. "  2 

His  miscellaneous  poems  are  somewhat  monotonous  in  effect, 
not  through  any  sameness  of  metre  (of  which,  in  truth,  he  has 
a  great  variety  at  command),  but  from  his  incessant  harping  on 
his  own  grievances  and  woes.  "  Oh  !  What  a  martyred  man 
am  I,"  is  the  burden  of  his  song ;  and  few  refrains  are  more  apt 
to  pall  upon  a  satiated  reader.  There  are,  of  course,  exceptions 
to  the  rule.  His  Hay  now  the  Day  dauis  is  an  excellent  setting 
of  an  old  song  referred  to  in  the  Complaynt^  and  the  curious 
"  Pageant "  in  rhymed  heroics,  called  The  Navigatioun  (which 
has  led  some  literal  critics  innocently  to  suppose  that  Mont- 
gomerie  was  a  German  by  birth  and  a  seaman  by  occupation), 

1  Poems,  ut  sup.,  p.  229,  2  Ibid.,  p.  226. 


2i4    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

affords  an  agreeable  enough  relief  from  the  favourite  theme. 
But  the  subject  which  his  muse  finds  most  congenial  is 
unquestionably  his  ill-success  in  the  prosecution  of  a  love  affair, 
in  which  his  affections  appear  to  have  been  seriously  engaged. 
It  had  been  well  if  he  had  always  been  able  to  express  his  feel- 
ings as  agreeably  as  he  does  in  Adeu,  O  desie  of  delyt,  a  charming 
thing  in  its  way,  for  we  should  thus  have  been  spared  much 
of  what,  if  it  cannot  fairly  be  described  as  whining,  is  unmistak- 
able and  rather  unmanly  petulance.  As  for  his  sonnets,  which 
are  characterised  by  a  high  degree  of  technical  finish,  they,  too, 
insist  upon  the  same  topic  ;  but  they  are  diversified  by  a  short 
sequence  on  the  poet's  lawsuit,  in  which  a  crescendo  of  annoyance 
and  vexation  culminates  in  violent  abuse  of  his  own,  and  not  his 
opponent's,  agent.  Here  is  one  of  the  series  addressed  to  the 
Lords  of  Session — 

"  My  Lords,  late  lads,  now  leiders  of  our  lauis, 

Except  your  gouns,  some  hes  not  worth  a  grote. 
Your  colblack  conscience  all  the  countrey  knawis  ; 
How  can  ye  live,  except  ye  sell  your  vote  ? 

Thoght  ye  deny,  thair  is  aneu  to  note 

How  ye  for  justice  jouglarie  hes  usit  : 
Suppose  ye  say  ye  jump  not  in  a  jote, 

God  is  not  blind,  He  will  not  be  abusit. 

The  tym  sail  cum  vhen  ye  sail  be  accusit, 
For  mony  hundreth  ye  haif  berryit  heir  ; 

Quhare  ye  sail  be  forsakin  and  refusit, 

And  syn  compeld  at  Plotcock  [Pluto]  to  appeir. 

I  hope  in  God  at  lenth,  though  it  be  late, 
To  see  sum  sit  into  dirk  hellis  gate."  ' 

King  James  VI.,  who,  if  no  great  practitioner  of  the  art  of 
poetry,2  took  an  interest,  as  we  have  seen,  in  its  theory,  was 
a  great  admirer  of  Montgomerie's  work,  and  looked  upon  him 

1  Sonnet  XXI. 

3  By  far  his  best  performance  is  his  prefatory  sonnet  to  the  Basilikon 
Poron,  which  just  misses  being  really  fine. 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  "  MAKARIS"    215 

as  supplying  a  model  for  several  kinds  of  verse.  He  held  in 
particularly  high  estimation  the  Flyting  between  Montgomerie 
and  Sir  Patrick  Hume  of  Polwarth,1  which,  to  modern  taste, 
seems  a  sad  waste  of  ingenuity  and  skill.  It  is  not  of  much 
consequence  whether  Montgomerie  wrote  the  whole  of  the 
piece,  or  whether  Hume  himself  wrote  the  portions  attributed 
to  him.  Upon  the  latter  hypothesis,  Hume  had  the  last  word 
of  the  argument,  and  certainly  held  his  own  against  the  more 
celebrated  bard.  Montgomerie  assures  the  reader,  in  a  pre- 
liminary poem,  that — 

"  No  cankering  envy,  malice,  or  despite, 
Stirr'd  up  these  men  so  eagerly  to  flyte, 
But  generous  emulation  ;  " 

which  is  very  satisfactory  and  reassuring.  He  also  goes  on  to 
express  the  wish — 

"  Would  all  that  now  doe  flyte  would  flyte  like  those, 
And  lawes  were  made  that  none  durst  flyte  in  prose  !" 

In  the  aspiration  contained  in  the  last  line  all  will  join,  though 
they  may  desire  the  prohibition  to  be  extended  to  poetry.  When 
once,  however,  we  have  overcome  our  repugnance  to  an  obsolete 
and  unpleasant  genre,  we  may  admit  that  this  Flyting  is  carried 
on  with  immense  spirit  and  vigour,  and  that  it  is  equally  con- 
spicuous for  the  abundance  and  foulness  of  its  vocabulary,  and 
for  the  ease  and  dexterity  with  which  the  combatants  handle 
the  most  complicated  schemes  of  rhyme  and  metre.  I  have 
sought  through  the  poem  in  vain  for  an  extract  suitable  for 
presentation  in  these  -pages ;  but  there  is  scarcely  a  single 
characteristic  stanza,  however  promising,  which  is  not  rendered 
unfit  for  the  purpose  by  the  presence  of  some  word  or  image 
that  would  not  be  tolerated  in  print  at  the  present  day.  The 

1  Hume  was  the  author  of  The  Promt  tie  (1580),  an  "  aureate  "  and  ex- 
tremely fulsome  poem  in  honour  of  the  young  King.  It  will  be  found  in 
the  S.  T.  S.  ed.  of  his  brother,  Alexander  Hume's  Poems  (1902),  App.  F., 
p.  204. 


216    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

reader  must,  therefore,  either  refer  to  the  Flyting  itself,  or  rest 
satisfied  with  such  faint  idea  of  the  agility  and  daring  of  these 
poetical  gymnasts  as  may  be  collected  from  the  opening  verse — 

"  Polwart,  yee  peip  like  a  mouse  amongst  thornes  ; 
Na  cunning  yee  keepe  ;  Polwart,  yee  peip  ; 
Yee  look  like  a  sheipe,  and  yee  had  twa  homes  : 
Polwart,  ye  peip  like  a  mouse  amongst  thornes."  ' 

Montgomerie's  reputation  as  a  poet,  however,  depends  princi- 
pally for  its  permanence  less  upon  such  of  his  works  as  we  have 
already  reviewed  than  upon  The  Cherrle  ana  the  Slaey  first  printed 
in  1597,  and>  in  a  lesser  degree,  upon  The  Bankis  of  Helicon, 
which  we  are  content  to  follow  the  authority  of  Mr.  Cranstoun 
in  attributing  to  his  pen.  Both  are  composed  in  a  stanza  of 
fourteen  lines,  with  an  intricate  and  difficult  arrangement  of 
rhymes,  which  appears  at  once  to  have  caught  the  fancy  of  the 
Scottish  public.2  We  have  seen  that  Maitland  used  this 
measure  for  a  sacred  theme  with  rather  unsatisfactory  results.3 
Montgomerie  employed  it  to  much  better  purpose,  bequeathing 
it  to  Allan  Ramsay,  who  in  turn  transmitted  it  to  Burns;  and 
in  the  hands  of  so  capable  a  master  it  proved  an  admirable 
servant.  It  must  be  owned  that  Pinkerton  was  right  in  opining 
that  this  metre  is  not  well  suited  to  a  long  poem,  though 
he  was  extravagant  and  unreasonable  in  his  denunciation 
of  Montgomerie's  masterpiece. 

The  Cherrle  and  the  Slae  contains  some  I,6oo  lines  of  rather 
obscure  plot,  one  quarter  of  which  is  occupied  with  a  love 
episode,  and  the  remainder  chiefly  with  moralising.  It  has  strong 
reminiscences  of  the  allegorical  poets.  Not  only  does  Cupido 
appear  upon  the  scene,  but  so  do  Reason,  Wit,  Experience, 
Courage,  Skill,  Dreid,  and  Danger,  and  the  worst  of  it  is  that 

1  From  Polwart  and  Montgomorie's  Flyting,  11.  1-4. 

2  For  a  learned  disquisition  on  this  quatorzain,  which  probably  owes  one 
of  its  most  marked  features  to  the  Latin  hymnal  of  the  Middle  Ages,  see 
Henley  and  Henderson's  Burns,  vol.  i.  p.  366. 

3  Supra,  p.  206. 


THE  LAST  OF   THE   " MAKARIS"        217 

all  these  excellent  personages  have  "  speaking  parts."  It  is 
impossible  to  take  much  interest  in  the  hero,  or  to  rejoice  with 
him  in  the  ultimate  success  of  his  enterprise  through  the  some- 
what inglorious  medium  of  the  coveted  fruit  falling  from  the 
tree  for  ripeness.  Neither  are  we  disposed  to  inquire  whether 
it  is  all  an  allegory  of  love,  or  an  allegory  of  virtue,  or  a  com- 
posite allegory  of  both.  What  makes  the  poem  interesting, 
apart  from  the  confidence  and  success  with  which  the  stanza 
is  handled,  is  partly  the  pithy  sententiousness  of  the  author,  and 
partly  the  freshness  and  "  gusto  "  with  which  he  sets  about  his 
business — more  especially  in  the  first  three  or  four  hundred  lines. 
Of  the  former  quality,  take  as  a  specimen  a  stanza  which 
reads  like  an  excerpt  from  some  handbook  of  "proverbial 
philosophy  " : — 

"  Too  late  I  knaw,  quha  hewis  too  hie, 
The  spail  sail  fall  into  his  eie  : 

Too  late  I  went  to  scuillis  : 
Too  late  I  heard  the  swallow  preiche  : 
Too  late  Experience  dois  teiche — 

The  skuill-maister  of  fuillis. 
Too  lait  to  fynd  the  nest  I  seik, 

Quhen  all  the  birdis  are  flowin  : 
Too  lait  the  stabill  dore  I  steik, 

Quhen  all  the  steids  are  stowin. 
Too  lait  ay  their  stait  ay 

All  fulische  folk  espye  ; 
Behynd  so,  they  fynd  so 
Remeid,  and  so  do  I."  * 

For  the  freshness  and  "  gusto "  let  the  two  opening  stanzas 
vouch — 

"  About  ane  bank,  quhair  birdis  on  bewis 
Ten  thousand  tymis  thair  notis  renewis 

like  houre  into  the  day, 
The  merle  and  maveis  might  be  sene, 
The  Progne  and  the  Philomene, 

Quhilk  caussit  me  to  stay. 


1  From  The  Cherric  and  the  Sloe,  11.  183-96. 


2i8     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

I  lay  and  leynit  me  to  ane  bus 

To  heir  the  birdis  beir  ; 
Thair  mirth  was  sa  melodius 
Throw  nature  of  the  yeir  ; 

Sum  singing,  sum  springing 
With  wingis  into  the  sky  : 
So  trimlie  and  nimlie 

Thir  birdis  they  flew  me  by. 


I  saw  the  hurcheoun  and  the  hair, 
Quha  fed  amangis  the  flowris  fair, 

Wer  happing  to  and  fro  : 
I  saw  the  cunning  and  the  cat, 
Quhair  downis  with  the  dew  was  wat, 

With  mony  beistis  mo. 
The  hart,  the  hynd,  the  dae,  the  rae, 

The  fowmart  and  the  foxe 
Were  skowping  all  fra  brae  to  brae, 
Amang  the  water  broxe  ; 

Some  feiding,  some  dreiding, 
In  cais  of  suddain  snaires  ; 
With  skipping  and  tripping, 
They  hantit  all  in  pairis."  ' 


It  would  be  rash  to  say  that  there  is  here  nothing  conventional, 
nothing  borrowed  from  tradition.  But,  on  the  whole,  this 
passage,  in  common  with  others  in  the  poem,  appears  to 
come  into  closer  contact  with  nature,  and  thence  to  draw  its 
inspiration  more  directly,  than  most  of  the  descriptions  of 
a  "  May  morning  "  in  the  writers  of  allegory  and  romance. 
At  least  let  us  be  thankful  that  it  is  not  "aureate,"  or  com- 
piled, as  Montgomerie  says,  "  in  staitly  verse  and  lofty 
style." 

The  Banks  of  Helicon  is  an  extremely  lively,  tuneful,  and 
agreeable  poem  of  about  150  lines,  composed  by  the  poet 
in  honour  of  his  lady  ;  and,  at  the  risk  of  surfeiting  the 

1  From  The  Cherric  and  the  Slac,  11.  1-28, 


THE  LAST  OF   THE   "MAKARIS"        219 

reader    with    the   metre,  I    venture   to  subjoin  one  excellent 
stanza  : — 

"  Appelles,  quha  did  sa  decoir 

Dame  Venus  face  and  breist  befoir, 

With  colouris  exquiseit, 
That  nane  micht  be  compared  thairtill, 
Nor  zit  na  painter  had  the  skill 
The  bodye  to  compleit : — 
War  he  this  lyvelie  goddes'  grace 

And  bewtie  to  behauld, 
He  wald  confes  his  craft  and  face 
Surpast  a  thousand  fauld  : 
Not  abill,  in  tabill, 

With  colours  competent, 
So  quiklie,  or  liklie, 
A  form  to  represent."  J 

With  Montgomerie,  then,  we  may  say,  that  the  generation 
of  the  "  makaris  "  comes  to  a  conclusion.  Henceforward,  as  a 
rule,  the  poets  looked  south  of  the  Tweed  for  their  models, 
and  soon  there  ceased  to  be  any  poets  at  all  to  emulate  such 
predecessors  as  Dunbar,  or  Lyndsay,  or  Montgomerie.  It 
has  been  remarked  by  Leyden  that  "however  injudicious  our 
ancient  authors  may  be  reckoned  in  the  selection  of  their 
materials  and  the  arrangement  of  their  topics  ;  however 
defective  in  the  arts  of  composition,  and  the  polish  of  style  ; 
they  can  never  divest  themselves  of  the  manners  and  habits  of 
thinking  familiar  to  the  age  in  which  they  lived.  It  is  this 
circumstance  which  stamps  a  real  value  on  the  rudest  compo- 
sition of  an  earlier  period,  a  value  which  continually  increases 
with  their  antiquity."  2  However  applicable  these  observations 
may  be  to  certain  cases,  we  have  said  enough  to  make  it  plain 
that  they  are  less  than  fair  to  the  old  Scots  "  makaris." 
Leyden  is  too  apologetic  ;  he  puts  his  case  too  low.  It  is 

'  The  Bankis  of  Helicon,  11.  29-42. 

2  Preliminary  Dissertation  to  his  ed.  of  The  Complayni  of  Scotland,  1801 


220    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

quite  true  that  these  admirable  writers  possess  all  the  interest 
which  attaches  to  those  whose  modes  of  thought  and  feeling 
appear,  over  the  gulf  of  several  centuries,  to  be  different  from 
our  own  ;  but  they  can  boast,  in  addition,  the  attraction  of 
having  been,  no  mere  haphazard  bunglers,  who  now  and  then 
fortuitously  hit  upon  a  good  thing,  but,  on  the  contrary,  artists 
to  the  tips  of  their  fingers.  Whatever  we  may  think  of  the 
subjects  which  they  made  their  own,  there  can  be  no  question 
that  they  exercised  upon  those  subjects  a  conscious,  deliberate, 
and  fastidious  art  ;  and  such  was  their  success,  that  they  raised 
their  country  to  a  position  in  the  scale  of  poetry  superior  by  far 
to  that  occupied  by  England  at  any  point  of  time  between  the 
death  of  Chaucer  and  the  rise  of  the  Elizabethan  poets.  It 
may  be  urged,  and  not  without  plausibility,  that  their  methods 
were  for  the  most  part  conventional  and  artificial,  and  that  the 
language  in  which  they  wrote  was  the  language  of  a  literary 
clique,  of  an  esoteric  band  of  disciples,  and  not  the  language  of 
every-day  affairs.  But  the  makars,  for  all  their  "aureate" 
speech,  never  lost  touch  of  life,  and  their  strong  propensity  to 
satire  of  a  robust,  not  to  say  ferocious,  type,  prevented  them 
from  degenerating  into  that  most  futile  and  incensing  of  all 
things,  an  academic  coterie.  The  vitality  of  their  tradition 
was  demonstrated  when,  after  the  lapse  of  more  than  a  century, 
it  was  creditably  revived  by  Allan  Ramsay  ;  and  it  is  no 
mere  figure  of  speech,  but  the  assertion  of  the  baldest  matter 
of  fact,  to  say  that  Burns  stands  in  the  direct  line  of  descent 
from  Henryson  and  Dunbar.  In  Burns,  as  we  shall  see,  the 
vernacular  convention  reached  its  culminating  point,  and  that 
it  has  since  become  to  all  intents  and  purposes  extinct  is  the 
result  of  a  train  of  circumstances  which  was  inevitable  in  its 
occurrence,  and  of  which  not  even  his  genius  could  thwart 
the  operation. 


THE   LAST  OF   THE  "  MAKARIS"        221 

APPENDIX. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  (I.)  the  Tales,  (II.)  the  Songs,  (III.)  the 
Dances,  enumerated  in  The  Complaynt  of  Scotland  (1549)  as  having 
been  told,  or  sung,  or  danced,  by  the  Shepherds  *  : — 

I.— TALES. 

The  Canterbury  Tales. 
Robert  the  Devil,  Duke  of  Normandy. 
The  Well  of  the  World's  End. 
Ferrand,  Earl  of  Flanders. 
The  Red  Etin  with  the  three  heads. 
Perseus  and  Andromeda. 
The  Prophecy  of  Merlin. 
The  Giants  that  eat  quick  men. 
On  foot  by  Forth  as  I  could  found. 
Wallace. 
The  Bruce. 
Hypomedon. 

The  three-footed  dog  of  Norway. 
Hercules  and  the  hydra. 

How  the  King  of  Eastmoreland  married  the  King's  daughter  of 
Westmoreland. 
Skail  Gillenderson. 
The  four  sons  of  Aymon. 
The  Brig  of  Mantribil. 
Sir  Evan,  Arthur's  knight. 
Rauf  Coilzear. 
The  siege  of  Milan. 
Gawain  and  Gologras. 
Lancelot  du  Lac. 

Arthur  knight,  he  rode  on  night,  with  gilten  spur  and  candle  light. 
Floremond  of  Albany. 
Sir  Walter  the  bold  Leslie. 
The  tale  of  the  pure  tint. 
Clariades  and  Maliades. 
Arthur  of  Little  Britain. 
Robin  Hood  and  Little  John. 


1  These  catalogues  are  annotated  by  Mr.  Furnivall  in  his  introduction  to 
Captain  Cox,  his  ballads  and  books,  Ballad  Society,  1871  ;  reproduced  in 
full  in  the  E.  E.  T.  S.  ed.  of  the  Complaynt,  pp.  Ixxiii.  et  seq.  For  the  music, 
consult  also  Chappell's  Popular  Music  of  the  Olden  Time,  2  vols.,  1859  ; 
new  ed.  by  Wooldridge,  1893.  Those  marked  with  an  *  are  "  Godlified," 
to  borrow  Mr.  Furnivall's  expression  in  the  Glide  and  Godlic  Ballads. 


222     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Mandeville. 

Young  Tamlane. 

The  ring  of  King  Robert. 

Sir  Eger  and  Sir  Grime. 

Bevis  of  Southampton. 

The  Golden  Targe. 

The  Palace  of  Honour. 

The  tale  of  Actaeon. 

Pyramus  and  Thisbe. 

Hero  and  Leander. 

lo. 

Jason 

Opheus,  King  of  Portugal. 

The  Golden  Apple. 

The  three  Weird  Sisters. 

Daedalus  and  the  labyrinth. 

Midas. 

II. — SONGS. 

Pastance  with  good  Company. 
The  briar  binds  me  sore. 
Still  under  the  leaves  green. 
Cou  thou  me  the  rashes  green. 
Alice  I  wyte  your  twa  fair  een. 
God  you,  good  day,  wild  boy. 
Lady,  help  your  prisoner. 
King  William's  note. 
The  land  nonny  no. 
The  Chapel  Walk. 
Faith  is  there  none. 
Skald  Abellis  nou. 
The  Abirdenis  nou. 
Broom,  broom  on  hill. 
Alone  I  weep  in  great  distress.:;: 
Trolly  lolly  leman,  dow. 
Bill,  will  thou  come  by  a  lute,  and  belt  thee  in  St. 

Francis'  cord. 

The  frog  came  to  the  mill  door. 
The  song  of  Gilquhiskar. 
Right  sorely  musing  in  my  mind.* 
God  send  the  Duke  had  bidden  in  France. 
All  musing  of  marvels,  amiss  have  I  gone. 
Mistress  fair,  ye  will  forfair. 
O  lusty  May  with  Flora  queen. 
O  mine  heart,  hey,  this  is  my  song.';: 


THE   LAST  OF   THE   "MAKARIS"        223 

The  Battle  of  the  Harlaw. 

The  hunts  of  Cheviot. 

Shall  I  go  with  you  to  rumbelow  fair  ? 

Great  is  my  sorrow.* 

Turn  thee,  sweet  Will,  to  me. 

My  love  is  lying  sick. 

Fair  love,  lent  thou  me  thy  mantle  ?    Joy  ! 

The  Percy  and  Montgomery  met. 

That  day,  that  day,  that  gentle  day. 

My  love  is  laid  upon  a  knight. 

Alas,  that  samyn  sweet  face  !  * 

In  ane  mirthful  morrow. 

My  heart  is  leavit  on  the  land. 

III. — DANCES. 
All  Christian  men's  dance. 
The  North  of  Scotland. 
Hunt's  up. 
The  common  entry. 
Long  flat  foot  of  Garioch. 
Robin  Hood. 
Tom  of  Linn. 
Friars  all. 
Inverness. 
The  Loch  of  Slene. 
The  Gossips'  dance. 
Leaves  Green. 
Mackay. 
The  spade. 
The  flail. 
The  lambs'  wind. 
Soutra. 

Come  kittle  me  naked  wantonly. 
Shake  leg  foot  before  gossep. 
Rank  at  the  root. 
Baglap  and  all. 
John  Armstrong's  dance. 
The  Almayne  hay. 
The  bace  of  Voragon. 
Danger. 
The  Bee. 
The  dead  dance. 
The  dance  of  Kylrynne. 
The  vod  and  the  val. 
Shake  a  trot. 


CHAPTER   V 

THE    SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY  :     POETS,    DIVINES,    AND 
HISTORIANS 

THE  seventeenth  century  is  a  period  in  our  history  to  which 
no  Scotsman  who  is  rational  as  well  as  patriotic  can 
look  back  with  unqualified  satisfaction.  It  is  true  that 
the  religious  settlement  with  which  many  years  of  bitter 
contention  terminated,  had  the  merit  of  being  a  real, 
if  not.  an  ideally  equitable,  settlement,  and  that,  before 
the  century  closed,  excommunication — that  darling  weapon 
of  extreme  religious  faction — had  been  robbed  of  most 
of  its  terrors  by  the  Act  of  Parliament  which  dissociated  from 
it  all  civil  penalties.1  It  is  true  also  that  both  parties  can  boast 
of  champions  in  the  field  and  in  the  council  chamber  to  whom 
they  point  with  a  more  or  less  just  pride.  On  the  one 
hand,  there  are  Montrose  and  Dundee  ;  on  the  other  there  is 
Argyle.  That  they  had  abundance  of  creditable  champions  in 
the  pulpit  need  not  be  said.  Yet  it  is  melancholy  to  trace  the 
history  of  the  controversies  which  engulphed  so  much  ability, 
and  caused  the  pouring  forth  of  so  much  blood.  The  mis- 
guided attempt  of  James  VI.,  in  1618,  to  impose  upon  the 
Kirk  of  Scotland  ceremonies,  for  which  the  most  that  could  be 

1  Act  1690  c.  58  (28).     See  also  10  Anne  c.  10,  sec.  12. 
224 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         225 

said  by  their  more  judicious  advocates  was,  that  they  were 
"  indifferent "  and  which  were  not  reintroduced  under  the 
second  Episcopacy  ;  the  fatuous  attempt  of  his  son  in  1637  to 
force  upon  the  Kirk  an  alien  prayer-book — these  brought  about 
their  revenge  in  the  insane  endeavour  of  the  Covenanters  to 
thrust  Presbyterianism  upon  a  recalcitrant  England,  and  that, 
in  due  season,  was  followed  by  the  execution  of  the  King,  and 
the  complete  subjugation  of  Scotland,  for  the  first  time  in  her 
history,  by  an  English  conqueror  and  an  English  army.1  In 
no  age  has  the  "  falsehood  of  extremes "  been  more  signally 
illustrated.  Intolerance  bred  intolerance  ;  extravagance  bred 
extravagance ;  and  the  men  of  moderate  counsels,  of  whom  there 
was  not  wanting  a  tolerable  supply,  were  powerless  to  stem  a 
torrent  that  carried  them  off  their  feet.  Bitter  as  the  lesson 
was  to  learn,  the  nation  took  it  to  heart  ;  and,  though  the  old 
watchwords  were  again  called  into  use  in  the  nineteenth 
century,  and  the  old  banner  was  once  more  unfurled,  the  bulk 
of  the  people  has  never  since  seriously  wavered  in  its  dogged 
attachment  to  moderation. 

The  struggles  of  the  seventeenth  century  were  far  from 
exercising  a  propitious  influence  upon  the  national  literature, 
which,  compared  with  that  of  England  during  the  same 
period,  is  wofully  barren  of  things  really  great.  We  have  no 
Milton  or  Dryden  ;  scarcely  even  a  Cowley  or  a  Waller. 
The  vigour  of  the  "  makaris  "  has  departed,  though  the  tradi- 
tion of  metrical  accomplishment  and  facility  is  maintained  by 
their  successors,  who  write  in  English  and  not  in  Scots.  Our 
prose  literature  is,  indeed,  abundant.  A  catalogue  of  the 
sermons,  tracts,  and  pamphlets  which  reached  the  press  from 
Scottish  pens  would  occupy  no  inconsiderable  space.  That 
many  powerful  intellects  devoted  themselves  to  the  business  of 
preaching  and  disputing  and  arguing  is  beyond  doubt ;  yet  the 

1  An  admirable  bird's-eye  view  of  the  history  of  the  seventeenth  century 
in  Scotland  may  be  obtained  from  Mr.  W.  L.  Mathieson's  Politics  and 
Religion,  2  vols.,  Glasgow,- 1902. 

P 


226    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

fruits  of  all  this  effort  seem  to  us  unsatisfying,  and  that 
not  merely  because  we  no  longer  take  the  same  lively  interest 
in  the  government  of  the  Kirk  or  the  technical  points  of 
dogmatic  theology.  The  conventional  mode  in  which  both 
preachers  and  controversialists  handled  their  topics  is  not  such 
as  to  secure  for  them  a  permanent  place  in  our  regard.  The 
method  of  the  latter  is  essentially  "  scholastic  "  in  the  worst 
sense  of  the  word  ;  and  as  for  the  former,  they  are  too  prone 
to  fall  into  the  patois,  not  of  Canaan,  or  of  Habakkuk,  but  of 
Drumclog  and  Mause  Headrigg.  We  cannot  but  regret  that 
minds  so  vigorous  and  so  well  furnished  should  have  been 
unable,  from  the  force  of  circumstances,  to  apply  themselves  to 
some  form  of  literature  other  than  dialectic  ;  and  we  may  be 
the  more  thankful  for  the  half-dozen  of  men,  who,  in  the 
intervals  of  ecclesiastical  controversy,  brought  their  powers  to 
bear  upon  historical  narrative  to  excellent  purpose. 

We  may  begin  our  survey  of  the  Scots  poetry  of  the  century 
by  calling  attention  to  one  of  those  specimens  of  the  drama, 
which,  as  we  have  seen,  are  so  few  and  far  between  in  our 
Scottish  literature.  ThilotusJ  described  as"aneverie  excellent 
and  delectabill  treatise,"  is  in  reality  a  comedy,  by  an  un- 
known author,  which  appeared  in  1603,  the  year  of  the  King's 
accession  to  the  English  throne.  Borrowed  from  a  tale  by 
Barnaby  Rich,  its  somewhat  complicated  plot  has  for  its  main 
theme  the  wooing  of  youth  by  crabbed,  and  wealthy,  age. 
Thus  does  Philotus  at  the  beginning  of  the  play  address  the 
young  and  beautiful  Emilie  :  — 

"  O  lustie  luifsome  lamp  of  licht, 
Your  bonynes,  your  bewtie  bricht, 
Your  staitly  stature  trym  and  ticht, 

With  gesture  grave  and  gude  : 
Your  countenance,  your  cullour, 
Your  lauching  lips,  your  smyling  cheir, 
Your  properties  dois  all  appear 

My  senses  to  illude." 


1  Ed.  Bannatyne  Club,  1835.  2  Fi'°m  Philotns,  11.  1-8. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         227 

Philotus  is  not  conspicuous  for  delicacy  or  refinement,  and  a  sort 
of  comic  chorus,  named  The  Pleasant,  who  appears  from  time 
to  time  and  comments  upon  the  progress  of  the  action,  indulges 
the  old  Scots  vein  of  coarse  humour  with  some  freedom.  The 
chief  value  of  the  piece  lies  in  the  light  it  incidentally  throws 
upon  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  age.  Here,  for  example, 
is  a  description  given  by  the  "  macrell,"  or  go-between,  to 
Emilie,  of  what  a  day  of  her  life  will  be  like  if  she  marries 
Philotus  : — 

"  Than  tak  to  stanche  the  morning  drouth 
Ane  cup  of  Mavesie  for  zour  mouth, 
For  fume  cast  sucker  in  at  fouth, 

Togidder  with  a  Toist ; 
Thrie  garden  gowps  tak  of  the  Air, 
And  bid  zour  page  in  haist  prepair 
For  zour  Disjone  sum  daintie  fair, 

And  cair  not  for  na  coist. 

Ane  pair  of  Pleuaris  pypping  hait, 
Ane  Pertrick  and  ane  Quailzie  get, 
Ane  cup  of  Sack,  sweit  and  weill  set, 

May  for  ane  breckfast  gaine. 
Zour  Cater  he  may  cair  for  syne 
Sum  delicate  agane  ye  dyne  ; 
Zour  Cuke  to  seasoun  all  sa  fyne, 

Than  dois  imploy  his  paine. 

To  sie  zour  seruants  may  ze  gang, 
And  luke  zour  Madynis  all  amang, 
And  gif  thair  onie  wark  be  wrang, 

Than  bitterlie  them  blame. 
Than  may  ze  haue  baith  Quaiffis  and  Kellis, 
Hich  Candie  ruffes  and  Barlet  Bellis, 
All  fer  zour  waring  and  not  ellis 

Maid  in  zour  hous  at  hame. 

And  now  quhen  all  thir  warks  is  done, 
For  zour  refrescheing  efternone, 
Gar  bring  unto  zour  chalmer  sone 
Sum  daintie  dische  of  meate  : 


228     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Ane  cup  or  twa  with  Muscadall, 
Sum  uther  licht  thing  thairwithall, 
For  Raisins  or  for  Capers  call, 
Gif  that  ye  please  to  eate. 

Till  supper  tyme  then  may  ze  chois 
Unto  zour  Garden  to  repois, 
Or  merelie  to  tak  ane  glois, 

Or  tak  ane  buke  and  reid  on  ; 
Syne  to  zour  supper  ar  ze  brocht, 
Till  fair  full  far  that  has  bene  socht 
And  daintie  disches  dearly  bocht 

That  Ladies  loues  to  feid  on. 

The  organes  than  into  zour  hall 

With  Schalme  and  Tymbrell  sound  they  sail, 

The  Vyole  and  the  Lute  with  all. 

To  gar  your  meate  disgest ; 
The  supper  done,  than  up  ye  ryse, 
To  gang  ane  quhyle  as  is  the  gyse, 
Be  ye  haue  rowmit  ane  Alley  thryse, 

It  is  ane  myle  almaist. 

Then  may  ze  to  zowr  Chalmer  gang, 
Begyle  the  nicht  gif  it  be  lang 
With  talk  and  merie  mowes  amang, 

To  eleuate  the  splene  ; 
For  your  Collation  tak  and  taist 
Sum  lytill  licht  thing  till  disgest, 
At  nicht  use  Rense  wyne  ay  almaist, 
For  it  is  cauld  and  clene." x 

i 

We  return  to  the  beaten  track  in  proceeding  to  consider  the 
poetical  work  of  Alexander  Hume  (1557  ?-i6o9),  minister  of 
Logic,  and  younger  brother  of  that  Sir  Patrick  Hume  of 
Polwarth,  who  contended  in  "  flyting "  with  Montgomerie 
(supra  p.  215).  That  work  is  comprised  in  a  volume  of  Hymns 
or  Sacred  Songs  2  (published  in  1599),  "wherein,"  we  are  told, 
"  the  right  use  of  poesie  may  be  espied."  Hume  belonged  to 

1  From  Philotus,  ut  sup.,  stt.,  20-26. 

2  Ed.  Bannatyne  Club,  1832.    See  also  Poems,  ed.  Lawson,  S.  T.  S.,  1902. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         229 

the  more  puritanical  school  of  the  clergy  ;  he  "  witnessed 
against  the  hierarchy  of  prelates,"  and  he  addressed  an 
Admonitioun  in  prose  to  the  Ministry  of  Scotland,  besides 
producing  Ane  Treatise  of  Conscience  (1594),  and  another  Of  the 
Felicitie  of  the  Life  to  Come  (same  year).  Hence  it  is  not 
surprising  to  find  in  his  preface  what  looks  like  an  objection  to 
all  secular  poetry.  "In  princes'  Courts,"  he  says,  "in  the 
houses  of  greate  men,  and  at  the  assemblies  of  yong  gentilmen 
and  yong  damosels,  the  chief  pastime  is  to  sing  prophane 
sonnets,  and  vaine  ballads  of  loue,  or  to  rehearse  some  fabulous 
faits  of  Palmerine,  Amadis,  or  such  like  raueries."  For  these 
diversions  he  proposes  to  substitute  lyrics  of  a  more  serious  and 
devotional  type  ;  but  we  cannot  imagine  that  his  performances 
were  successful  in  supplanting  what  was  probably  better  poetry, 
though  it  may  have  made  less  for  edification.  His  dialect 
is  a  curious  blend  of  the  Scots  and  the  English  idiom,  and 
Gallicisms  are  freely  sprinkled  over  his  lines.  Besides  the 
hymns  proper,  Hume  has  left  us  two  poems  in  rhymed  heroics, 
one  on  the  defeat  of  the  Armada,  the  other,  an  Epistle  to 
Maister  Gilbert  Montcreif^  the  king's  "  mediciner,"  in  which 
he  draws  a  far  from  flattering  picture  of  the  Court  of  Session  ; 
and  they  are  both  remarkable  for  their  anticipation  of  the  ortho- 
dox cadence  which  came  to  be  identified  with  that  measure  in 
the  Augustan  ages.  His  happiest  lucubration,  however,  is  a 
poem  in  "  common  metre  "  (eights  and  sixes)  descriptive  of  a 
'  summer's  day,  and  entitled  Of  the  Day  Estiva!!.  Here  he 
shows  a  true  feeling  for  nature,  and  a  simplicity  and  freshness 
which  he  failed  to  impart  to  his  religious  songs.  I  quote 
two  or  three  stanzas,  which,  though  no  great  thing  in  them- 
selves, are  sufficiently  pleasing  : — 


"  What  pleasour  were  to  walke  and  see 
Endlang  a  riuer  cleare, 
The  perfite  forme  of  euerie  tree 
Within  the  deepe  appeare  ; 


230    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

The  Salmon  out  of  cruifs  and  creels 
Up  hailed  into  skowts, 
The  bells  and  circles  on  the  weills, 
Throw  lowpping  of  the  trouts  ! 

O  !  then  it  were  a  semely  thing, 
While  all  is  still  and  calme, 
The  praise  of  God  to  play  and  sing 
With  cornet,  and  with  shalme."  ' 

At  the  worst,  Hume  is  a  superior  performer  to  Alexander 
Garden,  an  Aberdeen  Professor  who  perpetrated,  inter  alia^  a 
Theatre  of  Scottish  Kings  (1625),  if  not  to  Patrick  Hannay 
(d.  1629),  whose  Poems2  (1622)  certainly  betray  no  indication 
of  their  Caledonian  parentage. 

William  Lithgow  (1582-1645  ?3)  was  "the  Bonaventure  of 
Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa,  &c.,"  as  one  of  his  title-pages  in- 
forms us.  In  other  words,  he  was  among  the  first  of  the  bold 
and  hardy  race  of  Scottish  travellers  ;  and  his  Rare  Adventures 
and  Painful  Peregrinations  (1632)  was  so  popular  a  narrative  of 
"moving  accidents"  that  it  appears  to  have  been  in  print,  in 
the  shape  of  a  I2th  edition,  so  recently  as  1814.  The  most 
curious  of  his  works  is  a  slim  volume  of  poems  called  The 
Pilgrimes  Farewell^  which  would  be  remarkable,  if  for  nothing 
else,  for  the  extraordinary  number  of  dedicatory  or  complimen- 
tary sets  of  verses  which  it  contains.  There  are  dedications  in 

1  Poems,  ut  sup.,  p.  32. 

2  A  selection,  entitled  Songs  and  Sonnets,  was  printed  at  the  Beldornie 
Press  in  1841. 

3  This  date  appears  to  be  doubtful,  and  the  printed  catalogue  of  the 
Advocates'  Library  attributes  to  him  a  "  Paraenesis"  to  Charles  II.,  anno 
1660. 

4  "  The  Pilgrimes  Farewell  to  his  native  countrcy  of  Scotland,  wherein  is 
contained  in  way  of  dialogue,  the  Joyes  and  Miseries  of  Peregrination. 
With  his  Lamentado  in  his  second  travels,  his  passionado  on  the  Rhyne, 
Diverse  other  insertings,  and  Farewels,  to  noble  personages,   and  the 
Heremite's  welcome  to  his  third  Pilgrimage,  &c.,  worthie  to  be  scene  and 
read   of  all  gallant   spirits  and  pompe  —  expecting  eyes.      Imprinted  at 
Edinburgh  by  Andro  Hart,  Anno  Domini  1618.    At  the  expences  of  the 
Author."    There  is  an  ed.  of  his  Poems  by  Maidment,  1863. 


THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY        231 

metre  not  only  to  the  Nine  Parnassian  Sisters,  the  King,  and 
Prince  Charles,  but  also  to  the  Archbishops  of  Glasgow  and  St. 
Andrews,  and  the  other  members  of  the  Scots  hierarchy,  to  the 
Earl  of  Dunfermline,  Lord  Binnie,  the  Earl  of  Mar,  and  John, 
Earl  of  Montrose  ;  in  short,  to  nearly  every  one  who  held  high 
office,  or  exercised  high  influence,  in  the  Scotland  of  the  time. 
Lithgow  shows  some  command  of  the  rhymed  heroic,  and  of 
the  stanza  ab  ab  cc  in  which  the  Conflict  between  the  Pilgrim  and 
the  Muse  is  written.  But  his  poetical  gift  is  not  rich,  and  he  is 
sometimes  compelled  to  eke  it  out  by  the  most  extravagant 
conceits,  as  in  his  Farewell  to  Northberwicke  Lawe,  one  stanza 
of  which  will  probably  be  found  amply  sufficient  by  the  most 
sharp-set  readers  : — 

"  Thou  steepie  hill,  so  circling  piramiz'd, 

That  for  a  prospect  serves  East  Louthiane  landes, 
While  ovile  flockes  doe  feede  halfe  enamiz'd, 

And  for  a  trophee  to  Northberwicke  standes, 
So  mongst  the  marine  hills  growes  didemiz'd, 

Which  curling  plaines  and  pastring  Vales  commaundes  : 
Out  from  thy  poleme  eye  some  sadnesse  borrow 
And  decke  thy  listes,  with  streames  of  sliding  sorrow." 

He  is  better  when  he  bids  farewell  to  Edinburgh,  and  better 
still  perhaps  in  his  Farewell  to  the  Clyde^  in  which  he  thus 
describes  the  "second  city  of  the  Empire  "  : — 

"  Ten  miles  more  up,  thy  well-built  Glasgow  stands, 

Our  second  metrapole  of  spirituall  glore  ; 
A  citie  deckt  with  people,  fertile  landes  : 

Where  our  great  King  gotte  Welcome,  welcome's  store  ; 
Whose  Cathedrall  and  Steeple  threat  the  skies, 
And  nine  archt  bridge  out  ou'r  thy  bosome  lies." 

He  is  best  of  all  in  the  Elegy^  with  which  his  volume  concludes, 
and  which  is  touched  with  a  genuine  feeling  of  affection  for  his 
native  country  : — 


232     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

"  So,  dearest  soyle,  O  deare,  I  sacrifice,  now  see, 
Even  on  the  altar  of  mine  heart  a  spotless  love  to  thee. 

And  Scotland  now  farewell,  farewell  for  manie  yeares  ; 
This  ecchoof  farewell  bringes  out  from  mee  a  world  of  teares." 

Simeon  Grahame  (1570  ?-i6i4)  was  no  less  sincere  a  patriot, 
as  is  evinced  by  his  address  To  the  famous  Isle  of  Glorious 
Brittaine  (in  ab  ab  cc)  and  by  that  To  Scot/and  his  Boyle,  from 
which  I  excerpt  the  following  lines  : — 

"  To  thee  my  Soyle  (where  first 

I  did  receive  my  breath) 
These  obsequies  I  sing 

Before  my  Swan-like  death. 
My  love  by  nature  bound, 

Which  spotlesse  love  I  spend, 
•  From  treasure  of  my  hart 

To  thee  I  recommend. 
I  care  not  Fortune's  frowne, 

Nor  her  unconstant  Fate  : 
Let  her  dissembling  smile, 

And  tryumph  in  deceate. 
Curs'd  be  the  man  which  hoords 

His  hopes  up  in  her  lap, 
And  curs'd  be  he  that  builds 

Upon  her  haplesse  hap." 

Both  these  poems  were  contained  in  a  volume,  of  which  the 
leading  feature  was  a  piece  in  elegiacs,  entitled  The  passionate 
Sparke  of  a  relenting  minde  (i6o4).x  Superior  in  interest  to 
his  verse  is  a  prose  treatise  which  purports  to  be  an  Anatomic  of 
Humors.  Of  Grahame  we  know  little  personally,  save  that,  on 
the  authority  of  Urquhart,2  he  was  "  a  great  traveller  and  very 
good  scholar,"  and  that,  though  licentious  in  youth,  he  became 
pious,  teste  Dempster,  in  his  latter  years.  There  is  nothing  in 
the  Anatomie  to  suggest  that  our  information  is  erroneous.  It 
is  assuredly  not  the  work  of  a  man  accustomed  to  take  a  sane 
and  steady  view  of  life.  Grahame  mentions  nothing  which  he 

1  Ed.  Bannatyne  Club,  1830.     This  edition  also  includes  the  Anatomie. 
a  Jewel,  Works,  ut  inf.,  p.  122. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         233 

does  not  attack,  though  perhaps  we  may  say  that  the  medical 
profession  and  the  passion  of  love  come  in  for  the  hardest  knocks. 
Indeed,  he  occasionally  almost  rivals  Swift  in  nastiness  when  he 
deals  with  the  latter  topic.  The  book  is  supposed  to  have 
given  the  hint  to  Burton  for  his  famous  work,  but,  apart  from 
its  excess  of  violence,  it  has  not  much  solid  merit  ;  nor  can  it  be 
compared,  for  example,  with  such  a  masterpiece,  in  its  own 
line,  as  Dekker's  Batchelors  Banquet  (1603), T  which  is  un- 
rivalled as  a  repository  of  all  the  conventional  charges  that  have 
been  hurled  at  the  heads  of  married  women  from  the  earliest 
times  down  to  the  present  day. 

An  entirely  different  stamp  of  man  is  introduced  to  us  in 
Robert  Kerr,  Earl  of  Ancram  (1578—1654),  who  was  on  inti- 
mate terms  with  all  the  literary  men  (which  already  means  the 
London  literary  men)  of  his  day,  and  who  has  been  termed  by 
Drummond  "  the  Muses'  Sanctuarye."  His  Sonnet  in  Praise 
of  a  Solitary  Life2  is  by  no  means  amiss,  and  his  metrical 
rendering  of  some  of  the  Psalms  (done  from  Buchanan's  Latin 
version)  is  at  least  no  worse  than  that  achieved  by  many  others. 

Sir  David  Murray,  of  Gorthy,3  a  cadet  of  the  house  of 
Abercairney  and  a  member  of  Prince  Henry's  household,  besides 
a  number  of  sonnets,  wrote  The  tragical  death  of  Sophonisba 
(1611)  in  stanzas  of  ab  ab  bcc^  not  particularly  harmonious 
or  impressive  and  marred  by  too  great  an  affection  for  double 
rhymes.  A  greater,  or,  at  all  events,  more  prolific,  bard  was  Sir 
William  Alexander,  of  Menstrie4  (1580-1640),  created  Earl 
of  Stirling  in  1633,  and  the  original  grantee  of  Nova  Scotia. 
His  reputation  as  a  statesman  stood  low  with  his  countrymen,5 
and  it  cannot  be  said  that  his  performances  in  literature  do 

1  Ed.  Grosart,  1884. 

2  To  be  found,  along  with  his  other  poems,  in  his  Correspondence,  ed. 
Laing,  2  vols.,  Edin.  1875. 

3  Poems,  ed.  Bannatyne  Club,  1823. 

4  Poetical  Works,  3  vols.,  Glasgow,  1870-72.     He  himself  collected  his 
poems  under  the  heading  of  Recreations  with  the  Muses  in  1637. 

3  He  is  badly  spoken  of  by  Urquhart  in  his  Jewel,  lit  inf.,  p.  129. 


234    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

much  to  redress  the  balance.  They  embrace  a  collection  of 
sonnets,  interspersed  with  songs  and  elegies,  published  under 
the  title  of  Aurora  in  1604  ;  a  Paraenesis  to  Prince  Henry  in 
the  same  year;  and  four  Monarchicke  Tragedies  (1607)  on 
subjects  like  Croesus  and  Alexander,  in  rime  croisee,  which  are 
anything  but  dramatic,  and  cannot  be  described  as  good  reading. 
His  chef  d'aeuvre  is  a  Doomesday  (1614),  consisting  of  well  over 
ten  thousand  lines,  in  the  stanza  ab  ab  ab  cc,  of  which  it  may  be 
affirmed  that  not  even  the  description  of  Hell  can  kindle  a 
spark  of  interest  or  emotion  in  any  reader's  breast.  The 
bequest  to  him  by  James  VI.  of  the  copyright  in  the  King's 
metrical  version  of  the  Psalms  shows  that  he  must  have  stood 
high  in  that  monarch's  esteem  ;  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it 
brought  him  probably  more  odium  than  profit  in  the  long  run. 
Sir  Robert  Ayton  ( 1570-1638)  T  was  wise  enough  not  to  fly 
at  game  quite  so  high  as  Doomesdays^  preferring  to  confine 
himself  to  trifles,  which  he  executed  with  a  tolerably  light 
hand,  though  he  invested  them  with  little  charm.  There  is 
scarcely  even  the  pretence  of  passion  in  his  amatory  lyrics, 
for,  as  he  himself  truly  enough  confesses — 

"  I  am  neither  Iphis  nor  Leander, 
I'll  neither  drown  nor  hang  myself  for  love." 

Consequently,  affectation  has  to  take  the  place  of  true  feeling, 
and,  though  he  never  quite  becomes  "  metaphysical "  in  the 
technical  and  Cowleian  sense,  he  is  dexterous  enough  in 
exercises  of  this  sort  : — 

"  My  heart,  exhale  in  grief, 

With  an  eternal  groan, 
And  never  let  thy  sighing  cease, 

Till  life  or  love  be  gone. 
Thy  life  is  crost  with  love, 

Thy  love  with  loathed  breath, 
Thou  hates  thyself  to  live  such  life, 

Life  in  such  love  is  death."  2 


Ed.  Roger,  Edin.,  1844.  2  From  To  his  Heart  and  Mistress. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         235 

There  seems  no  good  ground  for  ascribing  to  him  the  original 
version  of  Auld  Lang  Syne.  His  Latin  poetry  is  good,  but 
when  his  editor  remarks  that  it  "  unites  the  smoothness  of 
Virgil  with  the  sweetness  of  Ovid,  and  classic  elegance  of 
Horace  "  he  appears  to  be  unconsciously  affording  an  illustra- 
tion of  the  figure  of  speech  known  as  hyperbole. 

By  far  the  most  distinguished  poet  of  what  we  may  call  the 
Court  type  was  William  Drummond  of  Hawthornden  (1585- 
1649),*  who,  though  he  settled  sur  ses  terres,  and  was  not  of 
those  who  made  Whitehall  their  abiding-place,  was  among  the 
most  diligent  imitators  of  the  "  Italianate  "  school  of  English 
poetry.  Educated  partly  at  the  recently  founded  College  of 
King  James  in  Edinburgh  and  partly  in  France,  he  was 
thoroughly  versed  alike  in  the  ancient  and  in  the  modern 
tongues  ;  and  his  natural  abilities  were  such  that,  in  the 
opinion  of  a  competent  judge,  he  would  have  attained  the 
highest  rank  in  his  profession  if  he  had  given  himself,  really 
as  well  as  nominally,  to  the  law,  and  not  to  letters  and 
experimental  mechanics.  His  first  poem  was  a  set  of  rhymed 
heroics  on  the  death  of  Henry,  Prince  of  Wales,  under  the 
title  of  Tears  on  the  death  of  Moeliades  (1613).  A  year  or 
two  later  he  was  destined  to  celebrate  a  more  intimate  grief 
in  the  loss  of  the  lady  to  whom  he  was  about  to  be  married 
and  to  whose  memory  he  remained  faithful  until  well  on  in 
middle  life.  In  1617  the  King  paid  his  first  visit  to  Scotland 
since  his  removal  to  London  in  1603  ;  and  Drummond,  in 
whom  the  sense  of  loyalty  to  the  person  and  office  of  the 
monarch  was  strongly  developed,  commemorated  the  auspicious 
event  in  Forth  Feasting,2  a  somewhat  fantastic  strain,  a  specimen 

1  Poems,  ed.  Maitland  Club,  1832  ;  ed.  Ward,  2  vols.,  1894.  See  also 
Masson,  Dnuninond  of  Hawthornden,  1873. 

-  The  occasion  was  also  celebrated  by  a  series  of  poems  and  addresses, 
chiefly  in  Latin,  collected,  under  the  name  of  The  Muses'  Welcome  (1618), 
by  Principal  John  Adamson,  a  grandson  of  the  Archbishop,  and  not  the 
least  able  of  a  family  which  through  its  alliances  with  the  Simsons  and 
Gillespies,  has  supplied  the  Church  and  Universities  of  Scotland  down  to 
our  own  day  with  many  eminent  men. 


236    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

of  which,  however,  may  serve  to  illustrate  as  well  as  another 
his  mastery  of  the  poetic  art  : — 

"  O  virtue's  pattern,  glory  of  our  times, 
Sent  of  past  days  to  expiate  the  crimes, 
Great  King,  but  better  far  than  thou  art  great 
Whom  State  not  honours,  but  who  honours  state  ; 
By  wonder  torn,  by  wonder  first  install' d, 
By  wonder  after  to  new  kingdoms  call'd, 
Young,  kept  by  wonder  near  home-bred  alarms, 
Old,  sav'd  by  wonder  from  pale  traitors'  harms, 
To  be  for  this  thy  reign  which  wonder  brings, 
A  king  of  wonder,  wonder  unto  kings  ! 
If  Pict,  Dane,  Norman,  thy  smooth  yoke  had  seen, 
Pict,  Dane,  and  Norman  had  thy  subjects  been  ; 
If  Brutus  knew  the  bliss  thy  rule  could  give, 
Even  Brutus  joy  would  under  thee  to  live  ; 
For  thou  thy  people  dost  so  dearly  love, 
That  they  a  father,  more  than  prince,  thee  prove."  ' 

In  the  following  year  Ben  Jonson  paid  his  famous  visit  to 
Hawthornden,  and  engaged  in  the  conversations  which  have 
provoked  so  much  comment  and  controversy.2  It  is  quite 
conceivable  that  Drummond  may  have  found  Ben  in  the  flesh 
something  less  congenial  than  a  warm  admiration  for  his  guest's 
works  had  led  him  to  expect.  In  1623  Drummond  published 
his  Flowers  of  Zion,  a  collection  of  religious  verse  in  which 
his  predilection  for  the  sort  of  philosophy  vaguely  termed  by 
critics  "  Platonic"  is  strongly  manifested ;  and  with  the  mention 
of  this  volume  we  have  concluded  the  enumeration  of  his 
poems,  with  the  exception  of  the  many  sonnets,  epigrams, 
and  other  short  pieces  which  will  chiefly  be  found  in  his 

1  From  Forth  Feasting,  11.  285-300. 

2  Drummond's  notes  of  Jonson's  conversation  will  be  found,  ed.  Laing, 
in  Archceologia  Scotica,  vol.  iv.  pp.  241-70.     They  were  also  published  in 
a  separate  volume  for  the  Shakespeare  Society,  1842.    Their  accuracy  was 
violently  impugned   by  Jonson's  editor,  Gifford,  in  his  Memoirs  of  the 
dramatist,  apud  Works,  vol.  i.,  and  passim.    The  most  judicious  utterance 
on  the  matter  is,  as  usual,  that  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  Misc.  Prose  Works,  vol. 
vii.  pp.  74-82. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         237 

Poems  (1616),  and  of  the  copy  of  Macaronics  known  as 
Polemo-M'iddinia  inter  Vitarvam  et  Nebernam.  Whether  these 
singular  lines  are  properly  attributed  to  Drummond  is,  indeed, 
a  vexed  question.  It  is  said,  with  some  justice,  that  they  do 
not  resemble  in  tone  or  spirit  his  other  compositions.  But 
that  is  a  dangerous  argument.  A  more  suspicious  circumstance 
is  that,  while  the  first  printed  edition  known  to  us  bears  the 
date  1684,  the  first  ascription  of  the  poem  to  him  is  no  earlier 
than  1691.  Defoe  in  his  Tour  (1727)  imputes  the  authorship 
to  Samuel  Colvill,  who  is  otherwise  known  for  a  violent  attack 
on  the  Presbyterians  in  the  shape  of  a  poor  imitation  of 
Httdibras,  called  The  Whigs'  Supplication  (1681).  The 
Macaronics  are  much  superior  in  every  respect  to  this 
pasquinade,  being  full  of  rude  life  and  vigour,  and  to  have 
been  their  author  infers  no  disgrace.  Without  pretending 
to  give  a  decided  opinion  on  the  dispute,  I  may  be  permitted 
here  to  quote  the  opening  verses,  premising  that  the  subject 
of  the  piece  is  a  struggle  for  the  assertion  of  a  right  of  way 
between  the  people  of  Scot  of  Scotstarvet  and  those  of  Cun- 
ningham of  Newbarns,  to  whose  family,  it  may  be  mentioned, 
Drummond's  early  love  belonged  : — 

"  Nymphae,  quae  colitis  highissima  monta  Fifaea, 
Seu  vos  Pittenweema  tenent,  seu  Crelia  crofta, 
Sive  A  nstraea  domus,  ubi  nat  Haddocus  in  undis, 
Codlineusque  ingens,  et  Fleucca  et  Sketta  pererrant 
Per  costam  et  scopulos,  Lobster  manifootus  in  udis 
Creepat,  et  in  mediis  ludit  Whitenius  undis  : 
Et  vos  Skipperii,  soliti  qui  per  mare  breddum 
Valde  procul  lanchare  foras,  iterumque  redire, 
Linquite  skellatas  Botas,  Shippasque  picatas, 
Whistlantesque  simul  Fechtam  memorate  bloodaeam, 
Fechtam  terribilem  quam  marvellaverat  omnis 
Banda  Deum,  quoque  Nympharum  Cockelshelearum."  ' 

In  prose,  Drummond's  most  ambitious  work  is  a  History  of 
Scotland  during  the  reigns  of  the  five  Jameses,  published  post- 

1  Polcnio-Mtddinia,  Watson,  p.  129. 


238     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

humously  in  1655,  and  not  reckoned  of  any  great  authority. 
The  political  and  ecclesiastical  troubles  of  his  time  did  not 
leave  Drummond  unmoved.  His  dislike  and  distrust  of  the 
"  Highflyers  "  were  not  the  less  that,  from  motives  of  prudence, 
he  signed  the  National  Covenant  of  1638.  Things  would 
probably  have  been  made  very  uncomfortable  for  him  had  he 
declined  to  subscribe  that  instrument  which,  after  all, 
beside  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant,  was  comparatively 
innocuous.  He  expressed  his  sentiments  on  the  crisis  in  several 
tracts,  which  he  did  not,  however,  publish,  and  which  remained 
in  manuscript  until  1711 — Irene  :  a  Remonstrance  for  Concord, 
Amity,  and  Love  (1638),  The  Magical  Mirror  (1639),  and 
2,Kta[Jia\ta  (1643).  But  the  rough-and-tumble  work  of  politics 
— especially  the  politics  of  that  age — was  not  for  a  man  of 
Drummond's  constitution  and  temperament.  He  is  seen  to 
greater  advantage  in  a  work  like  the  Cypress  Grove  (1623), 
which  is  a  species  of  philosophical  meditation  upon  death,  and 
of  which  a  single  paragraph  must  here  suffice  : — 


"  Death  is  the  violent  estrangcr  of  acquaintance,  the  eternal 
divorcer  of  marriage,  the  ravisher  of  the  children  from  the  parents, 
the  stealer  of  parents  from  their  children,  the  interrer  of  fame,  the 
sole  cause  of  forgetfulness,  by  which  the  living  talk  of  those  gone 
away  as  of  so  many  shadows  or  age-worn  stories.  All  strength  by 
it  is  enfeebled,  beauty  turned  into  deformity  and  rottenness,  honour 
into  contempt,  glory  into  baseness.  It  is  the  reasonless  breaker-off 
of  all  actions,  by  which  we  enjoy  no  more  the  sweet  pleasures  of 
earth,  nor  contemplate  the  stately  revolutions  of  the  heavens.  The 
sun  perpetually  setteth,  stars  never  rise  unto  us.  It  in  one  moment 
robbeth  us  of  what  with  so  great  toil  and  care  in  many  years  we 
have  heaped  together.  By  this  are  succession  of  lineages  cut  short, 
kingdoms  left  heirless,  and  greatest  states  orphaned.  It  is  not  over- 
come by  pride,  soothed  by  flattery,  tamed  by  entreaties,  bribed  by 
benefits,  softened  by  lamentations,  nor  diverted  by  time.  Wisdom, 
save  this,  can  prevent  and  help  everything.  By  death  we  are  exiled 
from  this  fair  city  of  the  world  ;  it  is  no  more  a  world  unto  us,  nor 
we  any  more  a  people  unto  it.  The  ruins  of  fanes,  palaces,  and 
other  magnificent  frames  yield  a  sad  prospect  to  the  soul ;  and  how 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         239 

should  it  without  horror  view  the  wreck  of  such  a  wonderful  master- 
piece as  is  the  body  ?  "  ' 

The  Cypress  Grove,  has  been  highly — perhaps  even 
extravagantly — praised.  No  one  who  reads  it  can  fail  to 
recognise  that  here  is  beautiful  and  finely-modulated  prose, 
upon  which  the  artificer  has  lavished  all  the  skill  at  his  com- 
mand. It  has  been  described  as  the  first  "  original  work  in 
which  an  English  writer  has  deliberately  set  himself  to  make  prose 
do  service  for  poetry  "  2  ;  and  it  has  few,  if  any,  of  the  vices  to 
which  we  are  so  well  accustomed  in  the  "  prose-poem."  Mr. 
Masson,  to  whose  judgment  the  utmost  deference  is  ever  due, 
opines  that  it  "  surpasses  any  similar  piece  of  old  English  prose 
known  to"  him,  unless  it  be  an  occasional  passage  from  some  of 
the  English  Divines  at  their  best,  or  from  Sir  Thomas  Browne. 
This  eulogy  possibly  savours  of  excess.  Drummond,  polished, 
musical,  and  careful  as  he  is,  appears  to  lack  idiom,  and  that 
consideration  serves  to  point  the  interest  which  he  has  for  the 
student  of  Scots  literature.  For  Drummond  is  probably  the 
best  instance  of  the  tendency  to  which  we  have  already 
adverted  in  those  Scots  writers  of  the  first  half  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  who  were  ante  ornnia  men  of  letters  :  the 
tendency  to  cut  themselves  adrift  from  native  tradition  and  to 
write  in  English — the  current  literary  dialect  of  South  Britain 
—at  all  costs.  Drummond  was  scrupulously  and  sedulously 
English  :  scarce  a  trace  of  the  Scots  idiom  can  be  detected  in 
his  writings.  The  movement  which  he  thus  exemplified  was 
not  at  the  time  completely  successful.  Those  writers  who 
were  preachers  or  divines  first,  and  men  of  letters  only  second, 
did  not  indeed  write  Scots  in  the  strict  sense,  but,  following 
their  natural  bent,  seasoned  what  they  wrote,  as  we  shall  see, 
with  many  a  vivacious  and  expressive  Doric  phrase,  which 
must  have  sounded  strange,  if  not  unintelligible,  to  the 

1  From  The  Cypress  Grove. 

-  Mr.  M'Cormick,  apud  Craik's  English  Prose  Selections,  vol.  ii.  p.  191. 


24o    LITERARY  HISTORY   OF  SCOTLAND 

Southern  ear.  In  the  next  century,  the  movement  was  to  be 
revived  with  better  fortune.  It  engaged  the  warm  support  of 
the  Church,  and  to  eschew  Scotticisms  became  the  ambition 
and  the  calling  of  every  man  who  pretended  to  learning  and 
refinement. 

It  must  not,  however,  be  supposed  that  poetry  or  culture 
was  a  monopoly  of  those  whose  views,  whether  owing  to 
temperament  or  expediency,  were  of  a  "  Laodicean  "  com- 
plexion. The  Saints  and  precisians  too  had  their  bards  :  their 
James  Cockburns  and  their  George  Muschets.  They  had  also 
their  Sappho  in  Elizabeth  Melville,  Lady  Cumrie,  or  Culross, 
of  whom  it  is  related  that  upon  one  occasion  "  having  great 
motion  upon  her,"  she  prayed  aloud  from  her  bed  "for  large  three 
hours'  time"  to  a  roomful  of  people.1  The  sacred  effusions  of 
such  persons  had,  as  a  rule,  little  merit,  and  those  of  Zachary 
Boyd  (circ.  1590-1654)  are  not  much  better,  though  Zachary 
was  a  man  of  courage,  and,  teste  Baillie,  railed  on  Cromwell 
and  his  troops  to  their  face  from  the  pulpit  of  the  High  Kirk 
of  Glasgow  in  1650.  His  Garden  of  Zion  (1644)  is  a  sort  of 
metrical  paraphrase  in  rhymed  heroics  of  a  considerable  portion 
of  the  Old  Testament.  The  ten  plagues  of  Egypt  are 
described  in  Latin  verse,  and  the  Scriptural  lyrics,  such  as  the 
song  of  Deborah,  are  transcribed  in  doggerel  of  eights  and  sixes, 
like  the  following  : — 

"  Speake  ye  that  ride  on  white  asses, 

In  cheefe  rulers'  aray  ; 
And  ye  that  sit  in  judgement  and 
That  travel  by  the  way  ; 

And  yee,  the  poorest  of  the  land, 

Whose  tread  was  still  to  drawe 
Waters,  who  for  fear  of  archers, 

Did  greatly  stand  in  awe." 


1  Livingstone,  Memorable  Characteristics,  p.  289.  Her  Godlic  Dreame 
will  be  found  in  the  S.  T.  S.  cd.  of  Alexander  Hume's  Poems,  1902,  App. 
D,  p.  185. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         241 

It  was  into  this  form  that  he  also  "  did  "  the  Psalms  in  1646  ; 
but,  luckily,  the  version  which  came  ultimately  to  be  approved 
by  the  Kirk,  and  appointed  to  be  used  in  worship,  was  neither 
that  of  Boyd,  nor  yet  that  of  Mure  of  Rowallan,  but  a  version 
founded  mainly  upon  that  of  an  Englishman,  Francis  Rous 
(1579-1659).  Bald,  harsh,  and  uninspiring  as  Rous's  translation 
not  infrequently  is,  it  contains  many  passages  of  artless  and  simple 
beauty,  and  some  of  unostentatious  dignity.  Moreover,  it  is 
hallowed  by  the  associations  of  two  centuries  and  a  half.  It 
is,  therefore,  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  in  recent  years  it 
has,  to  a  great  extent,  been  ousted  from  the  services  of  the 
Kirk  in  favour  of  "  hymns "  which  possess  no  recommen- 
dation whatsoever,  except  unwholesome  sentiment  and  glib 
fluency. 

The  most  accomplished  poet  on  the  Covenanting  side  was 
Sir  William  Mure  of  Rowallan  (I594-I657),1  whose  mother 
was  a  sister  of  Alexander  Montgomerie,  and  whose  earliest 
poem  belongs  to  1611.  He  took  an  active  part  in  the  religious 
disputes  of  the  following  decades,  his  most  pretentious  con- 
tribution thereto  being  an  essay  in  dogmatic  theology  entitled 
The  true  Cruel  fixe  for  true  Catholiques  (1629),  which  contains 
over  3,200  lines.  In  him,  too,  we  find  the  rhymed  heroic 
settling  down  into  the  orthodox  movement,  and  the  following 
passage  might  well  be  supposed  to  belong  to  the  eighteenth, 
instead  of  to  the  seventeenth,  century.  It  suggests  nothing 
so  much  as  the  Loves  of  the  Triangles. 

"  Tis  most  absurd,  even  in  the  last  degree, 
To  thinke  God's  word  and  Spirit  disagree, 
This,  striving  to  restraine  and  stop  the  way, 
That,  grounds  to  this  impiety  to  lay. 
God's  Holy  Spirit  by  no  other  meanes 
Doth  worke,  but  such  as  God  Himself e  ordaines  ; 
Whatever  superstitious  potards  dreame, 
Forbidden  meanes  he  hates  ;  and  these  by  name."  2 


Works,  ed.  Tough,  2  vols.,  S.  T.  S., 
The  True  Crucifixe,  11.  1235-1242. 

Q 


242     LITERARY  HISTORY   OF  SCOTLAND 

In  1650,  he  wrote  The  Cry  of  Blood  and  of  a  Broken  Cove- 
nant, upon  the  occasion  of  "  our  late  sovraigne's  most 
treacherous  and  inhuman  murther  "  ;  and  he  also  administered 
a  Gounterbuff 'to  "  Lysimachus  Nicanor  "  (either  John  Maxwell, 
Bishop  of  Killala,  or  John  Corbet,  minister  of  Bonhill),  who  in 
an  Epistle  Congratulatorie  had  drawn  an  elaborate  and  unwel- 
come parallel  between  the  Covenanters  and  the  Jesuits. 
Mure's  version  of  the  Psalms  is  undoubtedly  preferable  to 
Boyd's  ;  but  from  the  purely  literary  point  of  view  his  most 
interesting  production  is  his  version,  in  three  books,  and  in 
ab  ab  cc,  of  the  story  of  Dido  and  Aeneas  (1614). *  Here  he 
shows  considerable  mastery  of  his  craft,  though  not  perhaps 
any  great  depth  of  feeling.  To  show  that  his  fluency  and 
facility  were  far  from  being  contemptible,  we  cannot  do 
better  than  quote  the  following  anapaests  of  one  of  his  shorter 
poems  : — 

"  To  pleid  bot  quher  mutual  kyndes  is  gain'd, 
And  fancie  alone  quhair  favour  hath  place, 
Such  frozen  affectioune  I  ewer  disdain'd  : 
Can  oght  be  impair'd  by  distance  or  space  ? 
My  loue  salbe  endles  quhair  once  I  affect, 
Ewin  thoght  it  sould  please  hir  my  seruice  reject. 
Stil  sail  I  determine,  till  breath  and  lyfe  go, 
To  loue  hir  quither  scho  loue  me  or  no. 

If  sche,  by  quhose  favour  I  Hue,  sould  disdaine, 
Sail  I  match  hir  unkyndnes  by  prouing  ungrait  ? 
O  no  !  in  hir  keiping  my  hert  must  remaine, 
To  honour  and  loue  hir,  more  then  sche  can  beat. 
Hir  pleasour  can  nowayes  retourne  to  my  smairt, 
Quhose  lyfe,  in  hir  power,  must  stay  or  depairt. 
Thoght  f ortoune  delyt  into  my  owirthro, 
I  loue  hir  quither  scho  loue  me  or  no. 

To  losse  both  trawel  and  tyme  for  a  froune, 
And  chainge  for  a  secreit  surmize  of  disdaine  ; 
Loue's  force  and  true  vertue  to  such  is  unknowne, 
Whose  faintnes  of  courage  is  constancie's  staine. 


This  was  first  printed  in  Mr.  Tough's  edition,  lit  sup. 


THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY        243 

My  loyall  affectioune  no  tyme  sail  diminisch, 
Quhair  once  I  affect,  my  fauour  sail  finisch. 
So  sail  I  determine,  till  breath  and  lyfe  go, 
To  loue  hir  quither  scho  loue  me  or  no."  * 

That  this  is  the  work  of  a  practised  and  skilful  artist  is  a 
proposition  which  needs  no  labouring  ;  and  it  is  equally  evident 
that  the  want  of  true  emotion  must  for  ever  doom  Sir  William 
Mure  to  a  place  in  the  hierarchy  of  poets  below  that  of  the 
arch-malignant,  James  Graham,  Marquis  of  Montrose 
(1612— 5o).2  Montrose  could  indulge  in  conceits  as  well 
as  another.  Straightforward  and  unaffected  are  scarcely  the 
epithets  to  be  applied  to  the  poem  written  on  the  eve  of  his 
execution,  noble  though  the  poem  is  in  tone  and  sentiment  : 
"a  signal  monument"  (in  the  language  of  David  Hume) 
"  of  his  heroic  spirit  and  no  despicable  proof  of  his  poetical 
genius."  Nor  are  the  lines  on  the  King's  martyrdom  wholly 
faultless  : — 

"  Great,  good,  and  just,  could  I  but  rate 
My  grief  to  thy  too  rigid  fate, 
I'd  weep  the  world  in  such  a  strain 
As  it  would  one  deluge  again. 

But  since  thy  loud-tongu'd  blood  demands  supplies 
More  from  Briareus'  hands  than  Argus'  eyes, 
I'll  tune  thy  elegies  to  trumpet  sounds, 
And  write  thy  epitaph  in  blood  and  wounds." 

If  they  do  not  deserve  the  unqualified  strictures  of  Malcolm 
Laing,  neither  do  they  merit  the  unqualified  eulogy  of  Mark 
Napier.  But  Montrose  lives  as  a  poet  in  his  familiar  lyric, 
beginning,  "My  dear  and  only  love,  I  pray,"  of  which  the 
most  familiar  lines  are  the  quatrain  : — 

1  Ane  Reply  to  I  cair  not  quither  1  get  hir  or  no,  in  Works,  ut  sup.  p.  13. 

2  Memoirs,  by  Mark  Napier,  2  vols.  ed.   1856.    The  chief  authority  on 
Montrose's  career  is  George  Wishart  (1599-1671),  Bishop  of  Edinburgh, 
whose  Commentarius  (1647)  was  translated  rather  more  than  a  century 
later.     An  extremely  interesting  article  on  Montrose's  attitude  to  the  two 
Covenants  was  contributed  by  the  late  Lord  President  Inglis  to  Black- 
wood's  Magazine  for  November,  1887. 


244    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

"  He  either  fears  his  fate  too  much, 

Or  his  deserts  are  small, 
Who  dare  not  put  it  to  the  touch, 
To  win  or  lose  it  all." 

We  may  suppose,  if  we  please,  that  this  poem  symbolises 
loyalty  or  virtue  under  the  guise  of  a  mistress.  But  it  loses 
nothing  by  being  taken  in  its  plain  and  unsophisticated  sense. 
Though  its  ascription  to  the  great  Marquis  is  not  earlier  than 
1711,  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  its  authenticity,  and  its 
superiority  is  manifest  to  O  tell  me  how  to  woo  thee,  which  Scott 
at  one  time  believed  to  be  Montrose's,  but  which,  he  was 
afterwards  certified,  was  the  work  of  his  own  contemporary, 
Graham  of  Gartmore.1  Equally  beyond  question,  Montrose 
was  a  better  poet  than  the  Earl  of  Argyle  in  the  succeeding 
generation,  who  inscribed  a  very  mediocre  exercise  in  rhymed 
heroics  to  Lady  Sophia  Lindsay,  the  contriver  of  his  escape 
from  prison  in  i682.2 

Hitherto,  we  have  come  across  hardly  a  single  reminiscence 
of  the  vernacular ;  English  had  been  since  the  Union  the  dialect 
of  the  Court,  and  the  favour  of  the  Puritans  of  England  had 
become  a  thing  to  be  desired  by  the  Presbyterians,  who  were 
not  of  the  Court.  Another  influence,  however,  which  distracted 
Scots  poets  from  their  mother-tongue  was  that  of  Latin,  which 
during  the  reigns  of  James  VI.  and  Charles  I.  was  in  Scotland 
"  the  normal  and  recognised  vehicle  of  poetic  expression."  3 
Where  George  Buchanan  had  given  so  brilliant  a  lead,  it  is 
not  surprising  that  many  of  his  countrymen  followed  ;  and 
the  large  number  of  more  than  respectable  Latin  versifiers 
whom  Scotland  produced  between  the  Reformation  and  the 
Revolution  is  in  striking  contrast  to  her  subsequent  barrenness 
in  a  delightful  and  important  branch  of  scholarship.  The 

1  Minstrelsy,  ed.  Henderson,  vol.  iii.,  p.  385. 

2  See  Law's  Memorials,  ed.    Sharpe,  p.  210,   note.      For  Sir    George 
Mackenzie's  incursions  into  the  field  of  poetry,  see  infra,  p.  305. 

3  See  Musa  Latina  Aberdoncnsis,  ed.  Geddes,  2  vols.  New  Spalding  Club, 
1892-95. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         245 

most  eminent  and  prolific  of  all  these  was  Arthur  Johnston 
(1587-1661),  a  physician,  born  at  Caskieben,  in  Aberdeenshire. 
He  translated  the  psalms,  and  wrote  sacred  and  other  poems 
in  excellent  Latin  ;  and  his  Parerga  are  all  included  in  that 
remarkable  anthology  for  which  he  was  responsible  as  editor, 
the  De/itite  Musarum  Scottcarum  (i637).T  This  work  was 
dedicated  to  Sir  John  Scot  of  Scotstarvet  (1585-1670),  at 
whose  charges  it  was  published,  and  who  was  one  of  the 
most  munificent  supporters  of  literature  and  learning  in  his 
time.  Besides  a  certain  amount  of  Latin  verse,  Scot  was 
the  author  of  a  pamphlet,  The  Staggering  State  of  the  Scots 
Statesmen  (1640-50),  2  the  very  name  of  which,  especially  in 
conjunction  with  the  full  territorial  designation  of  its  author, 
should  keep  it  in  everlasting  remembrance. 

We  can  do  no  more  than  enumerate  some  of  the  other 
contributors  to  the  Delitits.  James  (the  "Admirable") 
Crichton  (1560-83)  had  been  the  Sir  Charles  Grandison 
of  his  age,  and  wrote,  among  other  things,  a  Latin  poem 
to  Aldus  Manutius,  of  which  the  respectable  and  learned  Dr. 
Bartlett  might  have  been  proud.  John  Barclay  (1582-1621) 
was  the  author  of  an  imitation  of  Petronius,  entitled  Euphormionis 
Lusini  Satyrlcon  (1603)  ;  and  his  Argents,  a  romance  which 
has  been  translated  into  many  tongues,  3  earned  in  a  later 
age  the  enthusiastic  encomiums  of  the  poet  Cowper. 
Barclay's  Latin  is  not  exactly  classical,  but  it  is  vigorous  and 
lively.  The  Argents  itself  is  an  allegory  and  a  system  of 
politics  as  well  as  a  romance.  "  In  it,"  according  to  its  most 
recent  translator,  4  "  the  various  forms  of  government  are 

1  See  Geddes's  Musa  Latina  Abcrdonensis,  ut  sup.  We  can  only  quote 
Johnston's  description  of  the  Nor'  Loch  :  "  Stagna  Boraea  vocat  vulgus  ; 
non  ipsa  Mephitis  Putidior ;  nil  his  pejus  Avernus  olet"  (Onopordus 
fitrens,  11.  323-4)- 

-  Ed.  Rogers,  1872. 

3  Into   English   by  Sir   Robert   le   Grys  and   Thomas    May  (1628),  by 
Kingsmill   Long  (1636),  and,  under  the  title   of    The   Phceirix,  by  Clara 
Reeve  (1772). 

4  Clara  Reeve,  ut  sup. 


246    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

investigated,  the  causes  of  faction  detected,  and  the  remedies 
pointed  out  for  most  of  the  evils  that  can  arise  in  a  state." 
Sir  Robert  Ayton,  with  whom  we  are  already  acquainted,  was 
another  Latin  poet  of  note  ;  and  so  were  Thomas  Dempster 
(1579-1625),  the  author  of  an  Historia  Ecclesiastica  gentis 
Scotorum,1  Sir  Thomas  Craig,  the  celebrated  feudal  lawyer, 
David  Hume  of  Godscroft  (infra,  p.  274),  Dr.  David  Kinloch, 
who  wrote  "  De  hominis  procreatione,"  Hercules  Rollock, 
David  Wedderburn,  and  Andrew  Ramsay,  from  whose  Poemata 
Sacra  (1633),  William  Lauder  in  the  next  century  averred 
that  Milton  had  plagiarised  in  his  'Paradise  Lost.  Some  ex- 
cellent hexameters  by  Patrick  Adamson,  the  betrayer  of 
Presbytery,  are  counterbalanced  by  the  tolerable  epigrams  of 
Andrew  Melville  (1545-1622),  its  great  protagonist.  A  later 
writer  of  such  things  was  Ninian  Paterson,  whose  Epigram- 
matum  Libri  Octo  appeared  in  1678.  Towards  the  close  of  the 
century,  the  fine  tradition  of  Latin  verse  is  best  maintained  by 
Dr.  Archibald  Pitcairne  2  (1652—1713),  a  great  light  of  the 
medical  profession,  and,  as  we  shall  see,  a  keen  Jacobite. 

But  the  vernacular  was  not  altogether  extinct  as  a  medium 
for  verse,  and,  though  no  very  distinguished  achievement  in  it 
has  to  be  recorded,  there  is  enough  to  link  the  period  of  the 
"  makaris  "  to  that  of  Allan  Ramsay.  There  were  the  ballads 
about  Drumclog  and  Bothwell  Brig,  poor  stuff  as  they  are  ; 
there  were  attempts  to  imitate  the  native  conventions,  as  the 
Answer  to  Curat  CaddeF  s  Satyre  upon  the  Whigs  3  seeks  to  imitate 
the  old  "  Flytings  "  ;  above  all,  there  was  the  work  of  the 
Sempills,  not  much  to  boast  of,  perhaps,  in  itself,  but  of  high 
importance  as  a  bridge  between  the  sixteenth  and  eighteenth 
centuries.  Robert  Sempill,  of  Beltrees  (1595  ?-i659),  was  a 
son  of  Sir  James  Sempill,  who,  in  addition  to  certain  theo- 

1  Bologna,  1627  ;  ed.  Irving,   Bannatyne  Club,    1829.    A  list  of  about 
fifty  of  Dempster's  works  is  given  by  Irving  in  his  Scotish  Writers,  vol.  i. 
pp.  363  et  seq. 

2  Selecta  Poemata,  1727. 

s  Apud  Sharpe's  ed.  of  Kirkton's  Secret  History,  1817,  p.  198,  note. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         247 

logical  treatises  in  prose  which  belong  to  the  first  quarter  of  the 
century,  wrote  a  satire  against  Rome  in  dramatic  form  under 
the  name  of  A  Picktooth  for  the  Pope,  or  the  Packman's  Pater- 
noster.*  Robert's  chef  d'ceuvre  in  poetry  was  The  Life  and 
Death  of  the  Piper  of  Kilbarchanf  written  in  what  is  perhaps 
the  most  familiar  and  popular  of  all  Scottish  stanzas,  and,  as  we 
shall  see,  the  model  of  innumerable  other  pieces  in  the  suc- 
ceeding century.  Habbie  Simson  was  the  name  of  the  piper 
in  question,  and  Habbie  Simson  is  the  name  thenceforth 
peculiarly  associated  with  a  metre  in  which  were  achieved 
some  of  the  chief  successes  of  Ramsay,  Fergusson,  and  Burns. 
The  poem  is  unequal,  and  by  no  means  always  brilliant.  Yet, 
as  I  have  said,  it  extends  a  hand  on  one  side  to  the  past,  on 
the  other  side  to  the  future  ;  and  we  recognise  in  it  the 
fidelity  to  life,  to  facts  as  they  actually  are,  which,  mingled 
with  a  dry,  and  sometimes  acrid,  humour  is  one  of  the  great 
characteristics  of  Scottish  verse.  Of  so  celebrated  a  perfor- 
mance, some  part  must  be  exhibited ;  but  two  stanzas  will 
perhaps  suffice  to  indicate  its  tone  and  manner  : — 

"  Now  who  shall  play,  the  Day  it  daws  ? 
Or  Hunt  up,  when  the  Cock  he  craws  ? 
Or  who  can  for  our  Kirk-town-cause, 

Stand  us  in  stead  ? 
On  Bagpipes  (now)  no  body  blaws, 

Sen  Habbie's  dead. 

Or  wha  will  cause  our  Shearers  shear  ? 
Wha  will  bend  up  the  Brags  of  Weir, 
Bring  in  the  Bells,  or  good  play  meir, 

In  time  of  need  ? 
Rab  Simson  could,  what  needs  you  speer  ? 

But  (now)  he's  dead."  3 


1  The  earliest  known  edition  belongs  to  1669,  but  it  must  be  consider- 
ably earlier  in  date. 

2  First  printed,  to  our  knowledge,  in  James  Watson's  Collection,  1706-11. 

3  From  the  The  Life  and  Death  of  the  Piper  of  Kilbarchan,  apud  Watson, 
P-32. 


248     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

In  precisely  the  same  vein  is  the  Epitaph  on  Sanny  Briggs,  a 
butler,  of  which  the  following  is  a  verse  :— 

"  It  very  muckle  did  me  please 
To  see  him  howk  the  Holland  cheese  ; 
I  kend  the  clinking  o'  his  kies 

In  time  of  need. 
Alake  a  day  !  though  kind  to  me 

Yet  now  he's  dead."  ' 

Sanny  Briggs  was  most  probably  the  work  of  the  same  author,  or 
of  Francis  Sempill  (i6i6?-82),2  his  son,  who  had  also,  according 
to  report,  a  gift  for  vernacular  poetry.  To  him,  at  all  events, 
are  attributed  Maggie  Louder  and  The  Blythesome  Bridal 
(tnfra^  p.  382)  ;  and  he  appears  certainly  to  be  the  author  of 
The  Banishment  of  Poverty  by  James,  Duke  of  Albany  [York], 
in  which  the  poet  recounts  his  taking  refuge  within  the  pre- 
cincts of  the  Abbey  of  Holyrood.  There  he  finds  release 
from  Poverty,  hitherto  his  inseparable  companion  : — 

"  An  hour  or  twa  I  did  not  tarry, 

When  my  blest  fortune  was  to  see 
A  sight,  sure  by  the  might  of  Mary, 

Of  that  brave  Duke  of  Albany  ; 
When  one  blink  of  his  princely  eye, 

Put  that  foul  foundling  to  the  flight ; 
Frae  me  he  banish'd  Poverty, 

And  made  him  take  his  last  Good-night." 

The  poems  of  William  Cleland  (1661  ? -89),3  who  lost  his 
life  at  Dunkeld  after  Killiecrankie  when  in  command  of  the 
Cameronian  regiment,  are  full  of  Scots  phrases  and  words  ;  but 
they  are  interesting,  less  for  their  intrinsic  value,  than,  for  the 
way  in  which  they  illustrate  the  sentiments  of  the  Lowlander 
towards  the  Highlander,  and  thus  support  a  tradition  which  in 

1  From  the  Epitaph  on  Sanny  Briggs,  Watson,  p.  37. 

2  The  poems  of  the  Sempills  were    collected  and  edited  by  James 
Paterson,  Edin.,  1849. 

3  Poems  and  Verses,  1697. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         249 

Scottish  literature,  as  we  have  remarked,  is  ancient  enough. 
His  poem  on  the  Highland  Host  of  1678,  written  in  octosyl- 
labics, contains  all  the  taunts  which  used  to  be  levied  at  the 
denizens  of  the  mountains  before  the  peril  caused  by  their 
vicinity  had  been  banished  by  firm  measures,  and  themselves 
had  been  discovered  to  be  interesting.  Cleland-also  attacked 
the  Episcopal  clergy  in  verse  ;  but  in  other  departments  of 
poetry  he  attained  not  even  the  very  moderate  portion  of 
success  which  rewarded  his  efforts  in  satire.  His  best-known 
attempt  is  a  version  of  Halloo,  my  Fancy,  whither  wilt  thou 


go 


Whig  attacks,  such  as  those  of  Cleland,  were  not  left  un- 
answered. We  have  already  mentioned  the  Whigs  Supplica- 
tion of  Samuel  Colvill,  which  was  easily  outstripped  in  wit  and 
pungency  by  Pitcairne's  Babel/,1  a  satirical  poem  on  the 
proceedings  of  the  General  Assembly  in  1692,  in  about  1,400 
lines  of  Hudibrastic  octosyllabics,  interspersed  with  rhymed 
heroics.  Vigorous  as  the  piece  is,  however,  it  must  yield  the 
palm  for  point  and  venom  to  a  singular  production  in 
prose  from  the  same  pen  at  about  the  same  date.  The 
Assembly,  a  Comedy,2  is  a  triumph  of  unscrupulous,  but 
amusing,  scurrility,  which  must  have  appeared  grossly  blasphe- 
mous to  the  ultra-Presbyterian  faction,  and  by  the  present  age 
must  be  pronounced  not  over  decent.  One  of  the  author's  chief 
butts  is  Mr.  David  Williamson,  of  the  West  Kirk,  who,  on 
account  of  a  notorious  faux  pas  with  the  daughter  of  a  South 
country  Maxwell,  is  introduced  as  Mr.  Solomon  Cherry- 
trees,  talking  the  dialect  of  the  Canticles,  and  behaving  in  a 
manner  far  from  creditable  to  a  minister  of  the  Gospel.  The 
meetings  of  the  Commission  of  Assembly  are  caricatured, 
and  the  various  members  who  took  part  in  them  are  hit  off, 
without  much  subtlety,  but  still  with  a  vigorous  enough 
pencil.  The  following  prayer  is  put  into  the  Moderator's 
mouth  :  — 

1  Ed.  Maitland  Club,  1830.  2  First  printed,  apparently,  in  1722. 


250    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

"  O  Lord,  who  art  the  author  and  finisher  of  our  disorder ;  who 
directs  us  in  all  our  confusion  to  do  thy  holy  will ;  settle  our  spirits, 
and  e'en  give  us  thy  best  advice  for  thy  own  work,  or  it  will  go  the 
waur  on." 

This  is  but  slightly  exaggerated  :  every  one  accustomed  to  the 
services  of  the  Kirk  or  the  sittings  of  her  Courts  must  have 
heard  something  very  like  it.  Perhaps  the  most  interesting 
character  in  The  Assembly  is  Laird  Littlewit,  a  ruling  elder 
from  the  north,  into  whose  mouth  is  put  the  dialect  of 
Aberdeenshire  with  all  its  peculiarities  of  pronunciation 
phonetically  indicated.  Robert  Mylne  (1643  ?-i747),  who 
is  said  to  have  lived  to  over  a  hundred,  was  another  diligent 
Tory  satirist.  But  much  of  this  sort  of  work  is  remarkable 
only  for  its  bitterness  and  indecency,  and,  however  curious  as 
indicative  of  the  state  of  public  opinion,  can  scarcely  claim  to 
be  reckoned  as  serious  literature.1 

As  has  already  been  indicated,  the  literary  Scots  dialect 
practically  disappears  from  prose  in  the  seventeenth  century. 
Only  one  specimen  of  its  deliberate  employment — or,  at  the 
most,  two — is  known  to  us.  The  Raiment  of  Courtis  (i622)2 
was  written  by  Abacuck  Bysset  in  his  "awin  maternale  Scottis 
langaige  or  mother  tung,"  which  may  perhaps  be  accounted 
for  by  the  fact  that  he  wrote  in  his  old  age  with  his  own  hand. 
Abacuck,  whose  father  had  been  "cater  to  Queene  Marye," 
was  a  loyal  subject  of  the  King,  and  appears  to  have  been 
disposed  to  be  a  laudator  temporis  actl.  So  also,  as  regards  speech 
and  language  at  least,  was  Alexander  Hume  (1558  ?-i63i  ?), 
who  was  successively  Rector  of  the  Edinburgh  High  School, 
Master  of  the  Grammar  School  at  Prestonpans,  and  Master  of 
the  Grammar  School  at  D  unbar,  and  whose  Grammatica  Nova 

1  The  reader  may  be  referred  to  Maidment's  Book  of  Scottish  Pasquils 
(1827,  new  edition    1868),  where  many  specimens  by  various  hands   are 
collected. 

2  Still  in  MS.     An  extract  will  be  found  in  Mr.  Gregory  Smith's  Speci- 
mens of  Middle  Scots,  p.  239. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         251 

(1612)  had  for  some  time  a  great  vogue  in  places  where  they 
flog.  Hume  dabbled  a  little  in  theology,  but  his  most  valuable 
work  is  a  thin  pamphlet,  written  some  time  after  1617,  Of  the 
Orthographie  and  Congruitie  of  the  Britan  Tongue.1  This 
brochure  is  dedicated  to  James  VI.,  in  whom  the  author  seems 
to  believe  he  has  a  sympathiser.  He  has  heard,  he  says,  that, 
during  his  visit  to  Scotland,  the  King  reproved  his  courtiers 
"  quha  on  a  new  conceat  of  finnes  [fineness]  sum  tymes  spilt 
(as  they  cal  it)  the  King's  language.  Quhilk  thing  it  is 
reported  that  your  Majestic  not  only  refuted  with  impregnable 
reasones,  but  alsoe  fel  on  Barret's  opinion  that  you  wald  cause 
the  universities  mak  an  Inglish  grammar  to  repress  the  inso- 
lencies  of  sik  green  heades."  "  In  school  materes,"  continues 
the  worthy  pedagogue,  "  the  least  are  not  the  least,  because  to 
erre  in  them  is  maest  absurd.  If  the  fundation  be  not  sure, 
the  maer  gorgiouse  the  edifice,  the  grosser  the  fait.  Neither 
is  it  the  least  parte  of  a  prince's  praise,  curasse  rem  Hterariam^ 
and  be  his  auctoritie  to  mend  the  misses  that  ignorant  custom 
hath  bred."2  We  must  not  pause  to  discuss  Hume's  opinions, 
which  have  frequently  been  ventilated  since  in  divers  forms, 
though  the  accession  of  the  House  of  Hanover  to  the  British 
throne  luckily  put  an  end  to  all  serious  thought  of  fixing  our 
speech  by  the  interposition  of  Royal  authority.  Hume 
interests  us  less  as  a  grammarian  or  as  a  theorist  on  education, 
than  as  a  writer  and  a  man.  Would  that  he  had  given  us  a 
thousand  passages  like  the  following  ! 

"  To  clere  this  point,  and  alsoe  to  reform  an  errour  bred  in  the 
south,  and  now  usurped  by  our  ignorant  printeres,  I  wil  tel  quhat 
befel  myself  quhen  I  was  in  the  south  with  a  special  gud  frende 
of  myne.  Ther  rease,  upon  sum  accident,  quhither  quho,  quhen, 
quhat,  etc.  sould  be  symbolized  with  a  q  or  w,  a  boat  disputation 
betuene  him  and  me.  After  manie  conflictes  (for  we  ofte  en- 
countered), we  met  be  chance,  in  the  citie  of  Baeth,  with  a  Doctour 


1  Ed.  Wheatley,  E.  E.  T.  S.,  1865.        3  Dedication,  ed.  E.  E.  T.  S  ,p.  2. 


252     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

of  divinitie  of  both  our  acquentance.  He  invited  us  to  denner.  At 
table  my  antagonist,  to  bring  the  question  on  foot  amangs  his  awn 
condisciples,  began  that  I  was  becum  an  heretik,  and  the  doctour 
spering  how,  ansuered  that  I  denyed  quho  to  be  spelled  with  a  w, 
but  with  qu.  Be  quhat  reason  ?  quod  the  Doctour.  Here,  I  begin- 
ning to  lay  my  grundes  of  labial,  dental,  and  guttural  soundes  and 
symboles,  he  snapped  me  on  this  hand  and  he  on  that,  that  the 
doctour  had  mikle  a  doe  to  win  me  room  for  a  syllogisme.  Then 
(said  I)  a  labial  letter  can  not  symboliz  a  guttural  syllab.  But  w  is 
a  labial  letter,  quho  a  guttural  sound.  And  therfoer  w  can  not 
symboliz  quho,  nor  noe  syllab  of  that  nature.  Here  the  doctour 
staying  them  again  (for  al  barked  at  ones),  the  proposition,  said  he, 
I  understand ;  the  assumption  is  Scottish,  and  the  conclusion  false. 
Quherat  al  laughed,  as  if  I  had  been  dryven  from  al  replye,  and  I 
fretted  to  see  a  frivolouse  jest  go  for  a  solid  ansuer."  * 

We  may  conjecture  with  what  feelings  a  rigid  Scottish 
Conservative  like  Alexander  Hume  must  have  regarded  the  prose 
work  of  William  Drummond  (supra,  p.  238).  But  if  he  would 
have  chastised  Drummond  with  whips,  not  even  scorpions 
would  have  sufficed  to  express  his  feelings  towards  Sir  Thomas 
Urquhart  of  Cromarty2  (circ.  1605-60),  one  of  the  most 
eccentric  figures  that  present  themselves  in  the  whole  course 
of  the  literary  history  of  these  islands.  He  was  a  dungeon  of 
learning  ;  he  dabbled  in  science ;  he  revelled  in  language  ;  and 
the  greater  part  of  his  life  was  passed  in  a  hard  struggle  with 
relentless  creditors.3  A  more  consummate  pedant  never 
existed,  yet  he  produced  one  of  the  great  translations  of  the 
world,  and  that  the  translation  of  a  work  whose  one  aim, 
if  aim  it  has,  is  the  annihilation  of  pedantry.  Urquhart's 
rendering  of  the  first  two  books  of  Rabelais  4  appeared  in 

1  Of  the  Orthographic,  &c.,  of  the  Britan  Tongue,  ut  sup.  p.  18. 

2  Works,  ed.  Maitland  Club,  1834. 

3  "  I  should  have  been,"  he  tells  us,   "  a  Mecaenas   to  the  scholar,  a 
pattern  to  the  souldier,  a  favorer  of  the  merchant,  a  protector  of  the  trades- 
man, and  upholder  of  the  yeoman,  had  not  the  impetuosity  of  the  usurer 
overthrown   my  resolutions  and    blasted  my  aims   in   the   bud "    (Logo- 
pandecteision,  bk.  vi.  36). 

<  The  best  edition  is  that  in  the  Tudor  Translations  Series,  2  vols.,  1900. 
Mr.  Whibley's  introduction  is  an  admirable  piece  of  criticism. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         253 

1653  ;  and  his  version  of  a  third  was  published  in  1693  by 
Motteux,  who  himself  completed  the  task.  No  other  work 
could  have  lent  itself  so  readily  to  the  peculiarities  of  Urquhart's 
genius,  or  so  successfully  called  forth  his  unrivalled  "  volubility 
of  utterance "  and  dexterity  of  tone,  phrase,  and  accent  : 
qualities  which  he  attributes,  even  in  the  use  of  foreign  tongues, 
to  his  countryman  Dr.  Seaton.  But,  in  truth,  Urquhart  was 
the  last  professor  of  the  Elizabethan,  or  Tudor,  extravagance 
in  prose,  of  which  the  first  taste  north  of  the  Tweed  had  been 
afforded  by  The  Complaynt  of  Scotland. 

Of  his  original  writings,  the  Epigrams  (1641)  are  dis- 
appointing, and  the  Trissotetras  almost  unintelligible,  not 
merely  to  the  layman,  but  also  to  "  those  that  are  mathemati- 
cally affected."  He  appended  to  it,  however,  a  Lexicidion,  of 
which  his  other  treatises  would  be  none  the  worse  ;  for  he 
indulges  freely  in  aira%  XeyofiEva,  nor  is  it  an  easy  matter 
to  jump  at  the  correct  meaning  of  a  word  like  "Jobernolisme."  x 
In  1652,  he  published  the  Pantochronochanon^  or  a  peculiar 
Promptuary  of  time,  in  which  he  solemnly  deduces  the  pedigree 
of  his  house  step  by  step  from  Adam  and  Eve.  To  the  same 
year  belongs  the  Ekskybalauron^  or  the  Discovery  of  a  most 
exquisite  Jewel  \  and  in  1653  appeared  the  Logopandecteision,  an 
amazing  rigmarole,  in  which  he  intermingles  proposals  for  a 
universal  language  with  sketches  of  his  own  career,  glimpses  of 
his  tastes  and  habits,  statements  of  his  grievances,  and  other 
really  interesting  matters.  Urquhart  is  said  to  have  died  of  a 
fit  of  laughing  on  hearing  of  the  Restoration  of  Charles  II. 

The  Jewel,  as  we  will  call  it  for  brevity's  sake,  bears  to  be 
"  a  vindication  of  the  honour  of  Scotland  from  that  infamy 
whereinto  the  rigid  Presbyterian  party  of  that  nation  out  of 
their  covetousness  and  ambition  most  dissembledly  hath 
involved  it."  With  much  that  is  fantastic,  or  nonsensical,  is 
mixed  up  a  great  deal  of  high  interest  and  value.  He 
gives  an  account  of  many  Scots  who  had  recently  done  honour 
1  The  Jewel,  p.  265. 


254    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

to  their  country  in  peace  or  war,  and  raised  the  fame  of 
Scotland  to  a  high  pitch  among  foreign  nations  ;  and  he 
professes  to  have  discharged  his  task  with  straightforwardness 
and  simplicity  of  language. 

"  I  could  truly,  having  before  my  eyes  some  known  treatises  of  the 
author,  whose  muse  I  honour,  and  the  straine  of  whose  pen  to 
imitate  is  my  greatest  ambition,  have  enlarged  this  discourse  with  a 
choicer  variety  of  phrase,  and  made  it  overflow  the  field  of  the 
reader's  understanding,  with  an  inundation  of  greater  eloquence  ; 
and  that  one  way,  tropologetically,  by  metonymical,  ironical,  meta- 
phorical, and  synecdochical  instruments  of  elocution,  in  all  their 
several  kinds,  artificially  affected,  according  to  the  nature  of  the 
subject,  with  emphatical  expressions  in  things  of  great  concernment, 
with  catachrestical  in  matters  of  meaner  moment ;  attended  on  each 
side  respectively  with  an  epiplectick  and  exegetick  modification  ; 
with  hyperbolical,  either  epitatically  or  hypocoristically,  as  the 
purpose  required  to  be  elated  or  extenuated,  they  qualifying 
metaphors,  and  accompanied  with  apostrophes ;  and  lastly,  with 
allegories  of  all  sorts,  whether  apologal,  affabulatory,  parabolary, 
aenigmatick,  or  paraemial.  And,  on  the  other  part,  schematologeti- 
cally  adorning  the  proposed  theam  with  the  most  especial  and  chief 
flowers  of  the  garden  of  rhetorick,  and  omitting  no  figure  either  of 
diction  or  sentence,  that  might  contribute  to  the  ears,  enchantment, 
or  persuasion  of  the  hearer." " 

Doubtless  he  could  have  done  all  this,  and  played  many 
other  startling  tricks  which  he  names,  but  luckily  he  held  his 
hand.  Master  Alexander  Ross,  Dr.  Seaton,  Robert  Baron, 
William  Leslie,  William  Guild,  John  and  David  Leech,  Robert 
Gordon  of  Straloch — these  and  many  others,  generally  from 
the  North  country,  he  commemorates  with  propriety  and 
gusto  :  and  his  own  character  stands  forth  among  the  rest, 
vain  and  egotistical  to  the  last  degree,  yet  loyal  and  high- 
spirited,  no  stranger  to  lofty  ideals,  and,  above  all,  fier  comme 
un  Ecossais.  He  is  at  his  happiest,  perhaps,  when  describing 
some  feat  of  arms,  some  notable  contestation  with  the  rapier 
or  the  foils,  such  as  his  heroes  Sinclair  and  Mercer  were  wont 

2  The  Jewel,  Works,  nt  sup.,  p.  292. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         255 

to  engage  in  for  the  honour  of  Scotland.  His  very  best 
passage  is  unquestionably  his  sketch  of  the  inimitable  Crichton 
— much  too  long  for  quotation  here.  We  must  be  satisfied 
with  presenting  an  extract  in  a  more  reflective  vein,  wherein 
shrewdness  and  sense  are  no  less  apparent  than  whimsicality 
and  humour. 

"  Then  was  it  that  the  name  of  a  Scot  was  honourable  over  all 
the  world,  and  that  the  glory  of  their  ancestors  was  a  passport  and 
safe-conduct  sufficient  for  any  traveller  of  that  country.  In  con- 
firmation whereof,  I  have  heard  it  related  of  him  who  is  the  TO  o?> 
tveica  of  this  discourse,  and  to  whose  weal  it  is  subordinated,  that, 
after  his  peragration  of  France,  Spaine,  and  Italy,  and  that  for 
speaking  some  of  those  languages  with  the  liveliness  of  the  country 
accent,  they  would  have  had  him  pass  for  a  native,  he  plainly  told 
them,  without  making  bones  thereof,  that  truly  he  thought  he  had 
as  much  honour  by  his  own  country,  which  did  contrevalue  the 
riches  and  fertility  of  those  nations,  by  the  valour,  learning,  and 
honesty,  wherein  it  did  parallel,  if  not  surpass,  them.  Which  asser- 
tion of  his  was  with  pregnant  reasons  so  well  backed  by  him,  that 
he  was  not  much  gainsaid  therein  by  any  in  all  those  kingdoms. 
But  should  he  offer  now  to  stand  upon  such  high  terms,  and  enter 
the  lists  with  a  spirit  of  competition,  it  fears  me  that  instead  of 
laudatives  and  panegyricks,  which  formerly  he  used,  he  would  be 
constrained  to  have  recourse  to  vindications  and  apologies  ;  the 
toyle  whereof,  in  saying  one  and  the  same  thing  over  and  over 
again,  with  the  misfortune  of  being  the  less  believed  the  more  they 
spoke,  hath  proved  of  late  almost  insupportable  to  the  favourers  of 
that  nation,  whose  inhabitants,  in  forraign  peregrinations,  must  now 
altogether  in  their  greatest  difficulties  depend  upon  the  meer  stock 
of  their  own  merit,  with  an  abatement  of  more  than  the  half  of  its 
value,  by  reason  of  the  national  imputation  ;  whilst  in  former  times, 
men  of  meaner  endowments  would  in  sharper  extremities,  at  the 
hands  of  stranger-people,  have  carryed  thorrow  with  more  specious 
advantages,  by  the  only  vertue  of  the  credit  and  good  name  of  the 
country  in  general ;  which,  by  twice  as  many  abilities  as  ever  were 
in  that  land,  both  for  martial  prowess  and  favour  of  the  muses,  in 
the  persons  of  private  men,  can  never  in  the  opinion  of  neighbour 
states  and  kingdoms,  be  raised  to  so  great  hight  as  publick  obloquy 
hath  deprest  it.  For  as  that  city  whose  common  treasure  is  well 
stored  with  money,  though  all  its  burgers  severally  be  but  poor,  is 
better  able  to  maintaine  its  reputation  than  that  other,  all  whose 


256    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

citizens  are  rich  without  a  considerable  bank ;  the  experience 
whereof  history  gives  us  in  the  deduction  of  the  wars  betwixt  the 
Venetians  and  Genois  :  even  so  will  a  man  of  indifferent  qualifica- 
tions, the  fame  of  whose  country  remaineth  unreproached,  obtaine 
a  more  amicable  admittance  to  the  societies  of  most  men,  than 
another  of  thrice  more  accomplished  parts,  that  is  the  native  of  a 
soyle  of  an  opprobrious  name ;  which,  although  after  mature  examina- 
tion it  should  seem  not  to  deserve,  yet  upon  the  slipperiest  ground 
that  is  of  honour  questioned,  a  very  scandal  once  emitted  will  both 
touch  and  stick." ' 

Urquhart's  writing  is  separated  by  a  wide  gulf  from  the 
normal  prose  written  in  Scotland  during  his  century.  He  is 
not,  indeed,  by  any  means  the  only  writer  who  errs  with 
Osric  or  Holofernes  ;  but  the  pedantry  of  the  divines,  who 
were  the  largest  contributors  to  our  prose,  is  to  some  extent 
incidental  to  the  topics  upon  which  they  were  in  use  to 
expatiate,  and  the  extravagances  to  which  it  led  in  their  case 
are  wholly  different  in  kind  from  the  surprising  eccentricities 
of  the  Knight  of  Cromarty.  To  these  more  ordinary  and 
commonplace  authors  we  must  now  divert  our  attention  ;  and 
we  shall,  for  convenience'  sake,  treat  first  of  those  whose  works 
are  primarily  of  a  controversial,  hortatory,  or  devotional 
character,  and  secondly  of  those  who  chiefly  narrated  facts 
either  in  "  full-dress  "  histories,  or  in  less  formal  journals  and 
memoirs. 

Among  the  controversialists,  the  place  of  honour  must  be 
assigned  to  the  three  Forbeses  :  William  (1585-1634),  the 
first  Bishop  of  Edinburgh  ;  Patrick  (1564-1635),  Bishop  of 
Aberdeen  ;  and  John  (1593-1648),  the  son  of  Patrick,  and 
professor  of  Divinity  in  the  University  of  Aberdeen.  All 
three  were  Aberdeenshire  men,  and  being,  not  merely  learned, 
but  also,  of  the  highest  character  and  reputation,  they  rank 
among  the  most  respectable  and  effective  of  the  champions  of 
a  moderate  episcopacy.  William,  choosing  to  appeal  to  a 
wider  circle  than  the  theologians  of  Scotland,  threw  his 
1  From  the  Jewel,  Works,  ut  sup.,  p.  272. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         257 

arguments  into  the  language  which  then  and  for  some  time 
afterwards  was  the  common  tongue  of  educated  Europe.  His 
posthumous  Considerations  modestae  et  pacificae  I  do  not  belie 
their  title,  and  the  sturdy  Calderwood  himself  admits  that  his 
teaching  was  to  the  effect  that  ceremonies  are  "  maters  of 
moonshine."  That,  like  many  other  proposals  for  the  Re-union 
of  Christendom,  they  were  something  too  complaisant  to 
Rome,  from  the  staunch  Protestant  point  of  view,  may  be 
granted.  Yet,  that  they  failed  to  bring  about  the  slightest 
rapprochement  between  rabid  partisans  was  not  the  good 
Bishop's  fault,  and  was  no  more  than  the  fate  which  usually 
attends  the  proffering  of  olive  branches.  Patrick  Forbes  is 
perhaps  more  remarkable  for  the  excellent  work  he  achieved  in 
the  diocese  and  University  of  Aberdeen  than  for  his  literary 
labours  ;  yet  his  Commentarie  upon  the  Revelation  of  St.  John 
(1614)  should  not  be  lightly  contemned,  and  he  deserves  the 
grateful  recollection  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  for  taking  up 
Ninian  Winzet's  challenge,  and  appending  to  that  work  a 
"  Defence  of  the  lawful  calling  of  the  ministers  of  Reformed 
Churches  against  the  cavillations  of  Romanistes."  John 
Forbes  2  reverted  to  Latin,  and  his  Instructiones  Historico- 
Theologicfe  (1645),  won  him  high  renown  as  a  learned  divine. 
The  famous  Irenicum  (1629),  as  the  Parson  of  Rothiemay 
tells  us,  was  "  very  ill  tackne  by  the  Presbyterian  partie  in 
those  tymes,"  but  had  probably  less  to  do  with  his  deposition 
from  the  ministry  and  banishment  from  the  country  than  his 
refusal  to  sign  either  Covenant.  None  the  less,  if  his  diary  3 
tells  the  truth,  the  views  he  held  were  not  such  as  would  be  re- 
pudiated by  any  intelligent  Presbyterian  to-day,  however  dis- 
pleasing they  might  seem  to  a  believer  in  the  divine  right  of 

1  First  published  in  1658  under  the  editorship  of  Thomas  Sydserf, 
Bishop  of  Galloway.  There  is  a  modern  edition,  2  vols.,  Oxford, 
1850-56.  2  Opera  Oinnia,  2  vols.,  Amst.,  1702-3. 

3  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  this  work,  a  MS.  copy  of  which  is, 
I  believe,  in  the  Episcopal  Training  College  in  Edinburgh,  has  never  yet 
been  printed  in  full. 

R 


258    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

prelacy.  "  The  episcopacy  which  I  think  lawful,"  he  declares, 
"  and  agreeable  to  God's  word,  is  not  destructive  of  the  presby- 
terie,  nor  inconsistent  therewith  ;  and  in  those  churches  which 
are  governed  only  communi  presbyterorum  consilto^  the  want  of 
such  a  bishop  with  them  is  indeed,  in  my  opinion,  an  economical 
defect,  but  it  is  not  an  essential  defect,  neither  taketh  away 
the  true  nature  of  a  church,  neither  doth  it  make  void  and 
invalide  the  ordination  and  jurisdiction  thereof."1 

A  mere  disclaimer  of  the  episcopal  order  as  essential  to  the 
existence  of  the  true  Church  would  have  given  but  meagre 
satisfaction  to  those  bulwarks  of  the  Presbyterian  cause, 
Alexander  Henderson  (arc.  1583-1646),  minister  of  Leuchars  ; 
George  Gillespie  (1613-48),  minister  of  Wemyss,  and 
afterwards  of  Edinburgh  ;  and  David  Dickson  (1583-1663), 
minister  of  Irvine,  and  Professor  of  Divinity  in  Edinburgh 
from  1650  onwards.  All  were  men  of  exceptional  intellectual 
gifts  and  profound  learning,  and  all  occupied  a  commanding 
pos:tion  in  the  Church.  Henderson  was  moderator  of  the 
famous  Glasgow  Assembly  of  1638  ;  ten  years  later,  Gillespie, 
then  in  the  last  year  of  a  comparatively  short  life,  occupied  the 
same  office  ;  and  in  1643  ^e  tnree>  along  with  Robert  Baillie 
and  Samuel  Rutherford  (of  whom  hereafter)  were  despatched 
to  Westminster  as  "  Commissioners  of  the  National  Church  to 
treat  for  uniformitie,"  and  assisted  in  drawing  up  the  standards 
of  faith  and  discipline  which  were  adopted  by  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  in  1645  and  1647.  What- 
ever foibles  or  failings  may  have  characterised  this  trio  of 
divines,  they  were  at  all  events  "  true  blue  Presbyterians,"  and 
an  Independent,  or  any  species  of  sectary  or  schismatic,  was  as 
repugnant  to  their  conception  of  the  constitution  of  Christ's 
Kirk  as  the  most  infatuated  supporter  of  prelacy. 

Henderson's  works  2  consist  chiefly  of  detached  sermons  and 

1  Spalding's  Memorialls,  ed.  Sp;ilding,Club,  vol.  ii.  app.  p.  500. 

2  A   volume   of   Sermons,    Prayers,    and    Addresses,    ed.    Martin,    was 
published  in  1867.     His  Life  has  been  written  by  Dr.  Aiton,  of  Dolphinton 
(1836),  and  by  M'Crie  (1846). 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         259 

speeches.  No  systematic  work,  except  a  short  treatise  on  The 
Government  and  Order  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  ( 1 64 1 ),  remains  to 
testify  to  his  powers  of  reasoning  or  exposition  ;  and  it  must  be 
acknowledged  that  what  we  have  is  consequently  a  little  disap- 
pointing. In  particular,  such  specimens  of  his  prayers  as  have 
reached  us  are  decidedly  commonplace.  In  dialectical  ability, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  Gillespie,1  with  youth  to  assist  him, 
was  Henderson's  superior.  Wonderful,  indeed,  are  the  tales  told 
of  Gillespie's  performances  in  the  Westminster  Assembly  ;  and 
he  who  chooses  may  believe  that  he  improvised  the  answer  to 
the  fourth  question  of  the  Shorter  Catechism  on  the  spur  of  the 
moment.  His  tractates  are  more  erudite  and  acute  than 
readable  ;  and  the  formal  mode  in  which  he  arrays  his  argu- 
ments is  not  encouraging  to  the  modern  student.  One  of  his 
great  contentions  was  with  Thomas  Coleman,  an  Erastian 
divine,  and  it  is  curious  to  trace  its  stages.  Gillespie  begins 
by  appending  to  a  sermon  preached  before  the  House  of  Lords 
in  1645,  A  Brotherly  Examination  of  some  passages  in  a  sermon 
of  Coleman's.  Coleman  replies  with  A  Brotherly  Examination 
re-examined,  Gillespie  duplies  with  Nihil  Respondes,  to  which 
Coleman's  retort  is  Male  Dicis  Maledich.  At  every  step 
passion  becomes  warmer.  Finally,  Gillespie  gets  the  last  word 
with  Male  Audis^  in  which  (to  quote  his  editor)  he  convicts 
Coleman  and  his  friends  of  "numerous  contradictions,  of 
unsoundness  in  theology,  of  violating  the  covenant  which  they 
had  sworn,  and  of  inculcating  opinions  fatal  to  both  civil  and 
religious  liberty."  Gillespie's  masterpiece  is  a  long  and  elaborate 
vindication  of  the  "  divine  ordinance  of  Church  Government," 
entitled  Aaron  s  Rod  blossoming  (1646).  But  probably  his 
name  will  survive,  at  least  furth  of  Scotland,  less  through 
his  own  merit  than  through  the  contemptuous  allusion  made 
to  it  by  the  greatest  of  sectaries  in  a  famous  sonnet. 

David  Dickson  2  was  reckoned  a  particularly  able  controver- 

1  Works,  ed.  Hetherington,  2  vols.,  Edin.,  1846. 

3  A  little  volume  of  his  Select  Practical  Writings,  1845,  is  convenient. 


260    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

sialist,  and,  after  the  overthrow  of  the  first  Episcopacy  in  1638, 
was  sent  north  with  Henderson  and  Andrew  Cant  to  convert 
the  "Aberdeen  doctors,"  *  a  mission  in  which  they  by  no  means 
succeeded,  and  which  produced  merely  a  war  of  pamphlets. 
In  later  years  Mr.  David  was  a  stout  Resolutioner  ;  that  is  to 
say,  a  supporter  of  those  who  declined  to  "  boycott "  all  such 
of  their  countrymen  as  were  tainted,  in  however  trifling  a 
degree,  with  "malignancy."  Casuistry  was  probably  his  forte, 
and  his  Therapeutica  Sacra  (1656)  used  to  be  highly  esteemed 
by  Protestant,  or,  at  any  rate,  Presbyterian  practitioners  of  that 
dangerous,  though  fascinating,  art.  But  that  he  was  a 
vigorous  and  homely  preacher  on  the  less  recondite  topics  of 
the  pulpit  the  following  extract  seems  to  show  : — 

"  Seeing  men's  estate  is  not  to  be  judged  by  their  own  estimation 
or  by  others',  but  according  to  the  Lord's  censure,  let  all  try  their 
carriage  by  that  which  he  says  of  them  in  his  word,  and  all  the 
exercises  of  his  worship.  Speir  at  thy  prayer,  what  devotion  is  in 
thee,  and  it  will  say,  that  thy  prayers  are  so  coldrif  e  that  they  cannot 
pierce  up  to  heaven.  Speir  at  thy  conversation  among  men,  what 
is  thy  estate,  and  it  will  tell  thee,  it  is  coldrife,  stubborn,  implacable, 
cankered,  unmerciful,  and  has  a  heart  that  cannot  repent.  Speir 
what  love  thou  hast  to  God,  and  it  will  be  told  thee,  thou  can  hear 
his  name  dishonoured,  and  care  little  for  it ;  and  thou  cares  not 
much  how  thy  children  and  servants  grow  in  knowledge  or  fear 
of  God.  And  if  thy  deeds  speak  thus,  why  art  thou  so  secure  ? 
Why  blessest  thou  thyself,  when  thy  manners  say,  that  the  world 
is  more  in  thy  mind  than  heaven  ?  when  the  account  book  is  more 
perused  than  the  Bible  ?  when  the  debts  that  are  owing  to  thee 
are  more  in  thy  mind  than  the  debts  thou  art  owing  to  God  ?  What 
is  the  cause  thou  can  comport  with  this  estate  ?  It  is  because  Satan 
has  no  will  that  the  dyvour  [bankrupt]  read  over  the  account-book, 
or  the  sinner  examine  his  deeds  ;  and  men  have  no  will  their  deeds 
be  brought  to  the  light,  but  hate  the  light  because  it  reproves  them. 
Or  if  the  minister  point  at  their  faults,  '  Oh  ! '  say  they,  '  some  men 


1  The  members  of  this  justly  celebrated  group  were  John  Forbes, 
Robert  Baron,  Alexander  Scroggie,  John  Leslie,  James  Sibbald,  and 
Alexander  Ross.  (See  Grub,  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Scotland,  1861,  vol. 
ii.  p.  37I-) 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         261 

have  told  him  yon  of  me  ;  or  he  suspects  me.'  But  learn  ye  to 
examine  yourselves  as  ye  shall  answer  to  God,  and  as  ye  would 
be  set  free  that  day  when  he  shall  judge  the  secrets  of  all  hearts. 
Let  not  the  complaint  the  Lord  makes  be  made  of  you,  '  I 
hearkened  and  heard,  but  they  spake  not  aright ;  no  man  repented 
him  of  his  wickedness,  saying,  What  have  I  done  ? '  (Jer.  viii.  6). 
Therefore  every  one  of  you  speir  at  yourself,  whereon  your  fear, 
love,  care,  grief,  pleasure,  is  most  set ;  and  if  not  on  God,  ye 
have  reason  to  suspect  yourself."  ' 

For  mere  preaching,  none  of  his  contemporaries  had  a 
greater  name  than  Andrew  Cant2  (1590-1664),  minister  of 
Pitsligo,  then  of  Newbattle,  and  then  of  Aberdeen,  where  he 
was  the  reverse  of  popular,  as  being  one  of  the  few  North 
country  ministers  who  had  warmly  embraced  the  Covenant. 
We  have  a  sermon  of  his  preached  in  the  Greyfriars'  Church 
in  Edinburgh  in  1638,  which  is  a  very  fair  sample  of  the 
discourses  of  the  time.  His  text  is  Zech.  iv.  7,  "  Who  art 
thou,  O  great  mountain  before  Zerubbabel  ?  "  The  mountain 
of  course  presently  turns  out  to  be  the  pestiferous  and  proud 
mountain  of  prelacy  ;  and  the  six  "steps  "  of  the  text  are  thus 
set  forth  :  (i)  A  mountain  seen  ;  (2)  A  mountain  reproved  and 
disclaimed  ;  (3)  A  mountain  to  be  removed  ;  (4)  A  growing 
work  ;  (5)  To  be  finished  ;  (6)  With  great  applause  of  all 
well-willers  wishing  grace  unto  the  work.  And  so  it  runs  on, 
through  endless  heads  and  subdivisions,  to  the  peroration, 
when  every  order  in  the  state  is  harangued  in  turn.  The 
nobles  are  apostrophised  as  the  high  mountains  of  this 
kingdom,  the  barons  and  gentlemen  as  the  pleasant  hills 
coming  from  the  mountains,  and  the  burghs  as  the  valleys 
whom  God  hath  blessed  with  the  fatness  of  the  earth  and  the 
merchandise  of  the  sea.  Cant,  who  "  spared  not  to  deliver  the 
whole  counsel  of  God  before  King  or  State,"  3  perhaps  had 
more  influence  over  other  people  than  over  his  own  household. 

1  Sermon  on  Zephaniah  iii.  I,  2. 

2  Robert  Baillie  described  him  as  "ane  super-excellent  preacher." 

3  Livingstone,  Memorable  Characteristics,  p.  251. 


262    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

His  son,  Andrew  the  second,  conformed  to  Episcopacy  at  the 
Restoration ;  and  his  son,  Andrew  the  third,  adhered  to 
that  form  of  Church  government  at  the  Revolution,  preached 
an  appropriate  sermon  ("  by  one  of  the  suffering  clergy  in  the 
Kingdom  of  Scotland")  on  the  3<Dth  of  January,  1703,  and 
was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Glasgow  in  1722. 

Samuel  Rutherford  (1600-61),  a  native  of  Nisbet  in 
Roxburghshire,  has  probably  enjoyed  a  greater  and  more 
widely  extended  posthumous  celebrity  than  any  of  his  fellow- 
commissioners  to  the  Westminster  Assembly.  For  this  he  is 
not  indebted  to  his  controversial  writings,  though  none  attacked 
error  on  either  hand  more  fiercely  than  he.  In  his  Exercita- 
tlones  de  Gratia  (1636),  and  again  in  his  De  Divina  'Providentid 
(1651),  he  assailed  Arminians,  Socinians,  and  Jesuits.  In  Lex 
Rex  (perhaps  the  most  happily  named  of  all  the  pamphlets  of 
a  pamphleteering  age),  he  expounded  the  case  of  the 
Parliament  and  Church  against  the  King,  and  the  work, 
which  appeared  in  1644,  was  paid  the  compliment  of 
being  burned  by  the  common  hangman  in  1661.  In 
The  Due  Right  of  Presbyteries  (1644),  he  stood  out  for  the 
Church  against  the  Sectaries,  and  he  returned  to  the  charge 
five  years  later  in  A  Free  Disputation  against  pretended  Liberty 
of  Conscience.  It  is  not,  we  repeat,  upon  these  that  his  fame 
now  rests,  but  upon  his  Letters*  the  first  edition  of  which 
appeared  in  1664  under  the  title  of  Joshua  Redivivus.  The 
Letters  have  at  least  this  merit,  that  it  is  difficult,  if  not  im- 
possible, to  read  them  with  indifference.  They  inspire  either 
enthusiastic  admiration  or  an  antipathy  amounting  almost  to  dis- 
gust. Moreover,  in  the  estimation  of  their  admirers,  a  distaste 
for  them  is  symptomatic  of  moral  as  well  as  critical  incapacity. 
"  The  haughty  contempt  of  that  book  which  is  in  the 
heart  of  many  will  be  ground  for  condemnation  when  the 

1  Ed.  A.  Bonar,  Edin.,  1894.  There  is  a  Life  of  Rutherford,  by  Thomas 
Murray,  1828.  See  also  Samuel  Rutherford  and  some  of  his  Correspondents, 
by  A.  Whyte,  D.D.,  Edin.,  1894,  which  is  eulogistic  and  uncritical. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY        263 

Lord  cometh  to  make  inquisition  after  such  things."  Thus 
the  pious  Dr.  Love  ; *  and  it  can  only  be  hoped  that  the 
doctor  is  out  in  his  confident  forecast  that  a  revision  of  erro- 
neous critical  opinions  will  form  part  of  the  business  of  the 
Day  of  Judgment. 

After  a  youthful  faux  pas,  which  resulted  in  his  being 
deprived  of  his  regentship  in  the  University  of  Edin- 
burgh, Rutherford  was  finally  settled  in  the  parish  of 
Anwoth,  where  he  ministered  with  great  "acceptance."  He 
was  a  faithful  pastor  to  his  people,  and  though  his  voice  was 
shrill — and  often,  indeed,  rose  into  a  skreigh  or  screech — he 
seems  to  have  had  plenty  of  action,  and  his  preaching  was 
highly  esteemed.  For  failure  to  "conform,"  he  was  deprived 
of  his  cure  at  Anwoth,  and  sent  to  Aberdeen,  a  town  full  of 
"  Papists  and  men  of  Gallio's  naughty  faith,"  where,  by  a 
stroke  of  genius,  he  was  prohibited  from  opening  his  mouth  in 
a  pulpit.  No  penance  could  have  been  more  severe.  "  My 
dumb  Sabbaths,"  he  writes,  "are  like  a  stone  tied  to  a  bird's 
foot  that  wanteth  not  wings."2  And  again,  "  God's  word 
is  as  fire  shut  up  in  my  bowels,  and  I  am  weary  with  for- 
bearing." 3  He  made  up,  however,  for  this  deprivation  by 
conducting  a  voluminous  correspondence  with  his  friends  in 
the  South,  of  whom  the  most  noteworthy,  perhaps,  was  a 
certain  Marion  M'Naught.  This  excellent  lady  was  always 
complaining  of  the  misdeeds  of  her  "enemies,"  and  Rutherford, 
like  the  good  Christian  he  was,  cheers  her  up  by  the  blas- 
phemous prediction  that  she  shall  "  see  her  desire  "  upon  them.4 
To  another  female  correspondent  he  declares  that  it  is  "part  of 
the  truth  of  your  professioun  to  drop  words  in  the  ears  of  your 
noble  husband  continually  of  eternity,  judgment,  death,  hell, 
heaven,  the  honourable  profession,  the  sins  of  his  father's 

1  Dr.  Love's  Letters  (1838),  Letter  xiv.     Dr.  Duff,  in  his  introduction  to 
the  edition  of  the  Letters  published  in  1881,  hints  a  not  dissimilar  view,  in 
much  less  forcible  and  direct  language. 

2  Letter  xcix.,  p.  207.  3  ibid,  ixxv.,  p.  160.  4  Ibid,  xiv.,  p.  59. 


264     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

house."  x  Few  men  care  for  being  reminded  of  the  "  sins  of 
their  father's  house  "  ;  and  it  may  be  surmised  that  Ruther- 
ford's popularity  was  greater,  upon  the  whole,  with  the  wives 
than  with  the  husbands. 

When  the  Covenanting  party  triumphed,  Rutherford  became 
Principal  of  the  New  (i.e.,  St.  Mary's)  College,  St.  Andrews. 
We  have  already  seen  how  he  was  sent  as  an  emissary  of 
the  Kirk  to  Westminster.  In  the  divisions  of  the  sixth 
decade  of  the  century  he  was  a  warm  supporter  of  the 
"  Remonstrance,"  and  it  might  have  gone  hard  with  him 
had  he  survived  the  Restoration  longer.  Like  many  worse 
men,  'a  made  a  good  end  ;  and  our  accounts  of  his  death- 
bed are  circumstantial  and  edifying.  His  last  words  are  said 
to  have  been,  "  Glory  dwelleth  in  Emmanuel's  land  "  ;  and 
they  have  been  ingeniously  utilised  for  the  refrain  of  a  popular 
nineteenth-century  hymn. 

The  main  characteristic  of  Rutherford's  Letters  is  their  con- 
sistent abuse  of  the  figurative  language  of  the  Song  of  Solomon. 
No  sort  of  speech  needs  greater  tact  and  discretion  to  make  it 
tolerable  than  this.  Now  tact  and  discretion  were  not  Ruther- 
ford's strong  points,  and  if  he  was  not  the  only,  he  was  probably 
the  most  grievous,  offender  in  this  regard.  He  describes 
himself  as  a  man  often  borne  down  and  hungry,  "and  waiting 
for  the  marriage  supper  of  the  Lamb."  2  "  You  have  been  of 
late,"  he  writes  to  Marion  M'Naught,  "  in  the  King's  wine- 
cellar,  where  you  were  welcomed  by  the  Lord  of  the  inn,  upon 
condition  that  you  walk  in  Love. "3  He  looks  back  with  fond 
regret  upon  "  the  fair  feast  days  that  Christ  and  I  had  in  his  ban- 
queting house  of  wine,"  and  exclaims,  "  Alas  !  that  we  enquire 
not  for  the  clear  fountain,  but  are  so  foolish  as  to  drink  foul, 
muddy,  and  rotten  waters,  even  till  our  bed-time.  And  then  in 
the  Resurrection,  when  we  shall  be  awakened,  our  yesternight's 
sour  drink  and  swinish  dregs  shall  rift  up  upon  us,  and  sick, 

1  To  Lady  Kenmure,  Letter  xxx.,  p.  91. 
2  Letter  Ixiii.  3  Ibid.  xii. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         265 

sick,  shall  many  a  soul  be  then."  z  He  must  needs  ride  every 
metaphor  (whether  vinous  or  otherwise)  to  death.  Not  even 
Burke  in  his  wildest  flights  had  less  sense  of  proportion,  less 
perception  of  the  fitting.  One  instance  will  be  sufficient. 
Referring  to  the  emigration  of  the  "  Pilgrim  Fathers,"  he 
says,  "Our  blessed  Lord  Jesus,  who  cannot  get  leave  to  sleep 
with  his  spouse  in  this  land,  is  going  to  seek  an  inn  where 
he  will  be  better  entertained.  And  what  marvel  ?  Wearied 
Jesus,  after  he  had  travelled  from  Geneva,  by  the  ministry  of 
worthy  Mr.  Knox,  and  was  laid  in  his  bed,  and  reformation 
begun  and  the  curtains  drawn,  had  not  gotten  His  dear  eyes 
well  together,  when  irreverent  Bishops  came  in,  and  with  the 
din  and  noise  of  ceremonies,  holy  days,  and  other  popish  cor- 
ruptions, they  awake  our  beloved."  2 

I  have  purposely  -abstained  from  quoting  the  more 
unctuous  of  his  sallies  ;  and  indeed  it  would  be  difficult  to 
extract  a  passage  of  any  length  from  the  Letters  which  was 
not  disfigured  by  something  ludicrous  or  vulgar  even  to  the 
point  of  gross  irreverence.  But  the  odd  thing  is  that  this 
jargon  is  sprinkled  every  now  and  then  with  the  technical 
phrases  of  the  law  of  Scotland,  and  the  effect  of  the  mixture  is 
indescribable.  Here,  indeed,  we  have  the  "  forensic  "  view  of 
the  atonement  in  its  purest  form.  "Your  decreet  comes  from 
Heaven,"  he  assures  a  correspondent ;  "  Christ  is  the  clerk  of 
your  process."  3  "  O,  how  would  I  rejoice,"  he  exclaims, 
"  to  have  this  work  of  my  salvation  legally  fastened  upon 
Christ  !  A  back-bond  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  that  it  should  be 
forthcoming  to  the  orphan,  would  be  my  happiness."  4  Thus 
does  he  console  one  who  had  lost  a  daughter  :  "  Remember  of 
what  age  your  daughter  was,  and  that  just  «so  long  was  your 
lease  of  her.  If  she  was  eighteen,  nineteen,  or  twenty  years 
old,  I  know  not  ;  but  sure  I  am,  seeing  her  term  was  come 
and  her  lease  run  out,  ye  can  no  more  justly  quarrel  with  your 
great  Superior  for  taking  His  own  at  His  just  term  day  than 

1  Letter  Ixxii.  2  Ibid.  xii.  3  Ibid.  xii.  4  Ibid.  cxx. 


266    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

a  poor  farmer  can  complain  that  his  master  taketh  a  portion  ot 
his  own  land  to  himself  when  his  lease  is  expired."  J  And 
here,  finally,  is  one  aspect  of  the  divine  government  of  the 
universe  :  "  It  is  now  many  years  since  the  apostate  angels 
made  a  question,  whether  their  will  or  the  will  of  the  Creator 
should  be  done  ;  and  since  that  time,  froward  mankind  hath 
always  in  that  same  suit  of  law  compeared  to  plead  with  them 
against  God,  in  daily  repining  against  His  will.  But  the  Lord, 
being  both  party  and  judge,  hath  obtained  a  decreet,  and  saith 
1  My  counsel  shall  stand  and  I  will  do  all  my  pleasure.'  "  2 
Truly,  these  Letters  are,  in  the  language  of  Dr.  Duff,  "soul- 
stirring  effusions."  We  may  part  from  Rutherford  with  a 
slightly  more  favourable  impression  if  we  peruse  the  following 
excerpt  from  a  characteristic  sermon  full  of  absurdities  though 
it  be  :— 

"  In  the  word  and  sacraments,  Christ  now  takes  you  into  the 
chariot  with  himself,  and  draws  your  hearts  after  him.  Be  Satan's 
nor  the  world's  footmen  no  longer ;  for  it  is  a  wearisome  life  ;  but 
ride  with  Christ  in  his  chariot,  for  it  is  all  paved  with  love  ;  the 
bottom  of  it  is  the  love  of  slain  Christ,  ye  must  sit  there  upon  love. 
Love  is  a  soft  cushion,  but  the  devil  and  the  world  make  you  sweat 
at  the  sore  work  of  sin,  and  run  upon  your  own  foot  too  ;  but  it  is 
better  to  be  Christ's  horsemen  to  ride,  than  to  be  Satan's  trogged 
footmen,  and  to  travel  upon  clay.  Christ  says  He  has  washen  you 
to-day  ;  sin  no  more ;  keep  yourselves  clean  ;  go  not  to  Satan's 
sooty  houses,  but  take  you  to  your  husband  the  fairest  among 
ten  thousand,  that  your  lovely  husband  may  make  your  robes  clean 
in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  Ye  are  going  into  a  clean  heaven  and  an 
undefiled  city  :  Take  not  filthy  clatty  hands  and  clatty  feet  with  you. 
What  say  ye  of  your  new  husband  ?  Please  ye  your  new  husband 
well,  may  not  his  servants  say  in  his  name,  that  he  is  heartily 
welcome  to  you  ?  A  plain  answer ;  ye  cannot  well  want  an  half- 
marrow,  no  soul  liveth  well  a  single  life.  Now,  seeing  you  must 
marry,  marry  Christ ;  ye  will  never  get  a  better  husband ;  take  Him 
and  his  father's  blessing  ;  fall  to  and  woo  him  ;  be  holy  and  get  a 
good  name,  and  Christ  will  not  want  you.  It  is  many  a  day  since  ye 

1  Letter  ii.  2  Ibid.  iii. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY        267 

were  invited  to  his  banquet :  why  should  ye  bide  from  it  ?  Ye  are 
not  uncalled ;  and  Christ  both  sitteth  and  eateth  with  you ;  and 
standeth  and  serveth  you  ;  Christ  both  said  the  grace  to-day  and 
prays  my  Father's  blessing  be  at  the  banquet.  Your  father  cries, 
Divorce,  divorce  all  other  lovers,  go  and  agree  with  Christ  your 
cautioner,  and  purchase  a  discharge  if  you  can.  It  is  better  holding 
than  drawing;  better  to  say,  Here  he  is,  than,  Here  he  was,  and 
slippery-fingered  I  held  him,  and  would  not  let  him  go.  Rive  all 
his  cloaths,  and  he  will  not  be  angry  at  you  :  In  death  he  held  a 
strait  grip  of  you  :  hell,  devils,  and  the  wrath  of  God,  the  curse 
of  the  law,  could  not  all  loose  his  grips  of  you.  Christ  got  a 
claught  of  you  in  the  water,  and  he  brought  you  all  with  him. 
Look  up  by  faith  to  him.  You  could  never  have  been  set  up 
by  angels.  May  not  Christ  say,  The  law  soon  took  a  cleik  of  me, 
and  drew  me  among  thieves  for  your  cause ;  and  was  not  that 
strong  love,  that  humble  Christ  cared  not  what  they  did  to  him,  so 
being  he  might  get  you  ?  In  that  night  our  Lord  was  betrayed,  he 
ordained  the  supper  for  you  upon  his  deathbed,  he  made  his 
testament,  and  left  it  in  legacy  to  you ;  in  death  he  had  more  mind 
of  you,  his  wife,  than  he  had  of  himself ;  in  the  garden,  on  the 
cross,  in  the  grave,  his  silly  lost  sheep  was  ay  in  his  mind.  Love 
has  a  bra'  memory  and  cannot  forget ;  he  has  graven  you  on  the 
palms  of  his  hands,  and,  when  he  looks  upon  his  hands  he  says, 
My  sheep  I  cannot  forget ;  yea,  in  my  death,  my  sister,  my  spouse, 
was  ay  in  my  mind  ;  she  took  my  night's  sleep  from  me,  that  night 
I  was  sweating  in  the  garden  for  her."  « 

A  wholesome  antidote  to  the  luscious  and  heady  liquor 
purveyed  by  Rutherford  is  supplied  by  Henry  Scougal 
(1650-78),  minister  of  Auchterless,  and  Professor  of  Divinity 
in  King's  College,  Aberdeen,  not  to  be  confounded  with 
his  father  Patrick,  who  was  Bishop  of  that  northern 
diocese.  Scougal's  Life  of  God  in  the  Soul  of  Man2  was 
introduced  to  the  public  in  1677  by  Bishop  Burnet,  and 

1  From  An  Exhortation  at  Communion  to  a  Scots  Congregation  in  London, 
Falkirk,  1775.    There  seems  to  have  been  a  great  depot  at  Falkirk  in  the 
last  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century  for  the  distribution  of  religious 
broadsides,  such   as  this,  containing   sermons   by   Mr.  James  Renvvick, 
Mr.  Ebenezer  Erskine,  and  other  savoury  divines. 

2  There   is  a  modern   edition   by   Professor   Cooper,   Aberdeen,  1892. 
See  also  Butler,  Henry  Scougal  and  the  Oxford  Methodists,  1899. 


268    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

has  always  been  recognised  as  a  most  valuable  tractate  on 
practical  religion.  It  was  presented  to  Whitefield  by  Charles 
Wesley,  and,  while  eminently  devout,  is  studiously  purged  of 
those  "  melting  expressions  "  with  which  men  of  the  Rutherford 
type  used  "  to  court  their  Saviour."  In  the  authoritative 
words  of  Bishop  Jebb,  it  is  "  free  from  the  slightest  puritanical 
tincture,"  and  is  "  no  less  soundly  rational  than  it  is  deeply 
pious."  Scougal's  was  essentially  the  "  moderate  "  tempera- 
ment. The  Christianity  which  he  advocated  was  modelled  on 
the  teaching  of  the  New,  not  of  the  Old,  Testament.  "  There 
are  but  too  many  Christians,"  he  justly  observes,  "  who 
would  consecrate  their  vices  and  hallow  their  corrupt  affec- 
tions ;  whose  rugged  humour  and  sullen  will  must  pass  for 
Christian  severity  ;  whose  fierce  wrath  and  bitter  rage  against 
their  enemies  must  be  called  holy  zeal  ;  whose  petulancy 
towards  their  superiors,  or  rebellion  against  their  governors, 
must  have  the  name  of  Christian  courage  and  resolution."  x 
An  even  more  distinguished  member  of  the  same  school  of 
thought  was  Robert  Leighton  (i6n-84),2  minister  of 
Newbattle,  and  Principal  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh, 
who,  although  the  son  of  an  eminent  sufferer  in  the 
Presbyterian  cause,3  accepted  the  Bishopric  of  Dunblane  in 
1661,  and  the  Archbishopric  of  Glasgow  in  1670.  The 
last  ten  years  of  his  life  he  passed  in  a  remote  village  in 
the  South  of  England.  Every  one,  whether  friend  or  foe, 
speaks  well  of  Leighton.  Alexander  Brodie  says  that  "he 
thought  holiness,  the  love  of  God  and  our  brethren,  was 
the  chief  duty  God  was  calling  us  unto,  and  sobriety  and 
forbearance  to  one  another."  4  The  testimony  of  Kirkton  is 
equally  emphatic.  "  A  man  of  good  learning,"  he  calls  him, 
"excellent  utterance,  and  very  grave  abstract  conversation," 

1  Ed.  1870,  p.  3. 

2  Expository  Works,  ed.  Doddridge,  2  vols.,  Edin.,  1748 ;   Whole  Works, 
ed.  Pearson,  4  vols.,  1830. 

3  Alexander  Leighton,  the  author  of  Sion's  Pica  against  Prelacy,  1628. 

4  Brodie's  Diary,  1740,  p.  50. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         269 

though,  as  in  duty  bound,  he  qualifies  his  approbation  by 
adding  that  Leighton  was  "almost  altogether  destitute  of 
a  doctrinal  principle,  being  almost  indifferent  among  all  the 
professions  that  are  called  by  the  name  of  Christ."  J  And  to 
the  same  purpose  even  Wodrow,  who  has  practically  nothing 
to  insinuate  against  the  walk  and  conversation  of  the  Bishop 
of  Dunblane  alone  among  all  the  Scots  Bishops  of  Charles  II. 

Leighton's  works,  which  are  all  posthumous,  and  for  the 
most  part  appeared  under  the  editorship  of  Dr.  Fall,  embrace  a 
Practical  Commentary  on  the  First  Epistle  of  St.  Peter  ( 1693-94), 
an  Exposition  of  the  Creed  (1701),  Lectures  on  the  first  nine 
chapters  of  St.  Matthew's  Gospel,  certain  Theological  Lectures^ 
and  a  number  of  sermons.  They  are  all  distinguished  by  the 
same  characteristics — by  a  smooth  and  equable  flow  of  lan- 
guage, rather  than  by  strained  and  turgid  rhetoric  ;  and  their 
style  admirably  reflects  the  meek  and  quiet  spirit  which 
animates  them.  They  are  almost  entirely  free  from 
theological  or  devotional  argot,  and  are  obviously  infected 
by  that  English  atmosphere  of  compromise,  the  taint  of  which 
was  so  abhorrent  to  the  ecclesiastical  brawlers  and  fire-eaters 
of  the  time.  It  would  be  hard  to  name  any  writer  of  his  age 
in  Scotland  who  so  abounds  in  "sweet  reasonableness."  His 
prototype  in  this  respect  is  perhaps  William  Cowper  (1566- 
i6i7),2  Bishop  of  Galloway  half  a  century  before,  brother 
of  the  refractory  "Mr.  John."  (/«/>#,  p.  278.)  It  cannot, 
therefore,  unfortunately,  be  said  that  Leighton's  works  are 
typically  and  essentially  "  national  "  ;  but  Leighton  occupies 
so  remarkable  a  position  among  our  divines,  that  a  brief 
specimen  of  his  writing  must  on  no  account  be  omitted  : — 

"  When  men  speak  of  the  vanity  of  this  world's  greatness,  and 
poor  men  cry  down  riches,  it  passes  but  for  a  querulous,  peevish 
humour  to  discredit  things  they  cannot  reach,  or  else  an  ignorant 
misprision  of  things  they  do  not  understand  ;  or,  taking  it  a  little 

1  Kirkton,  Secret  History,  ed.  Sharpe,  137.  2  Works,  1623. 


270    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

further,  but  a  self-pleasing  shift,  a  willing  under-prizing  of  these 
things  of  purpose  to  allay  the  displeasure  of  the  want  of  them  ;  or, 
at  the  best,  if  something  of  truth  or  goodness  be  in  the  opinion,  yet 
that  the  assent  of  such  persons  is  (like  the  temperance  of  sickly 
bodies)  rather  a  virtue  made  of  necessity  than  embraced  of-  free 
choice.  But  to  hear  a  wise  man,  in  the  height  of  these  advantages, 
proclaim  their  vanity,  yea,  kings  from  the  very  thrones  whereon 
they  sit  in  their  royal  robes,  give  forth  this  sentence  upon  all  the 
glories  and  delights  about  them,  is  certainly  above  all  exception. 
Here  are  two  the  father  [David]  and  the  son  [Solomon]  :  the  one 
raised  from  a  mean  condition  to  a  crown ;  instead  of  a  shepherd's 
staff  to  wield  a  sceptre,  and  that  after  many  afflictions  and  dangers 
in  the  way  to  it,  which,  to  some  palates,  gives  a  higher  relish  and 
sweetness  to  honour  than  if  it  had  slid  on  them  ere  they  could  feel 
it,  in  the  cheap  easy  way  of  an  undebated  succession.  Or,  if  any 
think  David's  best  days  a  little  cloudy,  by  the  remains  of  insurrec- 
tions and  oppositions,  in  that  case  usual,  as  the  jumblings  of  the  sea 
not  fully  quieted  for  a  while  after  the  storm  is  over  ;  then,  take  the 
son,  succeeding  to  as  fair  a  day  as  heart  can  wish,  both  a  complete 
calm  of  peace  and  a  bright  sunshine  of  riches  and  royal  pomp,  and 
be  able  to  improve  these  to  the  highest.  And  yet  both  these  are 
perfectly  of  the  same  mind  on  this  great  point.  The  son  having 
peace  and  time  for  it,  though  a  king,  would  make  his  throne  a 
pulpit  and  be  a  preacher  of  this  one  doctrine  to  which  the  father's 
sentence  is  the  fullest  text  I  have  seen."  * 

We  cannot  pause  long  to  dwell  upon  the  other  preachers, 
pamphleteers,  and  devotional  writers  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  Of  preachers,  not  the  least  memorable  was  Robert 
Bruce  (1559-1 631  ),2  who  is  described  by  Andrew  Melville 
as  "a  hero  adorned  with  every  virtue,  a  constant  confessor,  and 
almost  martyr,  of  the  Lord  Jesus."  Bruce's  Sermons  are 
redolent  of  the  Scottish  idiom,  which  may  be  accounted  for  by 
the  fact  that  many  of  those  which  we  possess  were  delivered 
before  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century.  The  series  of 
discourses  on  Isaiah  is  matched  by  that  on  the  Sacraments, 
which  constitutes  an  admirable  exposition  of  the  high  reformed 
doctrine  on  that  important  topic.  Walter  Balcanquhall 

1  From  sermon  Upon  Imperfection  and  Perfection. 
*  Sermons,  ed.  Cunningham,  Wodrow  Soc.,  1843. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         271 

(1586—1645),  the  son  of  a  divine  whom  James  VI.  had 
found  to  be  extremely  contumacious,  was  a  strong  advocate 
of  Episcopacy,  and  his  Large  Declaration  (1639)  is  in  effect 
a  vehement  attack  on  the  Covenanters.  An  even  more 
distinguished  and  thoroughgoing  supporter  of  Episcopal 
pretensions  was  John  Maxwell  (1590  ?-i647),  Bishop  of  Ross, 
and  afterwards  Bishop  of  Killala  and  Archbishop  of  Tuam,  a 
man  of  learning  and  integrity,  whose  Burthen  of  Issachar  (1641) 
is  his  most  successful  polemical  publication.  The  genuine 
Presbyterian  position,  on  the  other  hand,  was  admirably 
defended  by  James  Fergusson  (1621—67),  minister  of 
Kilwinning,  who  was  the  author  of  sundry  expositions  of  St. 
Paul's  Epistles,  and  of  A  brief  refutation  of  the  errors  of  Toleration, 
Erastianism,  Independency,  and  Separation  (1652).  He  refused 
the  offer  of  the  Divinity  professorship  in  Glasgow  University, 
and  is  reckoned  to  have  had  "a  peculiar  faculty  of  making 
things  intricate,  plain  and  easy  to  be  understood."  Robert 
Douglas  (1594-1674),  minister  of  the  Tolbooth  Church, 
Edinburgh,  and,  after  the  Restoration,  "indulged"  minister 
of  Pencaitland,  preached  the  Coronation  sermon  at  Scone 
in  1652^  and  was  no  less  staunch  a  champion  of  Presbytery 
thin  Fergusson.  He  may  be  said  to  have  succeeded  Hender- 
son -s  the  "leader"  of  the  Church.  James  Guthrie  (1612- 
61)  was  one  of  the  first  ministers  of  the  Reformed  Kirk  of 
Scotland  to  preach  and  practice  the  doctrine  that  schism  is 
lawful  for  a  defeated  minority.  He  was  the  prime  author  of 
the  "  Remonstrance,"  and  perished  on  the  gallows  for  his  part 
in  that  affair  in  1661.  The  address  to  the  King  which  he 
drew  up  on  the  Restoration  is  well  worth  perusing  ;  for  it 
shows  how  far  the  extreme  Covenanters  were  from  the  most 
rudimentary  ideas  of  religious  toleration,  and  how  they  longed 
once  more  to  impose  the  yoke  of  Presbytery  upon  England. 
His  most  celebrated  work  is  a  tract  on  the  Causes  of  the 

1  The  Sermon  will  be  found  in   Scott's   edition  of  Somers's   Tracts, 
vol.  vi.  p.  117. 


272     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Lord's  wrath  against  Scotland  ( 1653). r  His  kinsman  William 
(1620-65),  minister  of  Fen  wick,  was  equally  celebrated  as  a 
pulpiteer,  and  more  so  as  a  sportsman.  Bishop  John  .Sage 
(1652-1711)  was  one  of  the  most  acute  controversialists  on 
the  Episcopalian  side  at  a  later  date  ;  2  nor  must  we  forget  his 
services  to  literature  in  the  shape  of  an  introduction  to  Ruddi- 
man's  edition  of  Gavin  Douglas  (1710),  and  to  the  same 
printer's  reissue  of  William  Drummond's  History  (1711). 
Equally  repugnant  to  the  two  contending  factions  in  the  Kirk 
was  Robert  Barclay  (1648-90),  son  of  the  laird  of  Urie,  whose 
Theologies  vera  Christiana  Apologia  (1776)  is  a  defence  of 
the  Society  of  Friends,  which  in  Scotland  was  exposed  to 
some  persecution  and  represented  the  craving  of  many  good 
men  for  religious  peace. 

Two  of  the  most  notorious  writers  on  the  Covenanting  side 
after  the  Restoration  were  John  Brown  (d.  1679),  some- 
time minister  of  Wamphray,  and  Robert  M'Ward  (1633  ?-87). 
From  the  vantage  ground  of  Holland,  whither  they  had  been 
compelled  to  retreat,  they  plied  their  unhappy  sympathisers  at 
home  with  incendiary  literature.  Brown  wrote  An  Apolo- 
geticall  Relation  (in  four  hundred  pages),  of  the  particular 
sufferings  of  the  faithful  ministers  and  professors  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland  (1665),  and  a  History  of  the  Indulgence  (1678). 
M'Ward,  who  was  the  more  violent  of  the  two,  was  responsible, 
among  other  things,  for  an  attack  on  the  "  Accommodation  " 
proposed  by  Leighton  (1671),  for  The  Poor  Mans  Cup  of  Cold 
Water  (1678),  and  for  'ETra-ywvto-juot,  or  Earnest  Cont endings  for 
the  Faith  (1681  ;  printed  in  1723),  which  was  a  protest 
against  union  with  the  indulged.  Lastly,  in  this  branch  of  our 
subject,  may  be  mentioned  Alexander  Shields  (d.  1700),  the 
Cameronian,  whose  Hind  let  loose  (1687),  a  trifle  of  more  than 

1  By  some  this  piece  has  been  assigned  to  Hugh  Kennedy. 

2  See  more  especially  his  Fundamental  Charter  of  Presbytery  cxamirid 
and    disprov'd  (1695)   in   his    Works,   ed,  Shand,   3   vols.,    Spottiswoode 
Society,  1844-46. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         273 

seven  hundred  closely  printed  pages,  bears  to  be  "  an  historical 
representation  of  the  testimonies  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  for 
the  interest  of  Christ."  He  praises  Brown  and  M'Ward  for 
"  detecting  the  iniquity  of  the  cess,"  and  we  find  from  his 
pages  that  the  convenient  doctrine  of  only  paying  such  taxes 
as  you  please  was  already  fully  developed.  Also,  it  is  worth 
remarking,  as  illustrative  of  the  spirit  of  the  extreme  party, 
that  Shields  boldly  vindicates  "  extraordinary  execution  of 
judgment  by  private  men"  (in  plain  English — assassination), 
as  well  as  the  policy  of  "  refusing  to  pay  wicked  taxations."  * 
We  have  touched  little  more  than  the  fringe  of  the  vast 
literature  of  this  sort  which  exists  or  existed  ;  and  yet,  even  of 
what  we  have  mentioned,  a  good  deal  is  in  no  true  sense 
literature  at  all.  A  mixture  of  antiquated  dialectic  with 
frenzied  rhodomontade  is  not  inviting,  and  the  best  part  of 
many  of  the  pamphlets  of  the  age  is  the  title.  Upon  this 
much  ingenuity  was  spent,  and  the  art  of  the  headline  and  the 
newsbill,  so  to  speak,  was  thoroughly  comprehended.  Pitcairne 
makes  a  palpable  hit  when  he  represents  his  pious  old  lady  as 
quoting  Dickson's  Sermons,  Rutherford's  Letters,  and  Eleven 
Points  to  bind  up  a  Believer's  Breeches.2 

The  distinctive  features  of  the  historians  and  memoir-writers 
as  regards  style  are  in  some  respects  not  essentially  dissimilar  from 
those  which  the  reader  will  have  observed  in  the  controversial- 
ists and  divines  whom  we  have  been  considering.  Most  of  the 
historians  were  controversialists  and  divines  as  well  ;  and  while 
their  histories  contain  few  "  bursts  of  eloquence "  and  com- 
paratively little  strong  language,  their  dialect  is  English,  more 
or  less  tempered  with  native  phrases  and  native  idioms.  The 

1  An  effective  contrast  to  such  firebrands  is  afforded  by  a  man  like 
Lawrence  Charteris  (1625-1700),  grandson  of  Henry  Charteris,  the  printer, 
and  author  of  a  posthumous  tract  On  the  Corruption  of  the  Age  (1704).  Had 
the  Revolution  settlement  been  as  comprehensive  in  its  working  out  as 
King  William  wished  to  see  it,  essentially  moderate  Episcopalians,  like 
Charteris,  might  have  been  able  to  remain  in  the  Establishment. 

3  From  The  Assembly,  ut  sup. 

S 


274    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

classic  purity  of  English  literary  speech  is,  no  doubt,  impaired 
by  the   rough   intrusion   of   this   northern   element  ;    but   the 
effect,  at  least  to  Scottish  ears,  is  by  no  means  displeasing,  and 
the  free  employment  of  expressions,  which  were  not  far-fetched 
or  exotic,  but  came  naturally  to  our  writers,  prevents  Scots 
prose  from  degenerating  into  a  frigid  academic  exercise.     It 
may  be  bald  and  unambitious,  but  it  has  often  the  charm  of 
being  fresh  and  unaffected,  and  of  not  being  bookish,  except  in 
so  far  as  it  tends  slavishly  and  unintelligently  to  follow  the 
language  of  the  authorised  version  of  the  Scriptures.     One  of 
the  oldest  of  the  historians,  curiously  enough,  is  one  of  the 
least  distinctively  national  (or  local)  in  his  manner  of  writing. 
But  David  Hume  of  Gowkscroft,  or,  as  he  preferred  to  have  it, 
Godscroft  (1560  ?-i63O  ?),  though  the  last  stage  of  Middle 
Scots  must  have  been  the  literary  dialect  most  familiar  to  his 
youthful  ear,  did  not  compose  his  most  celebrated  work  until 
late  in  life.     His  previous  writings  included  a  tractate,  De  Unione 
Insulce    Britannic^    (1605),    and    a    History  of  the    House    of 
Wedderburn  (I6II).1     He  also  wrote  Latin  verse  with  correct- 
ness and  elegance,  his  effusions  in  which  kind  were  collected, 
after  his  death,  in  1639.     But  he  is  chiefly  remembered  as  the 
historian  of  the  House  of  Douglas,  to  which  he  was  allied  by 
blood,  and  for  which  he  evinces  a  laudable,  or  at  least  intelligible, 
partiality.     Severe  history  scarcely  confirms  his  description  of 
that  notorious  family  as  one  "whose  love  to  their  country, 
fidelity  to  their  king  (!),  and  disdain  of  English  slavery  (!)  was 
so  naturall  and  of  such  force  and  vigour,  that  it  had  power  to 
propagate  itself  from  age  to  age,  and  from  branch   to  branch, 
being  not  onely  in  the  stocke,  but  in  the  collateral!."     Having 
been   private   secretary  to  Archibald,  eighth   Earl  of  Angus, 
Hume  probably  enjoyed  exceptional  facilities  for  compiling  his 
memorials  of  the  house,  and  for  putting  the  best  face  upon  a 
record  which  could  scarcely  afford  not  to  be  apologetic  in  the 
literal  sense  of  that  word.     But  his  History  of  the  House  and 
1  Ed.  Miller,  Abbotsford  Club,  1839. 


THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY        275 

Race  of  Douglas  and  Angus  (I644),1  published  by  his  gifted 
daughter  Anna  Hume,2  is  attractive,  not  for  its  intrinsic 
accuracy  or  trustworthiness,  but  for  the  trenchant  and  manly 
style  in  which  it  is  composed.  Few  contemporary  works 
surpass  it  in  straightforwardness  and  vigour,  and  Hume  had 
little  need  to  deprecate  the  displeasure  of  those  whom  he 
expected  to  carp  at  "the  stile,  the  phrase,  the  periods,  the 
diction,  and  language  "  of  his  book.  The  following  passage, 
which  is  the  exordium  of  Part  I.,  strikes  a  note  that  is  well 
sustained  until  the  peroration  is  reached — a  fine  piece  of 
writing,  but  too  long  for  presentation  here  : — 

"Touching  the  original  of  this  illustrious  family  and  name  of 
Douglas,  we  must  not  looke  for  an  exact  and  infallible  demonstration  ; 
things  of  this  nature  are  not  capable  of  it.  Great  antiquity  is 
commonly  accompanied  with  much  incertainty,  and  the  originalls 
even  of  Cities,  countries,  and  nations  are  grounded  (for  the  most 
part)  upon  no  surer  foundation  than  conjecturall  proofs,  whose 
beginnings  are  more  easily  known,  and  better  remembered,  than 
those  of  private  families.  In  such  cases  we  use  to  take  that  for  truth 
which  comes  nearest  to  it  amongst  diverse  narrations ;  and  must  rest 
on  that  which  is  most  probable  and  apparent.  Quis  rem  tarn  veterem 
pro  certo  affirmet  ?  sayes  the  historian  in  a  matter  not  unlike.  And  we 
will  say  with  the  same  authour,  Cura  non  decesset,  si  qua  ad  verum  via 
inquirentem  ferret :  nuncfamce  standum  est,  ubi  certam  deroget  vetuslas 
fidem  (Liv.  lib.  7  de  lacu  Curtio).  The  beginning  of  our  nation,  yea 
of  both  nations  (Scots  and  English)  such  as  they  now  are,  or  of  those 
that  were  before  (Picts  and  Brittans),  is  not  yet  sufficiently  cleared  : 
neither  is  it  as  yet  fully  known  from  what  people  they  are  sprung,  or 
how  they  got  their  name  of  Scots,  English,  Picts  and  Britans  ; 
although  the  learned  have  bestowed  their  pains  and  imploied  their 
pens  on  this  subject,  to  the  wearying  but  not  satisfying  of  the  reader. 
As  for  Scotland,  Mr.  Cambden  grants  so  much,  and  mocks  those  that 
have  laboured  in  it :  yet  hath  he  himself  bestowed  his  time  and  pains 


1  The  1657  title-page  of  the  first  part  of  the  work  bears  the  name  of  A 
generall  History  of  Scotland.     Another   family  history  of  later  date,  the 
Memoire  of  the  Somcrvilles  (1679),  by  James,  eleventh  Lord  Somerville 
(d.  1690),  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  works  of  its  kind  which  we  possess. 

2  She  translated  Petrarch's  Triumphs  of  Love,  Chastitie,  and  Death  (1644). 


276    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

to  as  small  purpose  in  behalf  of  his  country-men  the  Brittans. 
Neither  hath  he  done  anything,  save  that  by  his  fruitles  attempt 
(notwithstanding  all  his  bragging)  he  hath  made  it  appear  that  to  go 
about  it  is  but  to  labour  in  vain  ;  he  himself  (after  his  travell) 
remaining  no  lesse  sceptick,  and  (to  use  his  own  words)  Scotizing 
than  others.  And  even  Rome  itself  (the  mistresse  of  the  world), 
though  the  noontide  of  her  empire  be  clear  and  bright,  like  the 
sunne  in  her  strength,  yet  how  misty  is  the  morning  and  dawning 
thereof.  Darknesse  triumphs  over  the  reigns  and  triumphs  of  her 
first  kings  ;  which  are  covered  over  with  such  uncertain  obscuritie, 
or  rather  drowned  in  so  profound  and  deep  night  of  darknesse,  that 
all  her  children  (though  they  have  beaten  their  brains,  and  spent 
much  lamp-oyl  in  searching  of  it),  could  never  clear  their  mother's 
nativity,  or  vindicate  their  father  Romulus'  birth  from  the  fable  of 
the  incestuous  vestall,  nor  his  nursing  from  his  being  beholding  to  a 
she  wolf."  ' 

By  a  happy  coincidence,  we  have  in  Spottiswoode  and  Calder- 
wood  two  "official"  historians  (so  to  speak)  of  the  Church,  who 
present  the  facts  one  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  moderate 
Episcopalian,  the  other  from  that  of  the  orthodox  and  con- 
vinced Presbyterian.  Spottiswoode's  commission  came  from 
James  VI.,  who  bade  him  "speak  the  truth,  man,  and  spare 
not,"  even  on  the  delicate  subject  of  Queen  Mary's  guilt. 
Calderwood's  commission  came  from  the  General  Assembly, 
after  the  overthrow  of  Episcopacy.  It  may  fairly  be  said 
that  both  historians  are  a  credit  to  the  sides  they  represent. 
They  do  not  pretend  to  absolute  impartiality,  a  virtue  which 
was  impossible  then,  and  is  not  easy  even  now.  They  naturally 
dwell  upon  the  circumstances  which  tell  in  favour  of  their  own 
views,  and  make  light  of  such  as  tell  against  them.  Yet 
neither  was  a  wilful  perverter  of  the  truth,  and,  if  Calderwood 
seems  the  more  uncharitable  in  the  judgments  which  he  passes 
upon  his  opponents,  we  must  remember  that  intolerance  was 
"  in  the  air,"  and  that  charity  was  never  a  favourite  virtue  with 
the  stricter  Presbyterians. 

John  Spottiswoode  (1565-1639)  was  the  son  of  the  Spottis- 

1  History  of  the  house  and  race  of  Douglas  and  Angus,  p.  i. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         277 

woode  well  known  as  "  superintendent "  of  the  Lothians 
during  the  first  Reformation.  From  the  cure  of  the  parish  of 
Calder  he  passed  to  the  Episcopal  chair  of  Glasgow,  whence  he 
was  translated  to  St.  Andrews  in  1615.  He  was  the  man  most 
closely  identified  with  the  first  Episcopacy,  which  lasted  from 
1610  to  1638,  and  it  was  under  pressure  from  him  that  the  five 
articles  of  Perth  were  adopted  by  the  General  Assembly  of 
1618.  Yet  Spottiswoode  was  no  fanatic,  and  he  was  wise 
enough  to  mistrust,  though  not  strong  enough  to  defeat,  the 
policy  of  Charles  I.,  which  brought  about  the  downfall  of 
Episcopacy  and  the  Archbishop's  deposition  in  1638.  The 
brief  remainder  of  his  life  was  spent  in  London.  His  History  of 
the  Church  of  Scotland^1  originally  published  in  1655,  is  less 
pugnacious  than  Calderwood's  work,  and  Spottiswoode  excels 
in  the  grace  and  delicacy  with  which  he  analyses  some  complex 
character  which  a  more  furious  partisan  would  represent  as 
wholly  good  or  wholly  evil.  Is  there,  for  example,  much  more 
to  be  said  about  Mary  Stuart  than  what  is  here  set  forth  in  a 
couple  of  sentences  ? 

"  This  was  the  end  of  Queen  Mary's  life ;  a  princess  of  many  rare 
virtues,  but  crossed  with  all  the  crosses  of  fortune,  which  never  any  , 
did  bear  with  greater  courage  and  magnanimity  to  the  last.  Upon 
her  return  from  France,  for  the  first  two  or  three  years,  she  carried 
herself  most  worthily  ;  but  then  giving  ear  to  some  wicked  persons, 
and  transported  with  the  passion  of  revenge  for  the  indignity  done 
unto  her  in  the  murder  of  David  Rizzio  her  secretary,  she  fell  into  a 
labyrinth  of  troubles,  which  forced  her  to  flee  into  England,  where 
after  nineteen  years'  captivity,  she  was  put  to  death  in  the  manner 
you  have  heard."  2 

But  he  is  not  good  in  his  reflective  or  critical  moments  alone. 
His  power  of  narrative  is  considerable,  and  he  recounts  an 
episode  like  the  following  with  no  little  spirit  : — 


1  Ed.  Russell,  3  vols.,  Spottiswoode  Society,  1847-51. 
3  History  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  ut  sup.,  vol.  ii.  p.  361. 


278     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

"  The  king,  perceiving  by  all  these  letters  that  the  death  of  his 
mother  was  determined,  called  back  his  ambassadors,  and  at  home 
gave  order  to  the  ministers  to  remember  her  in  their  public  prayers, 
which  they  denied  to  do,  though  the  form  prescribed  was  most 
Christian  and  lawful  ;  which  was,  that  it  might  please  God  to 
illuminate  her  with  the  light  of  his  truth,  and  save  her  from  the 
apparent  danger  wherein  she  was  cast.  Upon  their  denial,  charges 
were  directed  to  command  all  bishops,  ministers,  and  other  office- 
bearers in  the  Church  to  make  mention  of  her  distress  in  their  public 
prayers,  and  commend  her  to  God  in  the  form  appointed.  But  of 
all  the  number,  only  Mr.  David  Lindsay  at  Leith,  and  the  king's 
own  ministers  gave  obedience.  At  Edinburgh,  where  the  dis- 
obedience was  most  public,  the  king,  purposing  to  have  their  fault 
amended,  did  appoint  the  third  of  February  for  solemn  prayers  to  be 
made  in  her  behalf,  commanding  the  bishop  of  St.  Andrews  to 
prepare  himself  for  that  day  ;  which  when  the  ministers  understood, 
they  stirred  up  Mr.  John  Cowper,  a  young  man  not  entered  as  yet  in 
the  function,  to  take  the  pulpit  before  the  time  and  exclude  the 
bishop.  The  king  coming  at  the  hour  appointed  and  seeing  him  in 
the  place,  called  to  him  from  his  seat,  and  said,  '  Mr.  John,  that 
place  is  destined  for  another  ;  yet,  since  you  are  there,  if  you  will 
obey  the  charge  that  is  given,  and  remember  my  mother  in  your 
prayers,  you  shall  go  on.'  He  replying,  'That  he  would  do  as  the 
Spirit  of  God  should  direct  him,'  was  commanded  to  leave  the  place  ; 
and  making  as  though  he  would  stay,  the  captain  of  the  guard  went 
to  pull  him  out ;  whereupon  he  burst  forth  in  these  speeches  :  '  This 
day  shall  be  a  witness  against  the  king  in  the  great  day  of  the 
Lord  ; '  and  then  denouncing  a  wo  to  the  inhabitants  of  Edinburgh, 
he  went  down,  and  the  bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  entering  the  pulpit, 
did  perform  the  duty  required.  The  noise  was  great  for  a  while 
amongst  the  people  ;  but  after  they  were  quieted,  and  had  heard  the 
bishop  (as  he  was  a  most  powerful  preacher),  out  of  that  text  to 
Timothy,  discourse  of  the  duty  of  Christians  in  praying  for  all  men, 
they  grieved  sore  to  see  their  teachers  so  far  overtaken,  and  con- 
demned their  obstinacy  in  that  point.  In  the  afternoon,  Cowper 
was  called  before  the  Council,  where  Mr.  Walter  Balcanquhel  and 
Mr.  William  Watson,  ministers  of  the  town,  accompanying  him,  for 
some  idle  speeches  that  escaped  them  at  that  time,  were  both  dis- 
charged from  preaching  in  Edinburgh  during  his  Majesty's  pleasure, 
and  Cowper  sent  prisoner  to  Blackness."  ' 

We  see  here  what  sort  of  persons  James  VI.  had  to  deal 

1  History  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  ut  sup.,  vol.  ii.  p.  353. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         279 

with — headstrong,  hot-brained  fanatics,  who  believed  in  their 
own  immediate  inspiration.  Our  last  extract  lets  us  see  the 
sacred  work  of  destruction  in  full  swing  : — 

"This  was  the  policy  desired  to  be  ratified.  It  had  been  framed 
by  John  Knox  partly  in  imitation  of  the  Reformed  Churches  of 
Germany,  partly  of  that  which  he  had  seen  in  Geneva.  Whence  he 
took  that  device  of  annual  deacons  for  collecting  and  dispensing  the 
church-rents,  whereof  in  the  sixth  head  he  speaketh,  I  cannot  say. 
A  nobleman  being  asked  his  judgment  thereof,  answered,  that  it  was 
a  devout  imagination,  wherewith  John  Knox  did  greatly  offend  ;  yet 
was  it  no  better  than  a  dream,  for  it  could  never  have  taken  effect. 
The  churchmen  that  went  before  had  been  provident  enough  in 
these  matters,  and  good  had  it  been  for  those  that  succeeded  to  have 
kept  fast  that  which  they  found  established  to  their  hand,  as  the 
Archbishop  of  St.  Andrews  did  at  the  same  time  advise  them.  For 
he,  employing  John  Brand,  a  monk  of  Halyrudhouse  (who  served 
many  years  after,  minister  at  the  Canongate),  to  go  unto  John  Knox, 
willed  him  to  say  from  him  :  '  That  albeit  he  had  innovated  many 
things,  and  made  a  reformation  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Church, 
whereof  he  could  not  deny  but  there  was  some  reason ;  yet  he 
should  do  wisely  to  retain  the  old  policy,  which  had  been  the  work 
of  many  ages,  or  then  put  a  better  in  place  thereof  before  he  did 
shake  off  the  other.  "Our  Highlandmen,"  he  said,  "have  a  custom, 
when  they  will  break  young  colts,  to  fasten  them  by  the  head  with 
two  strong  tethers,  one  of  which  they  keep  ever  fast  till  the  beast  be 
thoroughly  made.  The  multitude,  that  beast  with  many  heads, 
should  just  be  so  dealt  with.  Master  Knox,  I  know,  esteemeth  me 
an  enemy  ;  but  tell  him  from  me  he  shall  find  it  true  that  I  speak.' 

"  The  Estates  always,  not  thinking  it  meet  to  enter  at  that  time  in 
examination  of  the  policy,  deferred  the  same  to  a  more  convenient 
season  ;  only  an  Act  was  passed  for  demolishing  cloisters  and  abbey 
churches,  such  as  were  not  as  yet  pulled  down  ;  the  execution 
whereof  was,  for  the  west  parts,  committed  to  the  Earls  of  Arran, 
Argyle,  and  Glencarne  ;  for  the  north  to  Lord  James ;  and  for  the 
in-countries  to  some  barons  that  were  held  most  zealous. 

"Thereupon  ensued  a  pitiful  vastation  of  churches  and  church- 
buildings  throughout  all  parts  of  the  realm ;  for  every  one  made 
bold  to  put  to  their  hands,  the  meaner  sort  imitating  the  ensample  of 
the  greater  and  those  who  were  in  authority.  No  difference  was 
made,  but  all  the  churches  were  either  defaced  or  pulled  to  the 
ground.  The  holy  vessels,  and  whatsoever  else  men  could  make 


280    LITERARY  HISTORY  .OF  SCOTLAND 

gain  of,  as  timber,  lead,  and  bells,  were  put  to  sale.  The  very 
sepulchres  of  the  dead  were  not  spared.  The  registers  of  the  church 
and  bibliotheques  were  cast  into  the  fire.  In  a  word,  all  was  ruined, 
and  what  had  escaped  in  the  time  of  the  first  tumult,  did  now 
undergo  the  common  calamity ;  which  was  so  much  the  worse,  that 
the  violences  committed  at  this  time  were  coloured  with  the  warrant 
of  public  authority.  Some  ill-advised  preachers  did  likewise  animate 
the  people  in  these  their  barbarous  proceedings,  crying  out,  '  That 
the  places  where  idols  had  been  worshipped  ought  by  the  law  of 
God  to  be  destroyed,  and  that  the  sparing  of  them  was  the  reserving 
of  things  execrable  ; '  as  if  the  commandment  given  to  Israel  for 
destroying  the  places  where  the  Canaanites  did  worship  their  false 
gods  had  been  a  warrant  for  them  to  do  the  like.  The  report  also 
went  that  John  Knox  (whose  sayings  were  by  many  esteemed  as 
oracles),  should  in  one  of  his  sermons  say,  '  That  the  sure  way  to 
banish  the  rooks  was  to  pull  down  their  nests,'  which  words  (if  any 
such  did  escape  him)  were  to  be  understood  of  the  cloisters  of  monks 
and  friars  only,  according  to  the  Act  passed  in  the  Council.  But 
popular  fury  once  armed  can  keep  no  measure,  nor  do  anything 
with  advice  and  judgment."  * 

David  Calderwood  (1575-1650),  minister  of  Crailing,  was 
banished  for  his  vigorous  opposition  to  the  innovations  intro- 
duced into  the  worship  and  order  of  the  Church  by  James  VI. 
Taking  refuge  in  Holland — a  country  whose  ecclesiastical 
relations  with  Scotland  in  the  seventeenth  century  were 
extremely  intimate — he  there  published  his  Altare  Damascenum 
(1623),  an  elaborate  attack  upon  the  Episcopal  position.  He 
returned  to  Scotland  on  the  accession  of  Charles  I.,  and  began 
to  accumulate  materials  for  his  magnum  opus^  so  that  he 
became  in  Baillie's  words,  a  "living  magazine  of  our  ecclesi- 
astical history."  His  History  of  the  Church  of  Scotland2  did  not 
appear  until  1678,  when  it  was  published,  also  in  Holland. 
Calderwood  is  scarcely  Spottiswoode's  equal  in  coolness  and 
breadth  of  judgment.  But  he  is  perhaps  his  superior  in 
animation  and  vigour,  and,  certainly,  in  dramatic  power.  His 
account  of  his  own  examination  before  the  King  and  Council  in 

1  History  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  ui  sup.,  vol.  i.  p.  371. 

2  Ed.  Thomson,  Wodrow  Society,  8  vols.,  Edin.,  1842-49. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         281 

1617  is  extremely  vivid,  and  I  extract  a  portion  of  a  similar 
scene  in  which  Spottiswoode  and  Mr.  David  Dickson  (supra, 
p.  260)  are  the  principal  actors  : — 

"  The  Bishop  of  St.  Androes  beganne  where  he  endit,  spewed  out 
the  malice  of  his  mind  against  Mr.  David's  person  and  doctrine  : 
he  called  him  a  schismatick,  an  Anabaptist,  one  that  had  misled 
them,  and  filled  them  with  phantasie.  But  they  were  otherwise 
perswadit.  Robert  Broun,  the  toun-clerk,  hearing  the  bishop's 
blasphemous  railings,  testified  his  miscontent  by  a  creinge  [shrug] 
of  his  shoulders.  St.  Androes  perceiving,  sayeth  to  him,  '  What, 
are  ye,  Sir,  are  ye  led  away  with  the  same  vanitie  also  ?  Reade  the 
Scripture,  reade  St.  James.  Ye  have  the  faith  of  God  in  respect  of 
persons.  Because  your  minister  sayes  so  and  so,  ye  will  say  so  also.' 
They  went  out,  told  Mr.  David  what  the  bishops  had  desired  them 
to  doe,  but  did  not  as  they  desired,  because  they  knew  what  was 
his  resolution.  Within  a  little  space  Mr.  David  is  called  in  againe. 
The  Bishop  of  St.  Androes  sayes  to  him,  '  Thou  art  a  rebell,  a 
breaker  of  the  fyft  command,  disobedient  to  the  king  and  us,  who 
may  be  your  fathers  both  one  way  and  other.  Ye  sail  ride  with  a 
thicker  backe  before  ye  ding  the  king's  crowne  off  his  head.'  Mr. 
David  answeired,  '  Farre  may  such  a  thought  be  from  me.  I  am  so 
farre  from  that,  that  by  God's  grace  there  sail  not  be  a  stroke  come 
from  the  king's  hand  that  sail  divert  my  affection  from  him.'  '  It  is 
Puritane  taile,'  saith  St.  Androes.  '  Ye  call  the  king  your  king,  but 
he  must  be  ruled  by  you.'  The  Bishop  of  Aberdeene  posed  Mr. 
David  with  two  questions  :  first,  '  Whether  will  ye  obey  the  king  or 
not  ? '  Mr.  David  answeired,  '  I  will  obey  the  king  in  all  things  in 
the  Lord.'  '  I  told  you  that,'  sayes  Glasco.  '  I  knew  he  wold  eike 
to  his  limitations.'  Aberdeen's  other  question  was,  '  May  not  the 
king  give  this  authoritie  that  we  have  to  als  manie  sutors  or  tailours 
of  Edinburgh,  to  sitt  and  sie  whether  ye  be  doing  your  duetie  or 
not  ? '  '  My  declinatour  answeirs  that,'  said  Mr.  David.  The  Bishop 
of  St.  Androes,  continuing  in  his  railing  against  Mr.  David  his 
person  and  doctrine,  '  The  devill,'  says  he,  '  will  deceive,  he  will 
draw  anew  with  him;  he  has  Scripture  enough.'  He  called  him 
knave  and  swinger,  a  young  lade,  one  that  as  yit  might  have  beene 
teaching  bairnes  in  the  schole.  '  Thou  knowest  Aristotle,'  sayes  he, 
'  but  thou  hast  not  theologie.'  Because  he  perceived  Mr.  David 
gave  him  noe  stiles,  but  once  called  him  '  Sir,'  he  gnashed  his 
teethe,  and  sayeth,  '  Ye  might  have  called  me  My  Lord,  sir.  Long 
syne  when  I  was  in  Glasco,  ye  called  me  My  Lord  ;  but  I  cannot 


282     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

tell  how  you  are  become  a  Puritane  now.'  Mr.  David  stood  silent 
all  the  time  ;  once  he  lift  up  his  eyes  to  heaven,  which  St.  Androes 
called  a  proud  looke.  H*e  answered  at  last,  '  I  have  beene  eight 
yeirs  a  regent  in  the  Colledge  of  Glasco,  and  four  yeirs  a  minister  : 
these  amongst  whom  I  have  lived  knowes  I  am  not  the  man  ye  call 
me.  Say  to  my  person  what  ye  please  ;  by  God's  grace  it  shall  not 
touch  me.'  '  Ay/  said  St.  Androes,  '  ye  glorie  in  your  suffering. 
There  will  be  that  will  suffer  more  for  a  good  caus  than  ye  will 
doe  for  an  evill.'  '  Noe,'  sayes  Mr.  David,  '  I  glorie  not  in  my 
suffering ;  but  if  ye  will  trouble  me,  I  hope  to  have  peace  in  my 
suffering,  as  I  said  to  the  Bishop  of  Glasco  in  his  own  gallerie.' 
....  At  length  St.  Androes  gives  out  the  sentence  in  these  words  : 
'  We  deprive  you  of  your  ministrie  at  Irwine,  and  ordaine  you  to 
enter  in  Turreff,  in  the  North,  within  twentie  dayes.'  '  The  will  of 
the  Lord  be  done,'  said  Mr.  David.  '  Though  you  cast  me  off,  yit 
the  Lord  will  take  me  up.  Send  me  where  ye  please.  I  hope  my 
Master  sail  goe  with  me  ;  and  as  he  hath  beene  with  me  heirtofore, 
he  will  be  with  me  still  as  with  his  owne  weake  servant.'  '  Sweith 
away  ! '  said  the  bishop,  as  if  he  had  been  speaking  to  a  dogge  ; 
'  Pack,  you  swinger  ! '  and  crying  to  the  doore-keeper,  he  sayes, 
'  Shoote  him  out ! '  Robert  Broun,  toun-clerk  of  Irwin,  when  they 
were  to  goe  furth,  had  these  speeches  :  '  Is  that  dooleful  sentence 
of  divorcement  pronounced  ?  As  for  you,  Mr.  David,  the  Lord 
strengthen  you  to  suffer ;  but  as  for  you,  sirs,'  turning  him  to  the 
bishops,  '  God  turne  all  your  hearts.'  With  these  words  they  are 
turning  their  backs  and  going  out.  St.  Androes  cryes,  '  Who  is 
that  ?  I  sail  take  order  with  you,  sir.'  So  endit  that  graceless 
convention." ' 

Equally  impressive,  in  a  somewhat  different  vein,  is  his 
narrative  of  the  death  of  Knox  : — 

"  Upon  Moonday,  the  24th  of  November,  he  rose  about  nine  or 
tenne  houres,  and  yitt  was  not  able  to  stand  by  himself  ;  put  on  his 
hose  and  his  doublett,  and  satt  in  a  chaire  the  space  of  halfe  an 
houre,  and  then  went  to  bed  againe.  Being  asked  by  the  good-man 
of  Kinzeancleughe  if  he  had  anie  paine,  he  answered,  '  No  great 
paine,  but  suche  as,  I  trust,  sail  putt  end  to  this  battell ' ;  and  said 
to  him,  '  I  must  leave  the  care  of  my  wife  and  childrein  to  you,  to 
whom  you  must  be  a  husband  in  my  rowme.'  After  noone,  he 


History  of  the  Kirk  of  Scotland,  ut.  sup.,  vol.  vii.  p.  538. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         283 

caused  his  wife  read  the  i5th  chapter  of  the  First  Epistle  to  the 
Corinthians  ;  and  when  it  was  ended  he  said,  '  Is  not  that  a  com- 
fortable chapter  ? '  A  little  after,  he  sayeth,  '  I  commend  my  soule, 
spirit,  and  bodie '  (pointing  up  his  three  fingers)  '  into  thy  hands,  O 
Lord.'  About  five  houres,  he  sayeth  to  his  wife,  '  Goe,  read  where 
I  cast  my  first  anker'  :  and  so,  she  read  the  lyth  chapter  of  the 
Gospell  according  to  Johne,  and,  after  that,  some  sermons  of  Mr. 
Calvin's  upon  the  Ephesians.  About  halfe  houre  to  tenne,  they 
went  to  the  ordinar  prayer,  which  being  ended,  Doctor  Preston 
said  unto  him,  '  Sir,  heard  yee  the  prayer  ? '  He  answered,  '  I 
would  to  God  that  yee  and  all  men  heard  them  as  I  heard  :  I 
praise  God  for  the  heavenlie  sound.'  Then  Robert  Campbell  of 
Kinzeancleuche  sitteth  doun  before  him  on  a  stoole,  and  inconti- 
nent he  sayeth,  '  Now  it  is  come  ! ' — for  he  had  givin  a  long  sigh 
and  sob.  Then  said  Richard  Bannatyne  to  him,  '  Now,  sir,  the  time 
yee  have  long  called  to  God  for,  to  witt,  an  end  of  your  battell,  is 
come  ;  and  seeing  all  naturall  powers  faile,  give  us  some  signe  that 
yee  remember  upon  the  comfortable  promises  which  yee  have  oft 
shewed  unto  us.'  He  lifted  up  his  one  hand,  and  incontinent 
therafter  randered  his  spirit,  about  elleven  houres  at  night. 

"  After  this  maner  departed  this  man  of  God,  the  light  and  com- 
fort of  our  kirk,  a  mirroure  of  godlinesse,  a  paterne  to  ministers  for 
holie  life,  soundnesse  in  doctrine,  and  boldnesse  in  reproving  vice. 
He  had  a  mightie  spirit  of  judgement  and  wisdome.  The  trouble 
never  came  to  the  kirk,  after  his  entrie  in  publict  preaching,  but  he 
foresaw  the  end  thereof.  Many  things  in  particular  did  he  foretell 
which  came  to  passe,  as  I  have  specified  before  in  their  owne 
places.  I  adde,  how  he  foretold  the  queene,  becaus  she  would 
not  come  and  heare  the  Word,  that  she  sould  be  compelled  to 
heare  it,  nill  she,  would  she ;  and  so  she  was,  at  her  arraignment. 
Item,  To  her  husband  sitting  in  the  king's  seate  in  the  Great  Kirke, 
he  said,  '  Have  yee,  for  the  pleasure  of  that  dame,  cast  the  Psalme- 
booke  in  the  fire  ?  the  Lord  sail  strike  both  head  and  taile.'  Mr. 
Thomas  Smeton,  in  the  description  of  his  life  and  death,  sheweth 
that  the  death  of  the  good  Regent,  the  Erie  of  Murray,  made  a 
deepe  impression  in  his  heart  ;  but  the  massacre  of  Parise  did 
almost  exanimat  him  ;  and  giveth  him  this  commendation  :  '  I  know 
not  if  ever  God  placed  in  a  fraile  and  weake  little  bodie  a  more 
godlie  and  greater  spirit.'  Beza  calleth  him  'The  Apostle  of  the 
Scots,'  and  comprehendeth  all  his  praises  in  few  words,  when  he 
calleth  him  (in  his  Icones)  '  GREAT  Master  Knox.' " * 


1  History  of  the  Kirk  of  Scotland,  ut  sup.,  vol.  iii.  p.  237. 


284    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

One  more  excerpt  may  be  given,  showing  us  the  Kirk  in 
the  brief  heyday  of  its  power,  and  the  beginnings  of  its 
decline  : — 


"  This  yeere  1596  is  a  remarkable  yeere  to  the  Kirk  of  Scotland, 
both  for  the  beginning  and  for  the  end  of  it.  The  Kirk  of  Scotland 
was  now  come  to  her  perfectioun,  and  the  greatest  puritie  that  ever 
she  atteaned  unto,  both  in  doctrine  and  discipline,  so  that  her 
beautie  was  admirable  to  forraine  kirks.  The  assembleis  of  the 
sanctis  were  never  so  glorious  nor  profitable  to  everie  one  of  the 
true  members  thereof,  than  in  the  beginning  of  this  yeere.  There 
was  good  appearance  of  further  reformatioun  of  abuses  and  corrup- 
tiouns,  which  were  espied,  when  the  covenant  of  God  was  renued 
first  in  the  Generall  Assemblie,  then  in  particular  synods  and  pres- 
bytereis.  There  was  also  appearance  of  a  constant  platt,  for  pro- 
viding perpetuall  stipends  to  all  the  parish  kirks  within  the  countrie. 
But  the  devill,  invying  her  happinesse  and  laudable  proceedings,  so 
inflammed  both  Papists  and  politicians,  and  stirred  them  up  to  dis- 
turbe  her  peace,  and  to  deface  so  glorious  a  worke.  The  Papist 
perceaved  there  was  no  rest  for  him  in  Scotland,  if  her  authentic 
continued.  The  politicians  feared  their  craft  and  trade  (which  is  to 
use  indifferentlie  all  men  and  meanes  to  effectuate  their  own  aimes, 
and  to  sett  themselves  up,  as  it  were,  in  the  throne  of  Christ)  sould 
be  undone.  Wheras  now,  she  had  gotten  the  apostat  erles,  Angus, 
Huntlie,  and  Erroll,  forefaulted  for  an  unnaturall  and  treasonable 
conspiracie  with  the  Spaniard,  and  expelled  out  of  the  realme,  and 
was  setting  herself  to  reforme  whatsoever  abuses  and  corruptions 
were  perceaved  in  her  members,  and  speciallie,  against  the  re-entrie 
and  reatauration  of  the  said  erles,  by  the  craft  and  policie  of  politi- 
tians  and  dissembled  Papists,  she  was  forced  to  take  herself  to  the 
defence  of  her  owne  liberteis,  and  of  that  holie  discipline  which  was 
her  bulwarke,  and  leave  off  farther  persute  of  the  excommunicated 
erles  re-entering.  For  some  thornie  questiouns  in  points  of  disci- 
pline were  devised,  whereby  her  authoritie  was  in  manie  points 
called  in  doubt ;  ministers  were  called  before  the  counsell,  to  give 
a  compt  of  their  rebookes  in  sermoun,  and  to  underly  their  censure  ; 
the  ministers  of  the  kirk  of  Edinburgh,  which  was,  in  a  maner,  the 
watche-towre  to  the  rest,  were  forced  to  lurke  ;  and  that  kirk,  which 
shynned  as  a  lampe  to  the  rest  of  the  kirks  within  the  countrie,  was 
darkenned,  and  no  lesse  danger  appeared  to  threatin  the  like  to  the 
rest.  In  a  worde,  the  end  of  this  yeere  began  that  doolefull  decay 
and  declynning  of  this  kirk,  which  has  continued  to  this  houre,  pro- 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         285 

ceeding  from  worse  to  worse  ;  so  that  now  we  see  such  corruptioun 
as  we  thought  not  to  have  seen  in  our  dayes."  r 

For  the  period  succeeding  that  which  chiefly  occupies  the 
attention  of  Spottiswoode  and  Calderwood,  our  most  valuable 
authority  is  Robert  Baillie  (i  599-1 662),2  minister  of  Kilwin- 
ning,  and,  for  a  short  time  at  the  close  of  his  life, 
Principal  of  Glasgow  College.  Baillie  is  admitted  to  have 
been  preeminently  learned  in  an  age  when  learning  was 
a  characteristic  of  the  Scottish  clergy  ;  he  is  said  to  have 
known  twelve  or  thirteen  languages  ;  and  his  Latin  style  is 
such  as,  in  the  opinion  of  Wodrow,  might  become  the 
Augustan  age.  Yet  was  he  modest  withal,  and  blest  with 
qualities  of  prudence  and  foresight  not  always  associated  with 
erudition.  It  was  he  who,  at  the  Westminster  Assembly,  to 
which,  as  we  have  mentioned,  he  was  sent  as  one  of  the 
Kirk's  Commissioners,  was  solicitous  to  "eschew  rupture 
with  the  Independents  till  we  are  more  able  for  them  "  ;3 
but  no  stauncher  Presbyterian  ever  breathed,  as  he  proved  not 
only  by  contributions  to  the  literature  of  the  question,  such  as 
The  Canterbur'tan's  Self-conviction  (1640)  and  An  Historical  Vin- 
dication of  the  Government  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  (i646),4 
but  also  by  the  line  of  policy  he  took  in  the  distracted  times 
which  followed  the  King's  execution.  Baillie  bitterly  deplored 
the  internal  dissensions  of  the  Church  and  the  Nation,  which 

1  History  of  the  Kirk  of  Scotland,  nt  sup.,  vol.  v.  p.  387.     With  great 
works  like  Spottiswoode's  or  Calderwood's  it  would  be  absurd  to  compare 
the  Historic  of  the  Church  by  the  able  and  excellent  Patrick  Simpson, 
minister  of  Stirling  (d.  1618),  which  is  more  like  a  collection  of  materials 
for  such  a  work  than  the  work  itself  ;  or  the  Annalcs  of  Scotland  of  that 
great  antiquarian  Sir  James  Balfour  (d.  1657),  which  is  incoherent  and 
abrupt  ;  or  even  the  Historia  rerum  Britannicarum  (1572-1628),  of  Robert 
Johnston  (1567  ?-i63O),  the  first  complete  edition  of  which  appeared  in 
1655,  though  a  translation  of  a  portion  had  been  published  in  1646. 

2  See  Carlyle,  Works,  Cent.  Ed.  vol.  xxix.  p.  226. 

3  Letters,  ut  infra,  vol.  ii.  p.  117. 

4  A  full  list  of  Baillie's  printed  works  will  be  found  at  the  end  of  vol.  i. 
of  Laing's  ed.  of  the  Letters,  ut  infra. 


286    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

had  justified  Cromwell  in  assuring  "  his  brethren  in  evil  of  a 
more  easy  conquest  of  Scotland  than  all  the  English  kings 
ever  had."1  He  was  a  strong  Resolutioner,  and  refused  to 
coquet  with  sectarianism.  For  this  he  incurred  the  resent- 
ment of  the  Protesters,  and  a  latter-day  "  highflyer  "  does  not 
hesitate  to  say  that  "  we  spew  him  out  of  our  mouth  at  every 
page  of  his  indispensable  book."2  Such  is  the  touching  fidelity 
with  which  the  controversial  methods  of  the  Saints  are  copied 
by  their  successors. 

The  book  in  question  is  the  Principal's  Letters  and  Journals 
(i637-62),3  and  a  delightful  one  it  is.  We  get  here  inti- 
mate details  of  transactions  which  are  not  to  be  procured 
elsewhere,  and  pictures  of  scenes  which  other  observers  have 
failed  to  record  for  behoof  of  posterity.  And  everything  is 
set  down  in  the  homely  and  nervous  dialect  of  a  private,  or 
quasi-private,  correspondence,  for  most  of  Baillie's  papers  were 
designed  in  the  first  instance  for  the  eye  of  his  cousin,  Mr. 
William  Spang,  minister  of  the  Scots  Church  at  Campvere. 
How  graphic  and  interesting  is  his  account  of  the  procedure 
of  the  Westminster  Assembly  ! 

"  We  meet  every  day  of  the  week  but  Saturday.  We  sit  commonlie 
from  nine  to  one  or  two  afternoon.  The  Proloqutor  at  the  beginning 
and  end  hes  a  short  prayer.  The  man,  as  the  world  knows,  is  very 
learned  in  the  questions  he  hes  studied,  and  very  good,  beloved  of 
all,  and  highlie  esteemed  ;  but  merelie  bookish,  and  not  much,  as  it 
seems,  acquaint  with  conceived  prayer,  [and]  among  the  unfittest  of 
all  the  company  for  any  action  ;  so  after  the  prayer  he  sitts  mute. 
It  was  the  canny  conveyance  of  these  who  guides  most  matters  for 
their  own  interest  to  plant  such  a  man  of  purpose  in  the  chaire. 
The  one  assessour,  our  good  friend  Mr.  Whyte,  hes  keeped  in  of  the 
gout  since  our  coming ;  the  other,  Dr.  Burgess,  a  very  active  and 
sharpe  man,  supplies,  so  far  as  is  decent,  the  Proloqutors  place. 


1  Letters,  ut  infra,  vol.  iii.  p.  68. 

2  Whyte,  Samuel  Rutherford  and  some  of  his  Correspondents,  ut.  stip. 

3  Ed.  Laing,  3  vols.,  Bannatyne  Club,  1841. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         287 

Ordinarlie  there  will  be  present  above  threescore  of  their  divines. 
These  are  divided  in  three  Committees  ;  in  one  whereof  every  man 
is  a  member.  No  man  is  excluded  who  pleases  to  come  to  any 
of  the  three.  Every  Committee,  as  the  Parliament  gives  order  in 
wryte  to  take  any  purpose  to  consideratione,  takes  a  portion,  and  in 
their  afternoone  meeting  prepares  matters  for  the  Assemblie,  setts 
downe  their  minde  in  distinct  propositions,  backs  their  propositions 
with  texts  of  Scripture.  After  the  prayer,  Mr.  Byfield,  the  scribe, 
reads  the  proposition  and  Scriptures,  whereupon  the  Assemblie 
debates  in  a  most  grave  and  orderlie  way.  No  man  is  called  up 
to  speak  ;  bot  who  stands  up  of  his  own  accord,  he  speaks  so  long 
as  he  will  without  interruption.  If  two  or  three  stand  up  at  once, 
then  the  divines  confusedlie  calls  on  his  name  whom  they  desyre  to 
hear  first  :  On  whom  the  loudest  and  maniest  voices  calls,  he  speaks. 
No  man  speaks  to  any  bot  to  the  Proloqutor.  They  harangue  long 
and  very  learnedlie.  They  studie  the  questions  well  beforehand, 
and  prepares  their  speeches ;  but  withall  the  men  are  exceeding 
prompt  and  well  spoken.  I  doe  marvell  at  the  very  accurate  and 
extemporall  replies  that  many  of  them  usuallie  doe  make.  When, 
upon  every  proposition  by  itself,  and  on  everie  text  of  Scripture  that 
is  brought  to  confirme  it,  every  man  who  will  hes  said  his  whole 
minde,  and  the  replyes,  and  duplies,  and  triplies,  are  heard  :  then 
the  most  part  calls,  To  the  question.  Byfield  the  scribe  rises  from 
the  table,  and  comes  to  the  Proloqutor's  chair,  who  from  the  scribe's 
book  reads  the  proposition,  and  says,  As  many  as  are  in  opinion  that 
the  question  is  well  stated  in  the  proposition,  let  them  say  I  ;  when 
I  is  heard,  he  says,  As  many  as  think  otherwise,  say  No.  If  the 
difference  of  I's  and  No's  be  cleare,  as  usuallie  it  is,  then  the  ques- 
tion is  ordered  by  the  scribes,  and  they  go  on  to  debate  the  first 
scripture  alleadged  for  proof  of  the  proposition.  If  the  sound  of  I 
and  No  be  near  equall,  then  sayes  the  Proloqutor,  As  many  as  say  I, 
stand  up  ;  while  they  stand,  the  scribe  and  others  number  them  in 
their  minde ;  when  they  sitt  down,  the  No's  are  bidden  stand,  and 
they  likewise  are  numbered.  This  way  is  clear  enough,  and  saves  a 
great  deal  of  time,  which  we  spend  in  reading  our  catalogue.  When 
a  question  is  once  ordered,  there  is  no  more  debate  of  that  matter  ; 
but  if  a  man  will  vaige,  he  is  quicklie  taken  up  by  Mr.  Assessor,  or 
many  others  confusedlie  crying,  Speak  to  order,  to  order.  No  man 
contradicts  another  expresslie  by  name,  bot  most  discreetlee  speaks 
to  the  Proloqutor,  and  at  most  holds  on  the  generall,  The  Reverend 
brother  who  latelie  or  last  spoke,  on  this  hand,  on  that  syde,  above, 
or  below.  I  thought  meet  once  for  all  to  give  you  a  taste  of  the 
outward  form  of  their  Assemblie.  They  follow  the  way  of  their 


288     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Parliament.  Much  of  their  way  is  good,  and  worthie  of  our  imita- 
tion ;  only  their  longsomeness  is  wofull  at  this  time,  when  their 
Church  and  Kingdome  lyes  under  a  most  lamentable  anarchy  and 
confusion.  They  see  the  hurt  of  their  length,  but  cannot  get  it 
helped ;  for  being  to  establish  a  new  Plattforme  of  worship  and 
discipline  to  their  Nation  for  all  time  to  come,  they  think  they 
cannot  be  answerable,  if  solidlie  and  at  leisure,  they  doe  not 
ecamine  every  point  thereof."1 

Here,  too,  is  a  glimpse  of  the  wrestling  of  the  Presbyterians 
with  the  Independents  : — 

"  In  our  Assemblie,  we  go  on  as  we  may.  The  Independents  and 
others  keeped  us  long  three  weeks  upon  one  point  alone,  the  com- 
municating at  a  table.  By  this  we  come  to  debate  the  diverse 
coming  up  of  companies  successively  to  a  table ;  the  consecrating 
of  the  bread  and  wine  severallie  ;  the  giving  of  the  bread  to  all  the 
Congregation,  and  then  the  wine  to  all,  and  so  twice  coming  up  to 
the  table,  first  for  the  bread,  and  then  for  the  wine  ;  the  mutuall 
distribution,  the  table-exhortations,  and  a  world  of  such  questions, 
which  to  the  most  of  them  were  new  and  strange  things.  After  we 
were  overtoyled  with  debate,  we  were  forced  to  leave  all  these 
things,  and  take  to  generall  expressions,  which,  by  a  benigne 
exposition,  would  infer  our  church-practices,  which  the  most  pro- 
mised to  follow,  so  much  the  more  as  we  did  not  necessitate  them 
by  the  Assemblie's  express  determinations.  We  have  ended  the 
matter  of  the  Lord's  supper,  and  these  last  three  dayes  have  been 
upon  Baptisme.  We  have  carried,  with  much  greater  ease  than  we 
expected,  the  publickness  of  baptisme.  The  abuse  was  great  over 
all  this  lande.  In  the  greatest  parosch  in  London,  scarce  one  child 
in  a  year  was  brought  to  the  church  for  baptisme.  Also  we  have 
carried  the  parent's  presenting  of  his  child,  and  not  their  midwives, 
as  was  their  universall  custome.  In  our  last  debate  with  the  Com- 
mittee of  Commons,  for  our  paper  of  Ordination,  we  were  in  the 
midst,  over  head  and  ears,  of  that  greatest  of  our  questions,  the 
power  of  the  Parliament  in  ecclesiastick  affairs.  It's  like  this 
question  shall  be  hotter  here  than  anywhere  else  :  but  we  mind 
to  hold  off ;  for  yet  it's  very  unseasonable.  As  yet  we  are  come 
to  no  issue  what  to  do  with  that  paper."3 


1  For  Mr.  William  Spang,  December  7,  1643,   Letters  and  Journals, 
ut  sup.,  vol.  ii.  p.  108. 

2  For  Mr.  Spang,  July  12,  1644.    Letters  and  Journals,  ut  sup.,  vol.  ii. 
p.  204. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         289 

Lest  such  high  matters  should  unduly  fatigue  his  corre- 
spondent, they  are  diversified  every  now  and  then  by  the 
interposition  of  some  more  than  usually  pithy  phrase,  such  as 
the  description  of  Vossius'  new  book  as  "  but  a  bag  of  clatters,"1 
or  the  communication  of  details  affecting  domestic  life,  in 
themselves  of  no  moment,  but  made  interesting  for  us  by  his 
mode  of  recounting  them  :  as  thus  : — 

"  Sundrie  heavie  accidents  have  latelie  fallen  out  amongst  us. 
Bailie  Walkinshaw's  most  prettie  boy  of  four  or  five  years  old,  on 
a  Sunday  afternoon,  fell  down  his  stair,  and  spoke  no  more,  but 
died.  Thomas  Brown,  late  bailie,  having  supped,  lay  down  and 
died  before  midnight.  Thomas  Main,  our  factor,  at  his  breakfast 
weel,  while  he  stretcht  out  his  hand  to  the  cup,  is  suddenlie  over- 
taken with  a  palsie  ;  spoke  no  more,  but  in  a  day  or  two  dies. 
Thomas  Robison,  in  Salcots,  sitting  at  his  own  fire-side,  is  stobbed 
to  death  by  a  highlandman,  put  upon  him  by  Pennimor,  to  get  his 
goods  to  his  son  who  had  married  Robison's  daughter.  A  daughter 
of  Mr.  Archibald  McLauchlane,  minister  at  Lusse,  a  widow  a  very 
weel-favoured  woman  .  .  .  was  put  in  the  tolbooth,  where  she 
hanged  herself.  Janet  Hiegat  in  Falkirk,  of  a  lewd  life,  vexed  with 
a  naughtie  husband,  did  the  like.  ...  In  Glenluss  parish,  in  John 
Campbell  a  Webster's  house,  for  two  or  three  yeares  a  spirit  did  whiles 
cast  stones,  oft  fire  the  house,  and  cut  the  webs  in  the  looms,  yet  did 
never  any  considerable  harme.  The  man  was  a  good,  pious,  resolut, 
man,  and  never  left  his  house  for  all ;  sundrie  ministers  of  the  Pres- 
byterie  did  keep  fasting  and  praying  in  the  house  without  molesta- 
tion ;  sometyme  it  spoke,  and  the  minister,  Mr.  John  Scot,  was  so 
wise  as  to  intertain  large  discourses  with  it.  It  were  long  to  write 
all  the  passages  :  this  twelvemonth  it  has  been  silent.  A  sturdie 
beggar,  who  had  been  a  most  wicked  and  avowed  atheist,  for  which 
he  was  hanged  at  Dumfries,  did  oft  lodge  in  that  house ;  about  his 
death  it  became  more  quiet,  yet  thereafter  it  became  troublesome 
enough,  but  for  the  time  is  silent.  There  is  much  witcherie  up  and 
downe  our  lande  ;  though  the  English  be  but  too  spareing  to  try  it, 
yet  some  they  execute." 2 

Baillie,  it  will   be   perceived,  did  not  rise  superior   to   the 

1  Letters,  tit  sup.,  vol.  viii.  p.  483. 

2  For  Mr.  William  Spang,  January  31, 1661.  Letters  and  Journals, ut  sup., 
vol.  iii.  pp.  435,  436. 

T 


290    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

credulity  of  his  age.  The  belief  in  witchcraft  was  at  least  as 
tenaciously  held  as  any  doctrine  of  the  Christian  religion,  and 
the  only  difference  (though  it  is  one  of  some  practical  impor- 
tance) between  contending  parties  was  that,  while  the  Epis- 
copalians were  disposed  not  to  add  works  to  their  faith,  the 
Presbyterians  were  zealous  in  proportion  to  their  fanaticism 
in  seeking  out  and  punishing  by  the  most  horrible  methods 
persons  alleged  to  be  guilty  of  a  crime  against  which  the 
books  of  Moses  denounce  the  penalty  of  death.  This  is  a 
topic,  however,  which  cannot  here  be  pursued,  and  the  reader 
may  be  referred,  in  illustration  of  contemporary  feeling  on  the 
subject  of  the  "supernatural"  in  its  varied  aspects,  to  the 
Satan  s  Invisible  World  Discovered  (1685),!  of  George  Sinclair 
(1618-87),  an<^  The  Secret  Commonwealth  of  Elves^  Fauns^  and 
Fairies  (ibgi),2  of  Robert  Kirk  (1641-92). 

To  return  to  our  historians  and  memoir  writers.  John 
Row  (1568-1646),  minister  of  Carnock,  was  yet  another  of 
those  who  chose  the  Kirk  for  their  subject.3  His  History 
of  that  institution  contains  a  short  and  useful  account  of 
the  proceedings  of  the  General  Assemblies  held  within  the 
period  of  which  he  treats ;  and  he  has  preserved  for  us 
some  Latin  epigrams  of  Andrew  Melville's.  Without  being 
specially  lively  or  spirited,  Row  has  some  sense  of  humour  ; 
and  he  was,  apparently,  much  amused  by  the  mistake  of  an 
illiterate  clergyman  who  mixed  up  non  liquet  with  "  deill  be 
lickit."4  John  Spalding  (1609  P-ijoo),  clerk  of  the  Con- 
sistorial  Court  of  the  diocese  of  Aberdeen,  is  one  of  the 
best  of  our  minor  historians,  and  his  Memorialh  of  the 
Trubles  in  Scotland  and  in  England  (1624— 45),5  is  a  valu- 

1  Reprinted  1871.  2  Ed.  Jamieson,  1815  ;  Lang,  1893. 

3  The  History  of  the  Kirk  of  Scotland  from  1588  to  1637.     With  a  con- 
tinuation  to   1639,  by  his  son,  John  Row,  Principal  of   King's   College, 
Aberdeen  ;  ed.  Laing,  Wodrow  Soc.,  1842. 

4  History,  ut  sup.,  p.  287. 

s  Ed.  Stuart,  2  vols.,  Spalding  Club,  1850.     The  Spalding  Club  took  its 
name  out  of  compliment  to  his  memory. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         291 

• 

able  record,  written  from  the  point  of  view  of  an  Aberdonian 
and  Episcopalian.  On  much  the  same  plane  is  the  History  of 
Scots  Affairs  1637-4.1*  of  James  Gordon  (1615  ?-86),  parson 
of  Rothiemay,  a  son  of  Sir  Robert  Gordon  of  Straloch  and 
Pitlurg,  who  contributed  the  Theatrum  Scotice  to  Blaeu's  cele- 
brated atlas,  published  at  Amsterdam  (1662-65).  James  Gordon 
himself  was  an  eminent  cartographer,  and  his  maps  of  Edin- 
burgh and  Aberdeen  are  among  his  most  celebrated  per- 
formances in  that  department.2  He  was  a  man  of  character 
and  learning,  accustomed,  we  are  told,  to  express  strong  sense 
in  ordinary  conversation  in  broad  Scots,  and  a  turn  for 
"judicial  astrology"  was  his  chief  foible.  His  narrative  is 
plain,  straightforward,  and  unadorned,  yet  pleasant  to  read, 
and  quite  trustworthy. 

Robert  Blair  (1593-1666),  a  man  of  good  family,  who 
was  one  of  the  chaplains  of  Charles  I.,  and  ultimately  became 
minister  of  St.  Andrews,  as  being  a  proper  person  for  "  that 
high  watch  tower,"  has  left  us  a  small  volume  of  Memoir  s^ 
which  are  more  concerned  with  private  than  with  public 
affairs.  Yet  they  are  valuable  for  the  light  they  shed  upon 
one  or  two  points  of  early  Reformation  practice,  as  well 
as  for  the  warning  they  afford  against  inculcating  upon  a 
child  a  highly  introspective  form  of  religion.  Thus  we  learn 
from  him  that  in  his  boyhood  Christmas  was  still  observed  : 
the  "  Holy  days  of  Yule "  were  a  time  of  rioting.  Rigid 
Sabbatarianism  had  not  yet  become  the  rule  :  for  his  school- 
master, after  catechising  his  scholars  on  Sunday,  dismissed 
them  with  express  orders  not  to  go  to  town,  but  to  the 
fields  to  play.  Also,  "it  was  then  the  generally  received 

1  Ed.  Robertson  and  Grub,  3  vols.,  Spalding  Club,  1841.     His  Abcrdoniae 
tilriiisquc  descriptio  was  ed.  for  the  same  Club  by  Cosmo  Innes,  1842. 

2  For  a  specimen  of  James  Gordon's  handiwork,  see  Mackay's  Fife  and 
Kinross,  Edin.,  1896.     For  a  specimen  of  his  father's,  see  Rampini's  Moray 
and  Xaini,  Edin.,  1897. 

3  Edin.,  1754.    The  second  part  was  written  by  Mr.  William  Row,  of 
Ceres. 


292     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

• 

opinion  that  the  Sacrament  behoved  to  be  received  fasting." 
As  for  Blair  himself,  he  was  the  son  of  a  trader  at  Irvine,  who 
"  walked  tenderly,  refusing  to  enrich  himself  by  buying  com- 
modities from  Pirates."  A  more  odious  little  prig  than  Robert 
never  became  the  hero  of  a  middle- Victorian  "Sunday  book." 
"Having,  through  indisposition,"  he  tells  us,  "in  the  seventh 
year  of  my  age,  been  left  alone  upon  a  Sabbath  day,  the  Lord 
began  to  catechize  me,  and  caused  my  conscience  to  pose  me 
with  this  question,  For  what  servest  thou,  unprofitable  crea- 
ture ? "  At  the  age  of  twelve,  he  insisted  upon  coming  for- 
ward to  the  holy  table.  "  This  was  the  Lord's  work  to  his 
poor  child,  to  make  me  his  covenanted  and  sealed  servant." 
It  is  fair  to  say  that  he  does  not  conceal  his  boyish  escapades. 
Once,  in  the  Christmas  holidays,  he  amused  himself  by  pre- 
tending to  be  drunk,  though  he  was  in  reality  "as  fresh  as  at 
any  time."  He  came  home  late,  and,  being  challenged  for 
staying  at  play  till  after  supper,  escaped  a  well-merited  castiga- 
tion  by  pretending  that  he  had  been  mourning  at  his  father's 
grave.  In  after  life,  he  turned  out  a  most  respectable  man, 
not  very  different  in  intellect  and  character  from  Mr.  Micah 
Balwhidder,  minister  of  Dalmailing,  and  we  shall  find  that 
Wodrow  has  a  particularly  quaint  and  interesting  anecdote 
to  tell  of  him.  He  is  one  of  the  many  men  of  his  time  who 
testify  to  the  great  influence  deservedly  wielded  by  Robert  Boyd 
of  Trochrig  (1578-1627),  the  principal  of  Glasgow  College. 

John  Livingstone  (1603-1702),  a  scion  of  the  noble 
house  of  that  name,  belonged  to  the  extreme  party  which 
succeeded  in  eliminating  the  Lord's  Prayer,  the  Creed,  and 
the  Gloria  Patri  from  the  services  of  the  Kirk,  and  he  is 
entitled  to  the  distinction  of  being  one  of  the  first  schismatics 
bred  within  the  reformed  communion  of  Scotland.  He 
was  banished  after  the  Restoration,  and  the  following  frag- 
ment of  a  Letter  addressed  by  him  from  Rotterdam  to  his  old 
parishioners  at  Ancrum  in  1671,  sufficiently  indicates  of  what 
spirit  he  was  : — 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         293 

"  As  for  the  poor  wretch  that  is  thrust  in  upon  you,  do  not  hate 
him,  do  not  injure  him  ;  rather  pray  for  him,  and  use  means  if  it  be 
possible,  that  he  may  recover,  but  do  not  countenance  or  join  with 
him.  Ye  may  easily  be  sensible  he  is  not  a  messenger  from  the 
Lord  for  your  spiritual  good,  but  a  snare  and  hardener  of  you  in 
unwarranted  ways.  I  may,  by  good  ground  from  the  word  of  God, 
affirm  that,  unless  a  gracious  change  be  wrought,  both  he  and  all 
that  follow  him  shall  perish  eternally.  Now  the  Lord  himself,  who 
only  can  do  it,  open  your  eyes  to  see  the  danger  of  your  way,  urge 
and  enable  you  to  take  some  time  to  mourn  before  him  in  secret, 
and  openly  to  testify,  as  occasion  offers,  before  good  and  evil,  that 
ye  are  returned  to  your  former  profession  ;  then  shall  none  of  all 
your  transgressions  be  mentioned  unto  you."  x 

Nevertheless,  his  Life?  written  by  himself,  is  worth  atten- 
tion, more  especially  for  the  Memorable  Characteristics  with 
which  it  concludes.  The  thumb-nail  sketches  of  eminent 
ministers  and  "  professors "  are  really  good.  John  Nicoll 
(1590  :-i66j  r),  a  writer  to  the  signet  in  Edinburgh,  -was 
of  quite  anotherguess  temperament.  We  can  follow  in  his 
Diary  of  Public  Transactions  (1650-67)3  the  drift  of  current 
opinion  without  much  difficulty.  He  deletes  at  a  later  date 
the  unflattering  epithets  he  had  used  about  Montrose  at  the 
time  of  his  execution  ;  and,  no  sooner  is  Cromwell  dead,  than 
he  ceases  to  be  "  his  hyness,  the  Protector,  a  noble  campion," 
and  becomes  "  that  tyrannous  usurper  and  pretendit  Protector," 
and  "  that  old  Traytor."  It  is  the  commonplace  character  ot 
Nicoll's  mind  that  makes  his  record  so  valuable.  He  notes  the 
weather,  the  lateness  of  the  harvest,  the  number  of  executions 
which  have  taken  place,  and  so  forth.  All  these  trivialities 
bring  the  age  before  us  with  extraordinary  vividness.  We  see, 
for  example,  that  a  crusade  against  barmaids  is  no  novelty  : — 

"  At  the  same  tyme,  for  eschewing  and  downbearing  of  sin  and 
filthiness  in  Edinburgh,  it  was  actit  that  no  woman  sould  vent  or 


Letter  to  the  Parishioners  of  Ancruni,  1671,  apud  Life,  app.  iv.  p.  185. 
Ed.  Houston,  1848.  3  Ed.  Laing,  Bannatyne  Club,  1836. 


294    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

rin  wyne  or  aill  in  the  tavernis  of  Edinburgh,  but  allanerlie  men 
servandis  and  boyes ;  quhilk  act  was  red  and  publictlie  intimat  in 
all  the  kirkis  of  Edinburgh,  that  all  such  as  haid  these  commodities 
to  sell  sould  prepare  men  servandis  and  boyes  for  that  use  agane 
Witsounday  nixt  thaireftir  following."  ' 

After  all,  more  than  a  decade  of  pure  presbytery  and  covenant 
seems  to  have  produced  little  tangible  result  in  the  way  of 
improved  morals  : — 

"Much  falset  and  scheitting  at  this  tyme  [1650]  was  daylie 
detectit  by  the  Lordis  of  Sessioun,  for  the  quhilk  thair  wes  daylie 
hanging,  skurging,  nailling  of  luggis,  and  binding  of  pepill  to  the 
Trone,  and  booring  of  tounges  ;  so  that  it  was  ane  fatall  yeir  for  fals 
notaris  and  witnessis,  as  daylie  experience  did  witnes."  All  sorts  of 
other  offences  also  "  did  nevir  abound  moir  nor  at  this  tyme."  2 

Nicoll,  it  will  be  seen,  spelt  in  the  fearless  old  fashion. 
He  was  moreover,  tolerably  well  pleased  with  himself,  and  at 
ease  in  Zion,  as  was  also  John  Lament  of  Newton,  whose 
Diary  3  (1649-71)  is  a  more  or  less  bald,  but  quite  valuable, 
record  of  facts.  Not  so  another  diarist,  Alexander  Brodie  of 
Brodie  (i6i7-8o),4  who  would  fain  have  been  a  saint,  but 
came  very  far  short  of  that  ideal,  although  he  has  been 
described  as  "a  gentleman  of  shining  piety."  A  consider- 
able part  of  his  Diary  is  given  up  to  a  full  account  of  his 
spiritual  conflicts  ;  but  a  greater  robustness  of  conscience  and 
a  more  faithful  adherence  to  the  standards  of  common  upright- 
ness and  honesty,  might  have  done  more  for  his  spiritual  welfare 
than  his  exaggerated  and  rather  nauseous  habit  of  self-examina- 
tion. On  matters  of  public  interest,  it  should  be  said,  Brodie 
often  furnishes  us  with  useful  information.  Equally  rich  in 
spiritual  "  experiences  "  is  the  Diary  5  of  Alexander  JafFray 

1  Diary  ut  sup.,  p.  6.  -  Ibid.,  p.  3. 

3  Ed.  Kinloch,  Maitland  Club,  1830. 

4  Diary,  ed.  Laing,  Spalding   Club,  1863.     It  covers  various  periods 
from  1655  to  1680. 

s  Ed.  John  Barclay,  1833. 


THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY        295 

(1614-73),  tne  Quaker  provost  of  Aberdeen,  who  held  high 
office  during  the  usurpation  of  Cromwell. 

The  celebrated  Gilbert  Burnet  (1643-1715)  afterwards 
Bishop  of  Salisbury,  was  a  minister  of  the  Kirk  of  Scot- 
land, and  had  served  the  cure  of  the  parish  of  Saltoun  and 
been  Professor  of  Divinity  in  the  University  of  Glasgow  before 
a  breach  with  Lauderdale  made  it  desirable  for  him  to  cross 
the  border.  In  England,  however,  the  more  important  part  of 
his  life  was  passed,  and  his  writings  are  indistinguishable  in 
style  and  diction  from  those  of  contemporary  Englishmen. 
There  is  nothing  in  them  to  remind  us  of  his  northern  origin 
and  breeding.  It  will,  therefore,  be  enough  merely  to  mention 
his  Vindication  of  the  Authority,  Constitution  and  Laws  of  the 
Church  and  State  in  Scotland  (1672),  his  History  of  the  Refor- 
mation (1679—81—1714),  and  his  posthumous  History  of  My  Own 
Time  (1724-34)  ;  and  to  add  a  particular  commendation  of 
Some  Passages  of  the  Life  and  Death  of  John,  Earl  of  Rochester 
(1681),  and  of  the  Life  and  Death  of  Sir  Matthew  Hale  (1682), 
a  couple  of  excellent  essays  in  the  art  of  compendious  bio- 
graphy. Two  much  more  lowly,  but  perhaps  more  amusing, 
historians,  must  on  no  account  be  left  unnoticed.  James 
Kirkton  (d.  1699),  minister  of  Mertoun,  was  one  of  those 
who  had  "seen  the  glory  of  the  former  Temple,"  or,  in  other 
words,  had  been  ordained  before  the  Restoration.  From  the 
date  of  that  event  down  to  1678  he  gives  us  the  Secret  and 
True  History  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,*  a  work  which  derives 
its  chief  attraction  not  from  the  originality  or  authenticity  of 
the  serious  information  it  imparts,  but  from  the  fact  that  it  is  a 
wonderful  repository  of  demonology.  The  same  observation 
may  be  made  about  the  Memorialls2  of  Robert  Law  (d.  1689), 
though  Law  had  perhaps  more  of  a  literary  gift  than  Kirkton. 
His  manner  of  introducing  moral  reflections  or  memoranda  is 

1  Ed.  Sharpe,  1817.  There  is  appended  to  this  ed.  an  Accouni  of  the 
murder  of  Archbishop  Sharp,  by  James  Russell,  in  Kettle,  Fife,  one  of  the 
murderers.  2  Ed.  Sharpe,  1818. 


296    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

extremely  ingenuous  and  quaint,  as  thus:  "The  new-made 
hangman  (for  the  former  hangman  was  executed  for  murder- 
ing a  creeple  blewgown,  supposing  to  get  money  off  him, 
covetousness  the  root  of  all  evil"). 

Our  list  of  ecclesiastical  historians  must  close  with  the 
names  of  Patrick  Walker  and  Robert  Wodrow.  Of  Patrick 
Walker  (166-?  1745)  little  that  is  certain  is  known,  but  he 
seems  to  be  definitively  cleared  of  the  shocking  charge  of 
having  been  a  travelling  packman  or  pedlar.  His  Lives  l  of 
Peden  (1724),  Semple,  Welwood,  and  Cameron  (1727),  and 
Cargill  and  Smith  (1732),  enjoyed  at  one  time  great,  and  not 
wholly  undeserved,  popularity.  Walker  is  the  possessor  of  a 
homely  and  vigorous  style,  and  reminds  one  at  times  of  an 
inferior  Bunyan.  His  dialogue  is  often  vivacious,  and  what  is 
perhaps  his  most  famous  episode — the  shooting  of  John  Brown 
— is  recounted,  as  Sir  Walter  Scott  justly  enough  says,  "with 
great  simplicity  and  effect,"  though  whether  with  accuracy  or 
not  is  another  matter.  Here  is  a  passage  which  will  show 
that,  whatever  may  be  his  faults,  Walker  does  not  err  by  any 
affectation  of  gracefulness  or  gentility  : — 

"  All  know  that  a  fleece  went  off  in  the  year  1712  to  the  embracing 
of  that  bundle  of  unhappy  oaths,  flowing  from  that  same  poisonable 
fountain  of  Erastianism,  and  the  prelatical  hierarchy  (both  abjured 
by  solemn  oaths  before  the  Lord)  that  the  indulgence  flowed  from. 
Many,  tho'  they  refused  them  in  the  1712,  yet  were  gaping  after 
them,  some  of  which  could  have  thrust  down  the  cow  (to  wit,  that 
bundle  of  oaths)  but  the  tail  stuck  in  their  throats  (viz.  of  taking 
these  oaths  '  heartily  and  willingly ')  ;  who,  very  Balaam-like,  with 
bocking  and  gapping,  with  upstretched  and  outstretched  necks  and 
watry  eyes,  with  their  wives  and  other  pretended  friends  by  unhappy 
advices  chapping  hard  upon  their  backs  to  help  them  down  with  the 
tail ;  and  when  they  got  all  over  they  went  off  in  two's  and  three's 


1  They  were  collected  under  the  name  of  Biograpliia  Presbyteriana, 
Edin.,  1837,  and  again,  under  the  name  of  Six  Saints  of  the  Covenant, 
ed.  Hay  Fleming,  1901. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         297 

at  different  times  (some  of  whose  names  I  could  mention)  like 
persons  ashamed,  doing  an  ill  turn,  not  heartily  and  willingly  as 
they  all  swear  at  the  end  of  these  oaths  ;  and  then,  in  the  1719,  there 
was  a  softning,  souplhig,  sweetning  oil,  composed  and  made  up  by 
the  cunning  art  of  carnal  wit  and  state-policy ;  then  all  went  over 
with  ease,  and  yet  nothing  but  an  old  tout  in  a  new  horn." — Walker, 
Life  of  Cameron,  Six  Saints,  ut  sup.,  vol.  i.  p.  222. 

Apart  from  style,  the  inestimable  value  of  Walker's  Lives 
consists  in  the  appalling,  because  unconscious,  expost  they 
make  of  the  later  Covenanters.  We  may  disregard,  if  we 
please,  lampoons  like  The  Scotch  Presbyterian  Eloquence  (1692), 
though  its  substantial  truth  is  attested  by  the  storm  of  indigna- 
tion it  aroused.  We  may  smile  at  the  injudicious  partisanship 
of  Mark  Napier,  that — 

"  fiery  ettercap,  a  fractious  chiel, 
As  het  as  ginger,  and  as  stieve  as  steel." 

But  we  cannot  ignore  Walker,  the  enthusiastic  admirer  of 
the  Saints.  It  is  to  him  we  must  repair  if  we  would  learn 
the  worst  of  the  "  persecuted  "  remnant.  And  what  a  worst 
it  is!  More  like  "Satan's  invisible  world  discovered"  than 
anything  else.  For  those  "  old,  exercised,  singular,  self-denied, 
tender,  Christians  "  might  indeed  do  credit  to  a  pugnacious  and 
crazy  religion,  whose  main  principle  of  conduct  was  to  indulge 
the  passion  of  revenge  ;  but,  regard  being  had  to  the  New 
Testament,  the  Covenanters  are  indeed  the  most  "  singular  " 
Christians  that  ever  were.  The  a  per  se  of  singularity  is 
godly  Mr.  Alexander  Peden,  who  would  have  made  a  model 
Mohammedan,  though  the  statement  must  be  qualified  with  an 
apology  to  the  Prophet.  Mr.  Peden  was  never  contradicted 
or  opposed  by  any  one  without  prophesying  that  the  death 
of  his  opponent  or  contradictor  should  be  "both  sudden  and 
surprising "  :  which  of  course  it  always  proved  to  be.  But 
he  reaches  his  very  highest  point  in  the  following  speech, 
delivered  to  a  humble  follower  with  whom  he  had  been 


298     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

discussing  the  resurrection  of  the  just  :  "  And  then,  John,  you 
and  I  and  all  that  will  be  found  having  on  Christ's  righteousness, 
will  get  day  about  with  them  [the  "  malignants  "],  and  give  our 
hearty  assent  to  their  eternal  sentence  of  damnation." J 
It  would  be  unfair  to  lay  any  great  stress  on  Walker's  tales 
of  showers  of  bonnets,  hats,  guns  and  swords,  though  by  the 
time  at  which  he  was  writing  such  palpably  imbecile 
manifestations  of  divine  power  had  ceased  to  be  vouch- 
safed, or  had  ceased  to  be  widely  credited.  What  is  worth 
insisting  on  is  his  obvious  good  faith,  his  denseness,  his  in- 
sensibility to  the  significance  of  the  disclosures  he  was  making. 
Had  Charles  Kirkpatrick  Sharpe  edited  him  more  suo,  no  one 
could  have  been  surprised.  That  he  should  have  been  revived 
by  a  professed  admirer  of  the  Covenanters  is  indeed  astounding. 
For  the  gratification  of  confirmed  Walker-worshippers,  I  give 
this  short  passage,  in  taking  leave  of  him,  as  a  sort  of  manifesto 
of  his  views  : — 

"  O  for  the  sharp  sight  and  clear  eye,  distinct  and  impartial  pen 
of  our  leading  staters,  maintainers,  and  sealers  of  our  sworn-to 
and  sealed  testimony,  to  draw  up  and  set  in  clear  view,  a  full 
catalogue  of  Scotland's  sins  from  that  day  to  this  day ;  especially 
to  discover  the  sins,  snares,  and  defections  of  the  present  black 
infatuate  bargain  of  Union,  toleration,  and  patronages  ;  but 
especially  to  rip  up  and  lay  in  broad-band,  the  foul  moniplyes 
of  that  bundle  of  these  intricate,  implicate,  multifarious  and 
unnecessary  oaths  imposed  upon  this  nation  and  ministers  of  this 
Church,  by  the  authority  of  the  Lords  Spiritual  and  Temporal, 
with  their  foul,  cunning,  rotten  distinctions,  as  As's  and  Winch's, 
thereby  swearing  away  a  Presbyterian  King  from  the  throne  of 
Britain,  and  submission  to  Erastianism  and  to  the  height  of  the 
usurped  power  of  abjured  Prelatical  Hierarchy;  being  imposed, 
by  their  authority,  upon  the  ministers  of  this  Church,  and  that 
as  they  are  ministers,  without  their  consent,  under  the  same  penalty 
with  civil  officers  in  State  and  Army,  who  have  their  commissions 
and  benefices  from  them  :  whereas  ministers  of  the  gospel  hold 
neither  of  them ;  yet  without  submission  to  these  unhappy 


1  Ed.  1901,  ut  sup.,  vol.  i.  p.  64. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         299 

encrochments  to  be  deprived  of  both  office  and  benefice  ;  contrair 
to  an  express  act  and  declaration  of  the  General  Assembly  in  the 
year  1648  against  all  new  oaths  and  bonds  in  the  common  cause, 
imposed  without  the  consent  of  the  Church,  which  they  looked 
upon  as  a  snare  to  the  people  of  God,  to  involve  them  in  guiltiness, 
and  to  draw  them  from  their  former  principles  and  vows  in  the 
Solemn  League  and  Covenant."  r 

Robert  Wodrow  (1679-1734)  is  probably  the  most  in- 
dustrious collector  of  facts  and  documents,  and  the  most 
voluminous  and  discursive  writer,  among  the  historians  of 
Scotland.  His  papers  are  to  be  found  in  the  Advocates' 
Library  in  Edinburgh  and  in  the  University  Library  of 
Glasgow.  Those  in  the  former  are  very  extensive  and  are 
now  in  the  act  of  being  catalogued  ;  those  in  the  latter  are 
estimated,  on  a  rough  calculation,  to  run  to  about  8,000  small 
quarto  pages,  of  which  perhaps  seven-eighths  have  never  been 
printed.2  His  published  works  embrace  The  History  of  the 
Sufferings  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  from  the  Restoration  to  the 
Revolution  (1721-22)3  ;  certain  Biographical  Collections  relating 
to  Churchmen  connected  with  the  North  of  Scotland  4  ;  a 
selection  from  his  Correspondence  5  ;  and  Analecta,  or  materials 
for  a  history  of  remarkable  providences.6 

Wodrow  was  an  enthusiastic  supporter  of  the  "  glorious 
and  never-to-be-forgotten  revolution,"  though  he  lived  to  see 
most  melancholy  defections  in  the  Church  at  a  later  date. 
He  complains  in  1725  that  Mr.  Wishart's  helpers  at  the 
Communion,  and  Mr.  Wishart  himself,  preached  the  dangerous 
doctrine  that  the  chief  end  of  religion  is  to  promote  holiness,  or 
the  duties  we  owe  to  one  another  as  members  of  a  society  ; 
while  the  sacraments  are  principally  to  be  regarded  as  helping  on 
these.  "  No  wonder,"  he  exclaims  indignantly,  "  no  wonder 

1  Preface  to  Life  ofPeden.    Ed.  1901,  p.  8. 

2  I  am  indebted  for  these  figures  to  the  University  Librarian,  through 
the  good  offices  Rev.  Professor  Cooper,  D.D. 

3  Ed.  Burns,  4  vols.,  Glasgow,  1829. 

4  Ed.  Lippe,  New  Spalding  Club,  1890. 

s  Wodrow  Soc.,  1842-43.  6  Maitland  Club,  4  vols.,  1842. 


300    LITERARY  HISTORY   OF  SCOTLAND 

these  things  make  noise  and  grumblings."  And  he  adds, 
menacingly,  "  Woe  to  them  by  whom  offences  do  come  !  "  J 
When  it  is  added  that  he  was  as  credulous  as  Walker,  it  may 
well  be  believed  that  "  malignants  "  fare  uncommonly  ill  at  his 
hands.  No  story  to  their  discredit  is  too  improbable  to  be 
received  by  him  with  an  eager  welcome,  and  of  anything  like 
a  critical  method  he  is  absolutely  innocent.  Yet  there  is  a 
measure  of  candour  and  simplicity  about  him  which  engages 
our  interest  and  almost  our  affection.  In  his  account  of 
Renwick's  trial,  for  instance,  he  "  gives  away "  that  sturdy 
rebel  most  effectually.  No  self-respecting  tribunal  could  have 
helped  sending  him  to  the  gallows  after  his  frank  avowal  of 
treason.  Not  that  Wodrow  is  by  any  means  a  fool.  He 
can  see  a  point  that  tells  in  his  favour  as  clearly  as  any  man, 
and  it  is  with  unconcealed  glee  that  he  notes  how,  after  the  re- 
establishment  of  episcopacy  in  1661,  the  clergy,  most  of  whom 
were  in  Presbyterian  orders,  were  not  compelled  to  undergo  re- 
ordination  by  a  Bishop,  though  the  new  Bishops  (disconform 
to  the  precedent  of  1610)  had  been  forced  to  submit  to  that 
ceremony  in  London.  He  has,  moreover,  a  shrewd  vein  of 
humour,  and  his  vignettes  of  these  same  prelates,  if  not  exactly 
marked  by  an  "  over-extensive  charity,"  are  extremely  cleverly 
executed.  Here  are  a  few  of  them  : — 

"  Mr.  Andrew  Fairfoul  got  the  archbishopric  of  Glasgow  ;  a  man 
of  some  learning  and  neat  expression,  but  never  taken  to  be 
either  serious  or  sincere.  He  had  been  minister  first  at  Leith, 
and  at  this  time  was  at  Dunse,  and  in  that  country  there  was 
no  small  talking  of  his  intrigues  with  a  lady  who  shall  be  nameless  ; 
but  death  cut  him  off  in  little  more  than  a  year  after  his  promotion 
as  will  be  noticed  afterwards. 

"  Mr.  George  Wischart  is  placed  at  the  see  of  Edinburgh.  He  had 
been  laid  under  Church  censure  by  the  old  covenanters,  about  the 
time  of  the  encampment  at  Dunselaw,  in  the  year  1639,  and  this 
probably  recommended  him  now.  This  man  could  not  refrain 


1  Analccta,  vol.  iii.  p.  240. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         301 

from  profane  swearing  even  upon  the  street  of  Edinburgh  ;  and  he 
was  a  known  drunkard.  He  published  somewhat  in  divinity ;  but 
then,  as  I  find  it  remarked  by  a  very  good  hand,  his  lascivious 
poems,  which,  compared  with  the  most  luscious  parts  of  Ovid, 
DC  arte  amandi,  are  modest,1  gave  scandal  to  all  the  world. 

"  Mr.  Robert  Wallace,  minister  at  Barnwell  in  the  shire  of  Ayr, 
famous  for  his  large  stomach,  got  the  bishopric  of  the  Isles, 
though  he  understood  not  one  word  of  the  language  of  the  natives. 
He  was  a  relation  of  the  Chancellor's  and  that  was  enough. 

"  Mr.  David  Fletcher,  minister  at  Melross,  a  remarkable 
worldling,  was  named  for  the  bishopric  of  Argyle  :  I  doubt  if  he 
understood  the  Irish  language  either.  Melross  was  a  good  stipend, 
and  he  continued  a  while  preaching  there,  and  because  of  his 
preaching  there  he  boasted  of  his  diligence  beyond  the  rest  of  his 
brethren,  who,  it  must  be  owned,  for  the  most  part  preached  little 
or  none ;  meanwhile,  I  do  not  hear  any  of  them,  save  he,  took 
two  stipends. 

"  Mr.  Murdoch  Mackenzie,  minister  at  Elgin,  was  placed  at 
Murray.  While  a  minister,  he  was  famous  for  searching  people's 
kitchens  on  Christmas  Day  for  the  superstitious  goose,  telling  them, 
that  the  feathers  of  them  would  rise  up  in  judgment  against  them 
one  day ;  and  when  a  bishop,  as  famous  for  affecting  always  to 
fall  a  preaching  upon  the  deceitfulness  of  riches,  while  he  was 
drawing  the  money  over  the  board  to  him. 

"  Mr.  Robert  Leigh  ton,  once  minister  of  Newbottle,  and  at  this 
time  principal  of  the  College  of  Edinburgh,  son  to  Mr.  Leighton  in 
England,  the  author  of  '  Zion's  plea  against  Prelacy,'  who  was  so 
severely  handled  by  the  prelates  there,  made  choice  of  the  small 
bishopric  of  Dunblane,  to  evidence  his  abstractedness  from  the 
world.  His  character  was  by  far  the  best  of  any  of  the  bishops 
now  set  up  :  and  to  give  him  his  due,  he  was  a  man  of  very 
considerable  learning,  an  excellent  utterance,  and  of  a  grave  and 
abstracted  conversation.  He  was  reckoned  devout,  and  an  enemy 
to  persecution,  and  professed  a  great  deal  of  meekness  and 
humility.  By  many  he  was  judged  void  of  any  doctrinal  principle, 
and  his  close  correspondence  with  some  of  his  relations  at  Doway 
in  popish  orders,  made  him  suspected  as  very  much  indifferent  as 
to  all  professions  which  bear  the  name  of  Christian.  He  was 
much  taken  with  some  of  the  Popish  mystic  writers,  and  indeed 
a  latitudinarian,  and  of  an  over  extensive  charity.  His  writings 

1  Sic.  The  worthy  minister  obviously  means  to  say  "  compared  with 
which,"  &c. 


302     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

published  since  the  revolution,  evidence  his  abilities,  and  that  he 
was  very  much  superior  to  his  fellows." 

The  Analecta,  which  were  not  designed  for  publication  in 
their  present  shape,  contain  the  cream  of  his  work,  and  are 
most  instructive  as  to  the  manners  and  modes  of  thought 
which  prevailed  in  Wodrow's  day.  Few  books  of  the  kind 
have  in  store  a  more  ample  reward  for  him  who  knows  how  to 
dip  judiciously.  I  cannot  refrain  from  quoting  once  again  the 
famous  tale  of  the  divinity  student  and  Mr.  Robert  Blair 
(supra^  p.  291),  in  which  the  author's  turn  for  story-telling  is 
displayed  to  great  advantage,  and  which  must  certainly  have 
been  known  to  the  author  of  the  "Justified  Sinner  (infra,  p.  531). 

"  When  Mr.  Robert  Blair  was  minister  of  St.  Andrews,  there 
was  a  youth  who  applied  to  that  Presbytery  to  be  admitted  to 
trials.  Though  he  was  very  unfit,  the  Presbytery  appoints  him 
a  text ;  and  after  he  had  been  at  all  the  pains  he  could  in 
consulting  help,  yet  he  got  nothing  done,  so  that  he  turned  very 
melancholy ;  and  one  day  as  he  was  walking  all  alone  in  a  remote 
place  from  St.  Andrews,  there  came  up  to  him  a  stranger  in  habit 
like  a  minister,  with  black  coat  and  band,  and  who  addressed  the 
youth  very  courteously ;  and  presently  falls  into  discourse  with 
him  after  this  manner  :  '  Sir,  you  are  but  a  young  man,  and  yet 
appear  to  be  very  melancholy ;  pray,  why  so  pensive  ?  May  I 
presume  to  enquire  what  it  is  that  troubles  you  ? '  He  answered, 
'  It's  to  no  purpose  to  communicate  my  mind  to  you,  seeing  you 
cannot  help  me  !'  '  How  know  you  that  ?  Pray  let  me  know  the 
cause  of  your  pressure.'  Says  the  youth,  '  I  have  got  a  text 
from  the  Presbytery.  I  cannot  for  my  life  compose  a  discourse 
on  it,  so  I  shall  be  affronted.'  The  stranger  replied,  'Sir,  I  am  a 
Minister,  let  me  hear  the  text.'  He  told  him.  '  O  !  then  I  have 
ane  excellent  sermon  on  that  text  here  in  my  pocket,  which 
you  may  peruse  and  commit  to  your  memory.  I  engage  after 
you  have  delivered  it  before  the  Presbytery  you  shall  be  greatly 
approven  and  applauded.'  So  pulls  it  out  and  gives  it  him,  which 
he  received  very  thankfully.  Then  says  the  stranger,  '  As  I  have 
obliged  you  now,  Sir,  so  you  will  oblige  me  again  in  doing  me 


'*  History,  bk.  ii.,  ch.  i.  ed.  cit,  vol.  i.  p.  236, 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         303 

any  piece  of  kindness  or  service  when  my  business  requires  it." 
Which  the  youth  promises.  '  But,  Sir/  says  the  stranger,  '  you 
and  I  are  strangers,  and,  therefore,  I  would  require  of  you  a 
written  promise,  subscribed  with  your  hand,  in  case  you  forget 
the  favour  which  I  have  done  you.'  Which  he  granted  likewise, 
and  delivered  it  to  him  subscribed  with  his  blood.  And  thus  they 
parted. 

"  Upon  the  Presbytery  day  the  youth  delivered  ane  excellent 
sermon  upon  the  text  appointed  him,  which  pleased  and  amazed 
the  Presbytery  to  a  degree  ;  only  Mr.  Blair  smelt  out  something 
which  made  him  call  the  youth  aside  to  a  corner  of  the  church, 
and  thus  he  began  with  him  :  '  Sir,  you  have  delivered  a  neat 
sermon,  every  way  well  pointed.  The  matter  was  profound,  or 
rather  sublime,  your  style  was  fine  and  your  method  clear  ;  and  no 
doubt  young  men  at  the  beginning  must  make  use  of  helps  which 
I  doubt  not  but  you  have  done.'  [By  artful  cross-examination  Mr. 
Blair  then  elicits  the  facts  of  the  interview  with  the  mysterious 
stranger,  and  having  so  done]  'with  ane  awful  seriousness 
appearing  in  his  countenance,  began  to  tell  the  youth  his  hazard, 
and  that  the  man  whom  he  took  for  a  Minister  was  the  Divel,  who 
had  trepanned  him  and  brought  him  into  his  net."  [Mr.  Blair 
next  tells  the  story  to  the  Presbytery,  who  resolve  to  meet  next 
day  in  one  of  the  most  retired  churches  within  the  bounds,  "  taking 
the  youth  alongst  with  them."]  "  Which  was  done,  and  after 
the  ministers  had  prayed  all  of  them  round,  except  Mr.  Blair,  who 
prayed  last,  in  the  time  of  his  prayer,  there  came  a  violent  rushing 
of  wind  upon  the  Church,  so  great  that  they  thought  the  Church 
should  have  fallen  down  about  their  ears,  and  with  that  the  youth's 
paper  and  covenant  droops  down  from  the  roof  of  the  Church 
among  the  ministers  !  I  heard  no  more  of  the  story.  My  author 
is  Mr.  J.  G.  formerly  mentioned."  ' 

Compared  with  the  genuine  Wodrow,  subsequent  imitators 
like  John  Howie  of  Lochgoin2  (1735-93),  though  extravagant 
and  absurd  enough,  are  dull  and  savourless,  for  all  their 
desperate  efforts  to  grind  out  the  old  tune. 

One    great    feature    in    the    Scottish  society  of  the  seven- 

1  Analecta,  vol.  i.  p.  102. 

2  Author  of  Scots  Worthies  (1775  and  1781),  ed.  Carslaw,  Edin.,  1870.     It 
is  significant  that  the  modern  editor  omits   an  appendix  containing  an 
account  of  the  wicked  lives  and  miserable  deaths  of  some  of  the  most 
notable  apostates  and  persecutors. 


304    LITERARY  HISTORY   OF  SCOTLAND 

teenth  century  is  the  entire  absence  ot  a  literary  class  as  it 
existed  even  then  in  London — a  class  whose  prime  business 
was  writing  and  which  depended  for  a  living  upon  the  earn- 
ings of  the  pen.  Differentiation  of  functions  in  Scotland  had 
not  yet  been  carried  so  far.  Men  were  divines,  or  lawyers, 
or  doctors,  or  country  gentlemen,  or  courtiers  ;  they  might 
also  be  men  of  letters,  but  literature  was  not  their  calling. 
Thus  there  was  a  remarkable  diffusion  of  general  culture 
among  the  learned  professions.  The  Universities  amply 
justified  their  existence.  At  no  time  have  they  been  more 
prolific  of  really  erudite  men  ;  and  the  University  of  Aber- 
deen, in  particular,  has  never  boasted  so  many  distin- 
guished sons.  Nor  was  it  only  at  home  that  the  high 
standard  set  by  these  institutions  was  recognised  and  appre- 
ciated. Scholars  from  Scotland  wandered  over  most  of  Europe, 
and  found  appropriate  havens  for  themselves  in  the  hospitable 
Universities  of  the  Continent.1  Such  an  one  perhaps  was 
William  Bellenden  (1566  ?-i 630  ?),  Professor  of  Humanity  in 
the  University  of  Paris,  whose  curious  mosaics  from  the  works 
of  Cicero  2  are  surmised  to  have  been  pillaged  to  good  purpose, 
nearly  a  century  and  a  half  later,  by  Conyers  Middleton. 
Another  was  John  Cameron  (1580-1626),  who  spent  the 
greater  part  of  his  life  as  a  teacher  of  philosophy  in  France. 
But  to  enumerate  all  the  Scotsmen  who  adorned  their  Sparta 
by  their  attainments  in  the  varied  arts  of  peace  is  neither  pos- 
sible nor  necessary  :  not  possible,  for  their  name  was  Legion  ; 
not  necessary,  for  they  commonly  wrote  in  Latin.  Of  all  the 
professions,  it  was  perhaps  that  of  medicine  which  covered  itself 
with  the  greatest  glory,  next  to  that  of  divinity.  One 
admirable  illustration  of  the  man  of  science  we  have  seen 
in  Dr.  Pitcairne,  though  it  is  not  that  side  of  his  achievement 

1  See  on  this  point  Burton,  The  Scot  Abroad,  Edin.,  1864,  new  ed.  1881  ; 
and  Fischer,  The  Scots  in  Germany,  Edin.,  1902. 

2  Cicerouis  Princcps,   Paris,    1608  ;    Ciccronis  Consul,   Paris,    1612  ;   DC 
tribns  luminibus,  Paris,  1633. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         305 

which  we  considered.  Other  specimens  are  Dr.  Robert 
Baron  (1593  •?~I^39)  >  Dr.  Robert  Morison  (1620-83),  wnorn 
Charles  II.  appointed  to  be  Professor  of  Botany  at  Oxford  ; 
and,  best  of  all,  Sir  Robert  Sibbald  ( 1641-1722),  the  founder  of 
the  Royal  College  of  Physicians,  Edinburgh,  in  1681,  and 
highly  distinguished  alike  as  a  botanist,  a  naturalist,  and  an 
antiquarian.  He  wrote  largely  on  the  Roman  remains  in 
Scotland,  commemorated  Sir  James  Balfour  in  a  valuable 
Latin  monograph,  composed  a  History^  Ancient  and  Modern^  of 
the  Sheriffdoms  of  Fife  and  Kinross  (1710),  and  left  behind  him 
a  library,  of  which  the  catalogue  (1722)  is  extremely  interesting, 
and  an  Autobiography^  which  should  not  lightly  be  exchanged 
for  any  of  his  more  learned  writings. 

But  no  better  instances  could  be  offered  of  the  "un- 
professional "  character  of  Scottish  literature,  so  to  speak,  than 
the  two  illustrious  men  with  some  notice  of  whom  this 
long  chapter  must  be  brought  to  a  conclusion.  Sir  George 
Mackenzie,  of  Rosehaugh  2  (1636-91),  the  founder  of  the 
Advocates'  Library,  was  a  man  of  the  highest  ability  and 
character,  though  the  popular  voice  has  most  unfairly  affixed 
to  his  name  the  epithet  "bloody."  He  was,  indeed,  a  strong 
supporter  of  the  Royal  prerogative,  but  there  is  no  evidence 
that  he  ever  took  undue  advantage  as  public  prosecutor  of  men 
brought  to  the  bar  for  a  crime  which  they  scarcely  troubled 
themselves  to  deny.  The  list  of  his  writings  is  a  striking 
testimony  to  the  versatility  of  his  talents.  What  his  "serious 
romance,"  Aretina  (1660),  may  be  like,  I  have  had  no  oppor- 
tunity of  judging,  and  am  content  to  rest  satisfied  with  his 
editor's  verdict,  that  it  is  "  a  very  bright  specimen  of  a  gay  and 
exuberant  genius."  Of  his  poetry  I  give  a  few  lines  ;  which 
appear  to  show  that  he  by  no  means  studied  to  avoid  conceits. 
The  piece  is  entitled  Our  Saviour's  Picture. 

1  The    Autobiography   will    be  found  in    Maidment's   Analecta    Scotic 
(2  vols.,  Ediu.,   1834-37),  vol.   i.  p.   126. 
3  Works,  2  vols.,  Edin.,  1716-22. 

U 


306     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

"  Our  Saviour  there  so  living  seems  to  be, 
He  Calvin  could  oblige  to  bow  his  knee  ; 
The  painter  cut  so  deep  His  bleeding  wounds, 
That  art  and  grief  both  please  us  and  confounds  : 
Yet,  Lord,  when  I  these  wounds  thus  bleeding  see 
I  must  conclude  they  bleed  at  sight  of  me ; 
I  in  Thy  death  o'er-act  this  fatal  part 
Who  pierc'd  Thy  side,  for  I  do  pierce  Thy  heart."  l 

His  ethical  writings  include  the  Re/igio  Stoici  (1663),  a 
Moral  Essay  upon  Solitude  (1665),  Moral  Gallantry  (1667), 
designed  to  prove  that  the  point  of  honour  "  obliges  men  to  be 
virtuous,  and  that  there  is  nothing  so  mean  (or  so  unworthy  or 
a  gentleman)  as  vice,"  and  the  Moral  History  of  Frugality 
(1691).  His  political  writings  embrace  the  Jus  Regium  (1684), 
and  a  Vindication  of  the  Government  of  Charles  II.  (1691).  His 
treatise  on  Heraldry  will  probably  be  admitted  to  be  of  less 
moment  than  his  posthumous  Memoirs  of  the  Affairs  of  Scotland 
from  the  Restoration*  which  are  of  considerable  utility  to  the 
historian.  Perhaps,  after  all,  his  profession  occupied  most  of 
his  thoughts.  He  was  not  ashamed  of  what  he  called 
"  the  idiom  of  my  trade,"  and  it  is  to  Mackenzie  the  advocate 
that  we  owe  the  treatise  on  the  Laws  and  Customs  of  Scot  la  na 
in  matters  Criminal  (1678),  the  Observations  (1686),  a  running 
commentary  on  the  statute-law  of  Scotland,  and  the  Institutions 
(1684),  whose  authority  would  doubtless  stand  higher,  had  they 
not  been  thrown  into  the  shade  by  the  immortal  Institutions  of 
the  Law  of  Scotland  3  (1681),  of  his  political  opponent,  James 
Dalrymple,  Viscount  Stair  4  (1619-95).  Stair  has,  however, 
been  forgotten  as  a  vindicator  of  the  Divine  Perfections  (1695). 

Mackenzie  has  little  that  is  characteristically  Scotch  in  his 
style  or  language,  and  it  seems  probable  that,  as  he  himself 
bears  witness,  the  language  of  the  greater  nobility  of  Scotland 

1  Caelia's  Country  House  and  Closet.     By  Sir  George  Mackenzie 
apud  Watson.     Part  ii.  p.  71. 

2  Edin.,  1821.  3  Ed.  More,  2  vols.,  1832. 
*  Memoir,  by  AL.  J.  G.  Mackay,  Edin.,  1873. 


30? 

and  of  those  in  high  places  was  not  marked  off  by  any  great 
differences  from  that  of  Whitehall.  Yet  he  was  quite  prepared 
to  defend  the  peculiarities  of  Scottish  speech,  as  the  following 
extract  from  the  essay  on  forensic  eloquence  prefixed  to  his 
'Pleadings  (1673)  will  show  : — 

"  It  may  seem  a  paradox  to  others,  but  to  me  it  appears  un- 
deniable, that  the  Scottish  idiom  of  the  British  tongue  is  more  fit 
for  pleading  than  either  the  English  idiom  or  the  French  tongue  ; 
for  certainly  a  pleader  must  use  a  brisk,  smart,  and  quick  way  of 
speaking  ;  whereas  the  English,  who  are  a  grave  nation,  use  a  too 
slow  and  grave  pronunciation,  and  the  French  a  too  soft  and 
effeminate  one.  And  therefore,  I  think  the  English  is  fit  for 
haranguing,  the  French  for  complimenting,  and  the  Scots  for  plead- 
ing. Our  pronunciation  is  like  ourselves,  fiery,  abrupt,  sprightly, 
and  bold  ;  their  greatest  wits  being  employed  at  Court,  have  indeed 
enriched  very  much  their  language  as  to  conversation  ;  but  all  ours 
bending  themselves  to  study  the  law,  the  chief  science  in  repute 
with  us,  hath  much  smoothed  our  language  as  to  pleading  :  And 
when  I  compare  our  law  with  the  law  of  England,  I  perceive  that 
our  law  favours  more  pleading  than  theirs  does  ;  for  their  statutes 
and  decisions  are  so  full  and  authoritative,  that  scarce  any  case 
admits  pleading,  but  (like  a  hare  killed  in  the  seat)  'tis  immediately 
surprised  by  a  decision  or  statute.  Nor  can  I  enough  admire  why 
some  of  the  wanton  English  undervalue  so  much  our  idiom,  since 
that  of  our  gentry  differs  little  from  theirs ;  nor  do  our  commons 
speak  so  rudely  as  these  of  Yorkshire.  As  to  the  words  wherein  the 
difference  lies,  ours  are  for  the  most  part  old  French  words,  bor- 
rowed during  the  old  league  betwixt  our  nations,  as  cannel  for 
cinnamon,  and  servit  for  napkin,  and  a  thousand  of  the  like  stamp  ; 
and  if  the  French  tongue  be  at  least  equal  to  the  English,  I  see  not 
why  ours  should  be  worse  than  it.  Sometimes  also  our  fiery 
temper  has  made  us,  for  haste,  express  several  words  into  one,  as 
stour  for  dust  in  motion;  sturdy  for  an  extraordinary  giddiness,  &c. 
But  generally  words  significant  ex  institute  ;  and  therefore  one  word 
is  hardly  better  than  another  :  their  language  is  invented  by  court- 
iers, and  may  be  softer,  but  ours  by  learned  men  and  men  of 
business,  and  so  must  be  more  massy  and  significant ;  and  for  our 
pronunciation,  beside  what  I  said  formerly  of  its  being  more  fitted 
to  the  complexion  of  our  people  than  the  English  accent  is,  I  cannot 
but  remember  them,  that  the  Scots  are  thought  the  nation  under 
heaven  who  do  with  most  ease  learn  to  pronounce  best  the  French, 


Spanish,  and  other  foreign  languages,  and  all  nations  acknowledge 
that  they  speak  the  Latin  with  the  most  intelligible  accent ;  for 
which  no  other  reason  can  be  given,  but  that  our  accent  is  natural, 
and  has  nothing,  at  least  little,  in  it  that  is  peculiar.  I  say  not  this 
to  asperse  the  English,  they  are  a  nation  I  honour,  but  to  reprove 
the  petulancy  and  malice  of  some  amongst  them  who  think  they  do 
their  country  good  service  when  they  reproach  ours."  x 

The  whole  Essay  is  curious  and  instructive.  It  illustrates  the 
then  diverse  conventions  of  the  English  and  Scottish  bars,  and 
gives  a  hint  of  that  tradition  of  "  eloquence  "  which,  as  we 
shall  see,  operated  so  powerfully  in  the  prose  literature  of 
Scotland  during  the  succeeding  century. 

With  the  name  of  Andrew  Fletcher  of  Saltoun  (1655-1716) 
the  literary  history  of  Scotland  prior  to  the  Union  of  the 
Parliaments  comes  to  an  appropriate  termination.  Fletcher  is 
well  known  as  the  most  stalwart  opponent  of  that  momentous 
transaction.  But  there  is  nothing  distinctively  national — still 
less  "  nationalist " — in  his  style  of  composition.  He  is 
remarkable  because  of  the  freshness  and  vigour  of  intellect 
which,  in  middle  life,  he  brought  to  bear  upon  social  and 
political  problems  which  will  always  be  with  us.2  His  views 
may  remind  us  in  some  respects  of  Colonel  Newcome's,  and  in 
others  of  Cobbett's,  but  they  are  powerfully  advocated,  and 
carefully 'thought  out.  To  construct  a  coherent  political 
theory  or  system  out  of  them  might  be  difficult,  and  is,  at  all 
events,  a  task  which  cannot  be  attempted  .here.  We  can  only 
indicate  a  few  of  his  opinions  in  detail.  He  was  strongly 
opposed  to  a  standing  mercenary  army,  but  (quite  in  the  spirit 
of  the  old  Scots  Acts)  he  thought  that,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
two,  every  able-bodied  man  in  the  nation  should  begin  a 

1  From  the  preface  to  the  Pleadings. 

2  See  his  collected  Political  Works,  1737.     The  most  important  are  the 
Two  Discourses  Concerning  the  Affairs  of  Scotland  (1698).     For  the  cor- 
rect version  and  interpretation  of  his  celebrated  apophthegm  about  the 
ballads  and  the  laws  of  a  nation,  see  Chambers' s  Cyclopaedia  of  Literature, 
vol.  i.  (1901),  p.  828. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         309 

course  of  strict  military  training,  to  last  for  two  years.  He 
recognised  clearly  the  obstacle  then  presented  by  the  High- 
lands to  any  satisfactory  settlement  of  Scots  affairs,  and  he  had 
all  the  Lowlander's  dislike  of  Donald.  One  half  of  the  whole 
country,  he  complains,  is  possessed  "  by  a  people  who  are  all 
gentlemen  only  because  they  will  not  work  ;  and  who  in 
everything  are  more  contemptible  than  the  vilest  slaves,  except 
that  they  always  carry  arms,  because  for  the  most  part  they 
live  upon  robbery."  x  To  remedy  this  he  put  forward  a  most 
elaborate  scheme  for  the  agrarian  reorganisation  of  Scotland. 
His  most  startling  proposal  is  one  for  the  institution  of  a 
modified  and  restricted  type  of  slavery.  Perhaps  his  admira- 
tion of  the  Ancients  had  something  to  do  with  such  a  sugges- 
tion, of  the  daring  character  of  which  he  was  well  aware. 

"  I  doubt  not  that  what  I  have  said  will  meet,  not  only  with  all  the 
misconstruction  and  obloquy,  but  all  the  disdain,  fury,  and  outcries, 
of  which  either  ignorant  magistrates,  or  proud,  lazy,  and  miserable 
people  are  capable.  Would  I  bring  back  slavery  into  the  world  ? 
Shall  men  of  immortal  souls,  and  by  nature  equal  to  any,  be  sold  as 
beasts  ?  Shall  they  and  their  posterity  be  for  ever  subjected  to  the 
most  miserable  of  all  conditions  ;  the  inhuman  barbarity  of  masters, 
who  may  beat,  mutilate,  torture,  starve,  or  kill  so  great  a  number  of 
mankind  at  pleasure  ?  Shall  the  far  greater  part  of  the  common- 
wealth be  slaves,  not  that  the  rest  may  be  free  but  tyrants  over 
them  ?  With  what  face  can  we  oppose  the  tyranny  of  princes,  and 
recommend  such  opposition  as  the  highest  virtue,  if  we  make  our- 
selves tyrants  over  the  greatest  part  of  mankind  ?  Can  any  man 
from  whom  such  a  thing  has  once  escaped,  ever  offer  to  speak  for 
liberty  ?  But  they  must  pardon  me  if  I  tell  them,  that  I  regard  not 
names,  but  things  ;  and  that  the  misapplication  of  names  has  con- 
founded everything.  We  are  told  there  is  not  a  slave  in  France ; 
that  when  a  slave  sets  his  foot  upon  French  ground,  he  becomes 
immediately  free  :  and  I  say  that  there  is  not  a  freeman  in  France, 
because  the  King  takes  away  any  part  of  any  man's  property  at  his 
pleasure  ;  and  that,  let  him  do  what  he  will  to  any  man,  there  is  no 
remedy.  The  Turks  tell  us,  there  are  no  slaves  among  them, 
except  Jews,  Moors,  or  Christians  ;  and  who  is  there  who  knows 


1  Second  Disc.,  p.  150. 


310    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

not,  they  are  all  slaves  to  the  Grand  Seignior,  and  have  no  remedy 
against  his  will  ?  A  slave  properly  is  one  who  is  absolutely  sub- 
jected to  the  will  of  another  man  without  any  remedy  :  and  not  one 
that  is  only  subjected  under  certain  limitations,  and  upon  certain 
accounts  necessary  for  the  good  of  the  commonwealth,  though  such 
an  one  may  go  under  that  name.  And  the  confounding  these  two 
conditions  of  men  by  a  name  common  to  both  has,  in  my  opinion, 
been  none  of  the  least  hardships  put  upon  those  who  ought  to  be 
made  servants.  We  are  all  subjected  to  the  laws  :  and  the  easier 
or  harder  conditions  imposed  by  them  upon  the  several  ranks  of 
men  in  society  make  not  the  distinction  that  lies  between  a  freeman 
and  a  slave."  ' 

Whether  the  project  be  good  or  bad,  there  can  be  no  doubt, 
if  we  take  Fletcher's  word  for  it,  that  the  economical  circum- 
stances of  Scotland  at  the  time  justified  an  interested  observer 
in  casting  about  for  radical  measures  of  reform. 

"  There  are  at  this  day  in  Scotland  (besides  a  great  many  poor 
families  very  meanly  provided  for  by  the  church-boxes,  with  others 
who,  by  living  upon  bad  food,  fall  into  various  diseases)  two 
hundred  thousand  people  begging  from  door  to  door.  These  are 
not  only  no  way  advantageous,  but  a  very  grievous  burden  to  so 
poor  a  country.  And  though  the  number  of  them  be  perhaps 
double  to  what  it  was  formerly  by  reason  of  this  present  great 
distress,  yet  in  all  times  there  have  been  about  one  hundred 
thousand  of  those  vagabonds,  who  have  lived  without  any  regard  or 
subjection  either  to  the  laws  of  the  land,  or  even  those  of  God  or 
nature.  .  .  .  No  magistrate  could  ever  discover  or  be  informed, 
which  way  one  in  a  hundred  of  these  wretches  died,  or  that  ever 
they  were  baptised.  Many  murders  have  been  discovered  among 
them ;  and  they  are  not  only  a  most  unspeakable  oppression  to 
poor  tenants  (who,  if  they  give  not  bread  or  some  kind  of  provision 
to  perhaps  forty  such  villains  in  one  day,  are  sure  to  be  insulted  by 
them),  but  they  rob  many  poor  people  who  live  in  houses  distant 
from  any  neighbourhood.  In  years  of  plenty,  many  thousands  of 
them  meet  together  in  the  mountains,  where  they  feast  and  riot  for 
many  days  ;  and  at  country  weddings,  markets,  burials,  and  other 
the  like  publick  occasions,  they  are  to  be  seen,  both  men  and 
women,  perpetually  drunk,  cursing,  blaspheming,  and  fighting 
together. 

1  The  Second  Discourse,  &c.,  p.  130. 


THE   SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY         311 

"  These  are  such  outrageous  disorders  that  it  were  better  for  the 
nation  they  were  sold  to  the  Gallies  or  West-Indies,  than  that  they 
should  continue  any  longer  to  be  a  burden  and  curse  upon  us."  * 

It  is  a  singular  illustration  of  the  irony  of  human  affairs  that 
the  remedy  for  this  alarming  state  of  matters  should  have  been 
implicit  in  that  very  legislative  enactment  which  Fletcher 
did  his  utmost  to  defeat.  He  was  not  an  infallible  prophet  ; 
which  indeed  it  is  given  to  few  to  be.  But  whether  he  was 
right  or  wrong  in  his  opinions,  correct  or  mistaken  in  his 
forecasts,  he  is  well  worth  studying  both  for  the  independence 
of  the  views  which  he  presents,  and  for  the  uncompromising 
energy  with  which  he  asserts  them. 

1  From  The  Second  Discourse,  &c.,  p.  144. 


CHAPTER   VI 

THE    AUGUSTAN    AGE  :    PROSE 

WE  are  not  here  directly  concerned  with  the  political, 
economical,  and  social  consequences  of  the  sad  and  sorrowful 
Union.  Neither  the  inflammation  of  reckonings  nor  the 
diminished  size  of  pint  stoups  must  divert  our  attention  ;  and 
it  is  unnecessary  to  dwell  upon  the  risks  to  which  an  honest 
man  became  exposed  from  gaugers  and  excisemen  in  the 
innocent  act  of  fetching  a  bit  anker  of  brandy  from  Leith  to 
the  Lawnmarket.  We  may  note,  however,  incidentally  that 
the  Union  of  the  Parliaments  gave  the  critical  impulse  to  a 
movement  which  began  a  century  before  with  the  Union  of 
the  Crowns.  The  exodus  of  the  greater  Scottish  nobility  from 
the  Scottish  capital  went  on  apace,  so  that  early  in  the  nine- 
teenth century  Dr.  Peter  Morris  could  assure  his  correspon- 
dent that  "  there  is  scarcely  one  of  the  premiere  noblesse  that 
retains  even  the  appearance  of  supporting  a  house  in  Edin- 
burgh ;  and  by  far  the  greater  part  of  them  are  quite  as 
ignorant  of  it  as  of  any  other  provincial  town  in  the  island."  x 
After  1707,  professional  and  business  men  began  to  seek  in 
England,  and  particularly  in  London,  the  opening  for  their 
abilities  which  their  native  country  was  unable  to  afford. 
Both  in  the  West  end  of  the  town  and  in  the  City  there  was 

1  Peter's  Letters  to  his  Kinsfolk,  3  vols.  Edin.,  1819,  vol.  i.  p.  212. 

312 


THE  AUGUSTAN  AGE:  PROSE          313 

a  busy  and  influential  colony  of  Scots  doctors  towards  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  ;  among  them,  Cheyne, 
Clephane,  and  Armstrong.  Millar,  perhaps  the  leading 
publisher  of  his  age,  was  a  Scot,  and  so  were  Strahan  and 
Murray.  The  most  successful  literary  hacks  of  their  day, 
Smollett  and  Campbell,  came  from  beyond  the  Tweed.  Even 
at  the  bar,  the  competition  of  the  immigrants  became  really 
formidable.  The  outburst  of  hatred  against  everything  Scotch 
which  marked  the  decade  between  1760  and  1770  was  an 
expression  of  feelings  which  had  doubtless  been  smouldering 
for  many  years.  Hume  is  never  tired  of  railing  against  "  the 
factious  barbarians  of  London,  who  will  hate  me  because  I  am 
a  Scotsman  and  am  not  a  Whig,  and  despise  me  because  I  am 
a  man  of  letters."  I  But  an  impartial  observer  must  allow 
that  this  anti-Caledonian  rage,  however  discreditable,  was  a 
most  natural  emotion.  No  one  probably  will  maintain  that  a 
similar  invasion  of  Scotland  by  the  English  would  have  been 
received  by  the  natives  with  complacency  or  even  equanimity. 
What  is  really  remarkable  is  that  the  outburst  has  never  been 
repeated,  though  the  prosperity  of  the  Scot  abroad  has  in- 
creased by  leaps  and  bounds,  and  though  he  has  appropriated  a 
very  ample  share  of  the  common  heritage.2  No  more  striking 

1  Burton's   Life   and   Correspondence  of  David  Hume,   2  vols.    Edin., 
1846,  vol.  ii.  p.  290. 

2  The  most  familiar  manifestation  of  the  prejudice  against  the  Scots  is, 
of  course,  the  half-serious,  half-jocular  growl  of  Dr.  Johnson.     To  find  the 
sentiment  at  its  bitterest  we  must  repair  to  Churchill's  Prophecy  of  Famine, 
where  we  read  : — 

"  Jockey,  whose  manly  high-boned  cheeks  to  crown, 
With  freckles  spotted,  flamed  the  golden  down, 
With  meikle  art  could  on  the  bagpipes  play, 
E'en  from  the  rising  to  the  setting  day  ; 
Sawney  as  long  without  remorse  could  bawl 
Home's  madrigals  and  ditties  from  Fingal  : 
Oft  at  his  strains,  all  natural  though  rude, 
The  Highland  lass  forgot  her  want  of  food  ; 
And,  whilst  she  scratched  her  lover  into  rest, 
Sunk  pleased,  though  hungry,  on  her  Sawney's  breast." 


LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

testimony  could  be  offered  to  the  constitutional  good-nature 
and  generosity  of  the  English  people. 

The  most  important  result  of  the  Union  from  our  point  of 
view  is  the  complete  disappearance  of  the  Scottish  dialect  as  a 
vehicle  of  serious  prose,  and  as  the  medium  of  conversation 
among  the  educated  classes  of  the  community.  The  process 
of  extinction  has  naturally  been  more  gradual  as  regards  the 
spoken  than  as  regards  the  written  word,  but  it  has  been  none 
the  less  sure.  What  "  the  mail-coach  and  the  Berwick 
smacks  " x  have  left  undone  in  completing  the  work  of  consoli- 
dation has  been  achieved  by  the  railroad  and  the  locomotive. 
Scotticisms  and  provincialisms  may  be  met  with  in  abundance 
in  the  speech  of  the  trading,  mercantile,  and  professional 
classes  ;  but  the  old  Scottish  dialect  as  a  thing  of  worth  and 
honour  has  practically  disappeared.  Even  among  the  artisans 
and  the  peasantry  it  is  too  rarely  to  be  heard  in  its  native 
purity  and  vigour  ;  and  in  the  vicinity  of  large  towns  it  has 
been  deplorably  contaminated  by  the  odious  slang  of  the  music- 
hall  and  the  gutter. 

As  might  have  been  expected,  accent  and  intonation  long 
survived  vocabulary  and  idiom.  Dr.  Alexander  Carlyle — than 
whom  there  is  no  higher  authority  on  all  that  pertains  to  the 
social  life  of  Scotland  in  the  eighteenth  century — mentions 
that  his  aunt  from  London  taught  him  to  read  English  "  with 
just  pronunciation  and  a  very  tolerable  accent — an  accomplish- 
ment which  in  those  days  was  very  rare."  2  Principal  Robert- 
son, we  have  it  from  the  same  witness,  "spoke  broad  Scotch 
in  point  of  pronunciation  and  accent  or  tone,"  though  "  his 
was  the  language  of  literature  and  taste,  and  of  an  enlightened 
and  liberal  mind."  3  It  was  the  same  with  David  Hume,4 
though  his  intimate  friend,  Adam  Smith  (perhaps  as  the  result 
of  six  years  at  Oxford),  spoke  pure  and  correct  English  without 

1  Lockhart,  Life  of  Scott,  l  vol.,  Edin.,  1893,  p.  140. 

2  Autobiography,  Edin.,  1860,  p.  4. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  494.  4  Burton's  Hume,  vol.  ii.  p.  440. 


THE  AUGUSTAN  AGE:  PROSE          315 

any  appearance  of  constraint.1  On  the  other  hand,  Dr.  Hutton, 
the  celebrated  geologist,  employed  broad  Scotch  phrases  as 
well  as  "a  broad  Scotch  accent,  which  often  heightened  the 
humour  of  what  he  said."  2  As  a  set-off  to  him,  Dr.  Black,  no 
less  illustrious  in  chemistry  than  his  brother-savant  in  geology, 
"spoke  with  the  English  pronunciation,  with  punctilious 
accuracy  of  expression,  both  in  point  of  matter  and  manner.' 
But  the  sustained  effort  after  an  English  accent  came  later, 
and  an  association  formed  in  the  early  sixties  of  the  eighteenth 
century  by  a  number  of  influential  people  for  promoting  the  use 
of  the  English  language  by  means  of  a  teacher  qualified  to 
impart  the  true  English  pronunciation^  came  to  an  untimely 
end,  amid  the  ridicule  of  the  general.  Scott,  from  beginning  to 
end,  remained  "  broadly  Scotch  "  in  his  speech,  and  had  a  burr 
besides.4  His  conversation  as  reported  by  Lockhart  is  full  of 
racy  and  idiomatic  Scotch  expressions,  but  it  is  obvious  that 
he  used  them  always  in  inverted  commas,  so  to  speak. 5  His 
aunt  had  spoken  "  her  native  language  pure  and  undiluted, 
but  without  the  slightest  tincture  of  that  vulgarity  which  now 
seems  almost  unavoidable  in  the  oral  use  of  a  dialect  so  long 
banished  from  Courts."  6  All  the  authorities  are  agreed  as  to 

1  Rae,  Life  of  Smith,  p.  28.     Yet  Smith  now  and  then  lapses  into  a 
Scotticism,  c.g.  "machine"  =  vehicle.     (Theory  of  Moral  Sentiments,  ed. 
1853,  p.  260.) 

2  Scott,  Misc.  Prose  Works,  vol.  xix.  p.  334.     Dr.  Carlyle  thinks  that  the 
"  gross  mistake  "  of  supposing  the  Scotch  people  to  be  devoid  of  humour 
could  be  demonstrated  "  by  any  person  old  enough  to  remember  the  times 
when  the  Scottish    dialect   was  spoken  in  purity  in  the  low  country " 
(Autob.,  p.  222). 

3  So  late  as  1824,  the  original  prospectus  of  the  Edinburgh  Academy, 
in  which  Scott  took  so  warm  an  interest,  promises  an  English  master 
"  who  shall  have  a  pure  English  accent  ;  the  mere  circumstance  of  his 
being  born  within  the  boundary  of  England  not  to  be  considered  indis- 
pensable." 

4  Lockhart,  Life,  nt  sup.,  p.  25. 

5  The  unconscious  Scotticisms  in  his  writing  are  not  very  numerous,  or 
at  least  not  very  obtrusive.   But  he  certainly  speaks  in  a  letter  of  receiving 
a  thing  in  a  present,  and  in  The  Antiquary,  ch.  i.,  of  taking  out  a  ticket  for 
a  coach.  6  Lockhart,  Life,  p.  21. 


316    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

the  decadence  of  the  Scotch  spoken  early  in  the  last  century. 
"  Some  of  my  friends  assured  me,"  says  Dr.  Morris,  "  that 
nothing  could  be  more  marked  than  the  difference  between 
the  Scotch  of  those  who  learned  it  sixty  years  ago  and  that  of 
the  younger  generation."  *  Only  a  few  men  of  good  family, 
who  had  spent  their  early  years  in  the  society  of  ladies  and 
gentlemen  whose  only  language  was  Scotch,  retained  the  true 
elegance  of  the  antique  style  ;  and  their  "  pertinacious  adher- 
ence to  both  the  words  and  the  music  of  the  Doric  dialect " 
seemed  to  savour  of  affectation.2  To  the  Scotch  of  the 
younger  generation  there  clung  a  rich  flavour  of  the  servants' 
hall  or  the  stables.3 

The  most  active  agent  in  importing  the  English  accent,  or 
some  colourable  imitation  of  it,  was,  of  course,  Jeffrey,  whose 
pronunciation  is  on  all  hands  admitted  to  have  been  execrable. 
"  A  mixture  of  provincial  English,  with  undignified  Scotch, 
altogether  snappish  and  offensive,  and  which  would  be  quite 
sufficient  to  render  the  elocution  of  a  more  ordinary  man 
utterly  disgusting  "  ;  so  Lockhart  describes  it,  with  his  usual 
pungency .4  But  even  the  faithful  Cockburn  is  obliged  to 
give  Jeffrey  up  on  this  head,  and  to  admit  with  Lord  Holland 
that  while  he  had  lost  his  broad  Scotch  at  Oxford,  he  had  only 
gained  the  narrow  English.  "  It  would  have  been  better," 
judiciously  owns  the  biographer,  "if  he  had  merely  got  some 
of  the  grosser  matter  rubbed  off  his  vernacular  tongue,  and 
left  himself,  unencumbered  both  by  it  and  by  unattainable 
English,  to  his  own  respectable  Scotch,  refined  by  literature 
and  good  society,  and  used  plainly  and  naturally,  without 

1  Peter's  Letters,  vol.  ii.  p.  48.  3  Ibid. 

s  Ramsay  of  Ochtertyre  tells  the  same  story  in  a  letter  to  Currie, 
Sept.  n,  1799.  "I  am  old  enough,"  he  says,  "to  have  conversed  with 
Mr.  Spittal,  of  Leuchat,  a  scholar  and  a  man  of  fashion,  who  survived  all 
the  members  of  the  Union  Parliament,  in  which  he  had  a  seat.  His 
pronunciation  and  phraseology  differed  as  much  from  the  common 
dialect  as  the  language  of  St.  James's  from  that  of  Thames  Street  " 
(Currie,  Burns,  ed.  1800,  vol.  i.  p.  284). 

4  Peter's  Letters,  vol.  ii.  p.  60. 


THE  AUGUSTAN  AGE:  PROSE          317 

shame,  and  without  affected  exaggeration." I  Dis  aliter 
visurn ;  and  Jeffrey  has  proved  to  be  the  ancestor  of  a  nume- 
rous progeny,  who,  in  the  pulpit,  in  the  law  courts,  or  in 
private  life,  talk  a  mincing  and  quasi-genteel  lingo  of  their 
own  (the  sort  of  English  known  in  some  quarters  as  "  Princes 
Street  "  or  "  Kelvinside  "),  the  subtly  hideous  nuances  of  which 
not  the  most  elaborate  system  of  phonetic  spelling  yet  devised 
would  suffice  to  reproduce. 

If  the  better  part  of  a  century  was  required  to  drive  the 
national  dialect  from  the  conversation  of  the  educated  and 
well-to-do  classes,  it  received  much  shorter  shrift  as  a  means 
of  literary  expression.  The  years  immediately  succeeding  the 
Union  were  practically  barren  so  far  as  literature  was  con- 
cerned, but  the  generation  which  was  growing  up  to  win 
distinction  at  a  later  date  was  engaged  in  "making  itself" 
by  the  study  of  English  authors,  its  one  devouring  ambition 
being  to  write  English.  In  England  the  modern  prose  of 
Shaftesbury,  Addison,  and  Swift  had  supplanted  the  more 
cumbrous,  though  imposing,  machinery  by  which  men  had 
once  propelled  their  ideas  into  the  market-place ;  and  the 
prose  of  the  Spectator  was  separated  by  at  least  as  wide  a  chasm 
from  the  prose  of  Stair  as  from  the  prose  of  Dryden.  Con- 
scious of  the  peculiarities  and  disadvantages  of  their  native 
idiom,  and  animated  by  the  hope  of  appealing  to  the  public  of 
the  whole  island,  the  Scottish  philosophers,  historians,  and 
divines  of  the  future  spent  an  infinity  of  pains  in  imitating 
the  best  English  writers  of  their  age.  They  sought  to  rival 
the  elegance  and  grace  which  were  fashionable  in  England, 
and  to  adapt  their  genius  to  modern  methods  of  exposition 
and  argument.  No  man  was  more  solicitous  than  Hume  to 
be  thoroughly  English  in  style,  or  more  alive  to  the  dis- 
advantages attendant  in  public  life  upon  a  mode  of  speech 

1  Cockburn,  Life  of  Lord  Jeffrey,  2  vols.,  Edin.,  1852,  vol.  i.  p.  47. 
Francis  Horner  was  at  equal  pains  to  improve  his  speech  (Quartciiv 
Review,  vol.  Ixxii.  p.  113). 


3i8    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

which  had  necessarily  come  to  be  thought  provincial.  He 
compiled  a  list  of  Scotticisms  to  be  carefully  avoided.1  He 
requested  a  creature  like  Malloch  (or  Mallet)  to  correct  any 
such  slips  of  language  discoverable  in  his  History.  He  advised 
that  his  nephews  should  be  sent  to  Eton,  chiefly  to  avoid  the 
risk  of  contracting  the  Scots  accent,  and  he  animadverted  upon 
the  Scotticisms  to  be  found  in  Robertson's  Charles  V.  That 
historian  himself  was  no  less  eager  to  catch  the  true  English 
idiom,  though,  perhaps,  neither  he  nor  Hume  was  ever  wholly 
successful  in  doing  so.2  Lord  Mansfield,  at  all  events,  never 
thought,  when  he  was  reading  Hume's  and  Robertson's  works, 
that  he  was  reading  English  ;  which  Dr.  Carlyle  accounted 
for,  very  sensibly,  by  pointing  out  to  his  lordship  that  "to 
every  man  bred  in  Scotland  the  English  language  was  in  some 
respects  a  foreign  tongue,  the  precise  value  and  force  of  whose 
phrases  he  did  not  understand,  and  therefore  was  continually 
endeavouring  to  word  his  expressions  by  additional  epithets  or 
circumlocutions  which  made  his  writings  appear  both  stiff  and 
redundant."  3  A  hundred  years  later  Mr.  Robert  Hunter  was 
cautioning  young  Mr.  Stevenson  to  be  "  punctilious  in  writing 
English  ;  never  to  forget  that  I  was  a  Scotsman,  that  English 
was  a  foreign  tongue,  and  that,  if  I  attempted  the  colloquial, 
I  should  certainly  be  shamed "  ;  "  the  remark,"  adds  the 
recipient  of  this  counsel,  "  was  apposite,  I  suppose,  in  the  days 
of  David  Hume."  4  All  through  the  eighteenth  century,  to 
write  and  speak  pure  English  was  the  steady  aim  of  the  party 
in  Scotland  which  was  the  champion  of  "  enlightenment  "  and 
the  foe  of  "barbarism"  and  "superstition."  The  vernacular 
might  be  left  to  the  "  bigots  "  and  "  high-flyers,"  who  were 

1  See   Hume,  Philosophical  Works,  ed.  Green  and  Grose,  1875,  vol.  iv. 
p.  461. 

2  In  his  correspondence  Hume  is  less  upon  his  guard,  and  undoubted 
Scotticisms  are  not  uncommon,  e.g.  "  no  other  body  "  =  no  one  else,  in  a 
letter  to  Andrew  Millar,  Burton,  Hume,  vol.  ii.  p.  42.        3  Atitob.  p.  517. 

4  Stevenson,    Works,    Edin.    edition,    "  Memories    and    Portraits,"    in 
Miscellanies,  vol.  i.  p.  203. 


THE  AUGUSTAN  AGE:  PROSE          319 

supposed  to  be  destitute  of  what  in  a  later  age  came  to  be 
called  culture.  Not  the  least  interesting  of  Beattie's  prose 
writings  is  an  anonymous  little  volume,  published  in  1787,  on 
ScoticismSy  arranged  in  alphabetical  order,  designed  to  correct 
improprieties  of  speech  and  writing.1- 

The  net  result  of  these  praiseworthy  endeavours  was 
decidedly  beneficial.  But  the  disadvantages  which  flowed 
from  them  must  not  be  overlooked.  That  they  set  a  bad 
example  to  Scottish  poets  can  scarcely  be  disputed.  We  may 
be  pretty  sure  that  they  strengthened  the  powerful  tendency 
which  drove  Burns  so  far  to  mistake  his  business  as  to  compose 
English  poems  conceived  in  the  "classical"  taste  in  honour  of 
certain  of  his  flames.  But  even  on  Scottish  prose  writers  the 
Anglicising  movement  left  some  bad  effects.2  They  became 
more  English  than  the  English,  and  acquired  a  deplorable 
facility  in  imitating  the  fashionable  tricks  and  mannerisms  of 
the  day.  The  really  bad,  because  pretentious,  prose  of  the 
eighteenth  century — the  prose  of  periphrasis  and  circum- 
locution, the  prose  which  beats  the  bush  with  a  prodigious 
deal  of  measured  fuss  but  never  starts  the  hare — took  speedy 
root  in  Scotland,  and  the  baleful  tradition  of  "  eloquence " 
acquired  a  firm  hold  in  every  sphere  of  life  in  which  the 
employment  of  formal  and  premeditated  speech  plays  an 
essential  part. 

Into  the  enormities  perpetrated  in  the  pulpit  it  is  needless  to 
enter.  It  is  enough  to  refer  to  the  egregious  sermons  of  Dr. 
Hugh  Blair  (1718-1800),  3  which  in  popularity  had  almost 
no  competitor,  and  which  seem  to  recapitulate  in  themselves 

1  Mackenzie,  in  noticing  the  first  volume  of  Burns  (Lounger,  No.  97, 
Dec.  9,  1786),  remarks  that  "even  in  Scotland  the  provincial  dialect  which 
Ramsay  and  he  have  used  is  read  with  a  difficulty  which  greatly  damps 
the  pleasure  of  the  reader." 

2  Burns's  dedication  of  the  first  Edinburgh  edition  of  his  poems  (1787) 
to  the  noblemen  and  gentlemen  of  the  Caledonian  Hunt  is  a  characteristic 
specimen  of  a  certain  type  of  eighteenth  century  prose  at  its  worst. 

3  Sermons,  5  vols.,  Edinburgh  and  London,  1777-1801. 


320    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

all  the  most  serious  and  characteristic  faults  to  which  the 
prose-writing  of  the  century  had  become  liable.  In  the 
profession  of  the  law,  the  ideal  of  "  eloquence,"  even  in  civil 
causes,  was  cherished  no  less  ardently  than  in  the  Church. 
A  cursory  perusal  of  the  old  volumes  of  the  Session  papers  will 
serve  to  show  the  care  taken  by  practitioners  to  exhibit  their 
copious  arguments  in  accordance  with  all  the  most  approved 
canons  of  composition  as  then  understood. x  The  interminable 
memorials,  informations,  reclaiming  petitions,  and  "  states  of 
the  process"  have  about  them  a  musty  literary  flavour  in 
striking  contrast  to  the  matter-of-fact  character  of  the  more 
business-like  documents  of  the  present  day.  The  abstract  and 
even  metaphysical  nature  of  the  questions  upon  which  the 
judicial  decision  of  cases  might  often  depend  gave  scope  for 
a  display  of  rhetorical  fireworks  which  would  now  be  con- 
sidered entirely  inappropriate.  It  seems  to  have  been  the 
same  with  oral  as  with  written  pleading.  Counsel  permitted 
themselves  to  indulge  in  flights  which  nowadays  scarce  the 
most  adventurous  would  attempt  before  a  jury.  If  Alan 
Fairford's  speech  at  the  "hearing  in  presence"  in  the  cause 
of  Peebles  v.  Plainstanes2  be  a  fair  representation  of  the 
forensic  oratory  of  Scott's  youth  and  of  the  preceding  age — and 
the  reminiscence  of  a  speech  once  delivered  by  Chrystal  Croft- 
angry's  old  friend,  Mr.  Sommerville,  is  in  exactly  the  same 


1  Here  is  a  single  specimen  :  "  The  petitioners  are  the  less  discouraged 
by   this   interlocutor,   though   a  heavy   stroke   to   what   they   have   held 
immemorially   as   their   property,  as  the   perplexity  of  the   geography, 
the  great  variety  of   titles  and  proofs  in  the  state,  and  the  novelty  of 
the  points  in  dispute,  depending  upon  a  clear  explanation  of  the  state 
and  situation  of  this  river  in  different  parts,  and  the  practice  of  different 
kinds  of  fishings,  are  matters  foreign  to  the  ordinary  course  of  business  in 
the  Court,  and  though  perfectly  understood  by  the  parties  interested,  may 
be  easily  mistaken   by   the    most    discerning    judges." — Arniston   Coll., 
vol.  lix.,  No.  10,  Petn.  for  Sir  Wm.  Dunbar,  Feb.  26th,  1760,  drawn  by 
Mr.  Garden,  afterwards  Lord  Gardenston.     It  will  be  remembered  that 
Boswell  more  than  once  secured  the  aid  of  Johnson  in  drawing  papers. 

2  Scott,  Redgauntlct,  chap.  i.  of  the  narrative. 


THE  AUGUSTAN  AGE:  PROSE          321 

strain1 — all  that  can  be  said  is  that  the  mode  of  pleading  in 
vogue  at  the  Scottish  bar  has  undergone  a  total  revolution. 
Traces  of  "  eloquence  "  may  perhaps  be  found  in  an  occasional 
judicial  utterance  down  to  about  five-and-twenty  or  thirty  2  years 
ago,  and  it  lingered  on  to  an  even  later  date  in  the  addresses  with 
which  the  pronouncing  of  the  sentence  of  death  was  invariably 
preluded.  But  it  is  now  practically  unknown  ;  and  its  most 
objectionable  variety,  the  "  flowery,"  is  wholly  extinct. 

It  was  in  the  Scottish  Universities,  however,  that  the  striving 
after  "  eloquence  "  was  most  productive  of  mischief.  The  word 
is  always  cropping  up  in  the  description  of  eminent  professors. 
Francis  Hutcheson,  when  enforcing  the  moral  virtues  and 
duties,  is  said  to  have  "  displayed  a  fervent  and  persuasive 
eloquence  which  was  irresistible." 3  Dugald  Stewart  tells  us 
of  the  eloquence  with  which  Maclaurin,  the  famous  mathe- 
matician, "  knew  how  to  adorn  the  most  abstracted  subjects. "4 
The  "striking  and  impressive  eloquence'1''  of  Dugald  Stewart 
himself  "riveted  the  attention  even  of  the  most  volatile 
student,"  according  to  Scott. 5  Even  Alexander  Monro,  the 
great  professor  of  Anatomy,  had  been  eloquent,  as  Dr.  Somer- 
ville  assures  us,  and  in  a  later  age  Sir  Daniel  Sandford  found 
upon  entering  the  reformed  House  of  Commons  as  member 
for  Paisley  that  the  eloquence  which  had  charmed  his  Greek 
class  at  Glasgow  College  was  a  complete  failure  at  West- 
minster. There  have  been  professors,  indeed,  whose  sole 
qualification  for  their  chairs  has  been  "  eloquence."  Of 
such  John  Wilson  was  the  foremost.  But  the  most  dis- 
tressing manifestation  of  "  eloquence,"  in  the  worst  sense 
of  the  word,  is  Adam  Smith's  Theory  of  Moral  Sentiments. 
Smith's  peculiarities  of  speech  and  manner  probably  prevented 


1  Scott,  Chronicles  of  the  Canotigate,  chap.  i. 

2  See,  for  example,  portions  of  Lord  Ardmillan's  opinion  in  Kirk-wood 
\.  Manson,  1871,  Session  Cases,  3rd  Ser.,  vol.  ix.  p.  696. 

3  Carlyle,  Autob.,  p.  70.  4  Memoir  of  Robertson,  p.  4. 
5  Autobiographical  fragment,  apud  Lockhart,  Life,  p.  12. 

X 


him  from  being  a  finished  orator.  "  His  voice  was  harsh,  and 
enunciation  thick,  approaching  to  stammering.  His  conver- 
sation was  not  colloquial,  but  like  lecturing."1  Yet,  when 
he  warmed  to  his  subject,  he  seems  to  have  overcome  his 
natural  impediments,  if  Professor  Millar's  account  is  to  be 
trusted ; 2  and,  in  any  case,  there  remains  the  Theory  to 
remind  us  into  what  woful  depths  of  twaddle  an  able  man 
might  be  led  by  the  desire  to  shine  as  a  master  of  polished 
English.  It  would  be  difficult  to  believe  that  the  Theory^ 
with  its  vapid  sentimentalities,  emanated  from  the  same  brain 
as  The  Wealth  of  Nations^  were  it  not  notorious  that  in  the 
garden  of  letters  a  good  tree  is  often  capable  of  bearing  other 
than  good  fruit.  Smith's,  though  the  most  conspicuous,  was 
not  the  only  case  in  which  closeness  of  reasoning,  accuracy 
of  thought,  and  vigour  of  intellect  were  sacrificed  to  a  false 
elegance  of  style  and  an  artificial  propriety  of  diction. 

From  the  bastard  eloquence  of  which  we  have  spoken 
David  Hume,  for  all  his  striving  to  write  English,  was  abso- 
lutely free.  "  Of  all  the  vices  of  language,"  he  writes  to  his 
cousin,  John  Home,  "  the  least  excusable  is  the  want  of  per- 
spicuity ;  for,  as  words  were  instituted  by  men  merely  for 
conveying  their  ideas  to  each  other,  the  employing  of  words 
without  meaning  is  a  palpable  abuse,  which  departs  from  the 
very  original  purpose  and  intention  of  language. "3  These 
maxims  have  not,  alas  !  been  invariably  attended  to  by  them 
that  write ;  but  no  one  could  have  proved  himself  more 
observant  of  them  in  practice  than  their  author. 

David  Hume 4  was  born  in  1711  to  the  laird  of  Ninewells, 

1  Carlyle,  Autob.,  p.  279.  z  Rae,  Life  of  Smith,  p.  56. 

3  Burton,  Hume,  vol.  ii.  p.  475. 

4  J.  H.  Burton,  Life  and  Correspondence  of  David  Hume,  2  vols.,  Edin. 
1846  ;  Huxley,  Hume  (E.M.L.),  1879  ;  Letters  of  David  Hume  to  William 
Strahan,  ed.  G.  B.  Hill,   Oxford,  1888.    Philosophical  Works,  ed.  Green 
and  Grose,  4  vols.,   1874-75  ;    Treatise,  ed.  Selby-Bigge,   Oxford,   1896  ; 
Inquiry,  ed.  the  same,  1894.     For  an  account  of  Hume  and  his  contem- 
poraries, consult  also  Graham,  Scottish  Men  of  Letters  in  the  Eighteenth 
Century,  1901. 


THE  AUGUSTAN  AGE:  PROSE          323 

in  Berwickshire.     At  an  early  age  he  discovered  the  twofold 
ambition  of  his  life — the  attainment  of  pecuniary  independence 
(for  his  was  the  meagre  portion  of  a  younger  son),  and  the 
attainment  of  celebrity  as  an  author.     In  both  these  aims  he 
was  completely   successful.     The   former  he  achieved    by   an 
expedient    once    familiar    to    his    countrymen.       Instead    of 
endeavouring   to   swell    his   income   in   order   to  overtake   his 
expenditure,  he  systematically  accommodated  his  expenditure 
to  his  income.     Consequently  he  had  saved   ^1,000,  which 
brought  him  in  ^50  a  year,  by  the  time  he  was  forty,  and 
during   the  last  seven   or  eight  years  of  his  life,   his  annual 
income  equalled  the  amount  of  that  capital  sum.     Rejecting 
both  commerce  and  the  bar  as  a  career,  he  applied  himself  to 
a   course  of  severe  study,  the  first-fruits  of  which  were  ex- 
hibited in   1739  in  the  shape  of  the  two  first  volumes  of  a 
Treatise  of  Human   Nature.     Next   year  saw  the   appearance 
of  the    third    and    concluding    volume.     But    to    his    intense 
disappointment,  this  carefully   prepared   and   considered  work 
"  fell  deadborn  from  the  press,  without  even  exciting  a  murmur 
among   the  zealots."1     Two   volumes  of   Essays   Moral   and 
Political  followed  in   1741  and   1742  respectively,  and  in  the 
interval  between  these  and  his  next  work,  the  Philosophical  Essays 
concerning  Human  Understanding  (1748),  which  comprehended 
the  famous  Essay  on  Miracles,  he  failed  to  secure  the  chair  of 
Moral   Philosophy  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh  ;  fulfilled 
a  lucrative  but  unpleasant  engagement  as  private  tutor  to  the 
young  Marquis  of  Annandale  ;  and  followed  General  St.  Clair 
on  a  mission  to  Turin  in  the  capacity  of  Secretary.     What  he 
considered  "  incomparably  the  best "  of  all   his  writings,  the 
Inquiry  concerning    the    Principles   of  Morals,  issued  from   the 
press  in  1751-52  ;  and  about  the  same  time  he  composed  his 
Dialogues  concerning  Natural  Religion,  a  work  published  for  the 
first  time  after  his  death,  in  accordance  with  his  testamentary 
directions.     The  Political  Discourses  came  in    1752,  the  year 
1  My  Own  Life,  Green  and  Grose,  vol.  iii.  p.  2. 


324    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

in  which  he  was  chosen  librarian  to  the  Faculty  of  Advocates, 
and  the  Natural  History  of  Religion  in  1757,  the  year  in  which 
he  resigned  that,  to  him,  useful,  though  not  very  remunerative, 
office.  Meanwhile,  the  first  and  second  volumes  of  his  History 
of  England,  dealing  with  the  troubled  times  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  had  been  brought  out  (1754  and  1756);  and  the 
work  was  completed  in  1762. 

In  1763  came  the  great  event  of  his  life.  He  was  chosen 
by  the  Marquis  of  Hertford  to  accompany  him  to  Paris  as 
acting-secretary  (afterwards  as  secretary)  to  the  British 
Embassy  to  the  Court  of  Louis  XV.  In  the  French  capital 
he  met  with  a  welcome  commensurate  not  merely  with  the 
importance  of  his  position  in  the  Ambassador's  train,  but  also 
(which  was  infinitely  more  grateful  and  soothing  to  his 
eager  vanity)  with  his  exceptional  eminence  in  the  field  of 
philosophy  and  letters.  Voltaire,  Diderot,  D'Alembert,  all 
that  was  most  distinguished  in  philosophe-dom,  received  him 
with  rapture  ;  and  the  doors  of  the  most  brilliant  salons  flew 
open  to  admit  him  to  the  intellectual  feasts  that  awaited  him 
within.  It  was  during  this  period  of  his  life  that  he  became 
involved  with  J.-J.  Rousseau,  at  whose  hands  he  met  with 
the  customary  reward  of  all  such  as  endeavoured  to  do  that 
crazy  sentimentalist  a  good  turn.  He  held  the  post  of  Under- 
secretary of  State  in  London  from  1767  to  1769,  but  London 
was  a  bitter  disappointment  after  Paris.  The  indifference  of 
London  society  to  his  merits  was  Hume's  principal  standing 
grievance.  He  is  perpetually  harking  back  to  the  contrast 
between  the  general  regard  paid  to  genius  and  learning  in 
France,  and  the  neglect  they  meet  with  in  London,  where 
letters  are  held  in  no  honour.  He  marvels  that  great  men  in 
England  "  should  slight  and  neglect  men  of  letters  when  they 
pay  court  to  them,  and  rail  at  them  when  they  do  not  "  ; * 
and  he  points  out  that,  whereas  in  the  French  capital  "a  man 
that  distinguishes  himself  in  letters  meets  immediately  with 
1  Burton,  Hume,  vol.  ii.  p.  134. 


THE  AUGUSTAN  AGE:   PROSE          325 

regard  and  attention,"  in  the  English,  "  a  man  who  plays  no 
part  in  public  affairs  becomes  altogether  insignificant,  and  if 
he  is  not  rich  he  becomes  even  contemptible.  I  know  not," 
he  exclaims,  "with  whom  [a  successful  man  of  letters]  is  to 
live,  or  how  he  is  to  pass  his  time  in  a  suitable  society."  I 
Life  in  Paris  had  obviously  sharpened  his  appetite  for  commerce 
with  the  great,  nor  could  he  make  shift  to  put  up  with  the 
society  of  his  fellow-countryman  and  equal  by  birth,  Tobias 
Smollett,  whose  "  polished  and  agreeable  manners,"  as  well  as 
"  the  great  urbanity  of  his  conversation "  are  vouched  for, 
somewhat  unexpectedly,  by  Dr.  Carlyle.2  Hume  returned  to 
Edinburgh  in  1769,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
days  in  the  society  of  congenial  and  thoroughly  appreciative 
friends.  He  died  in -1776,  leaving  behind  him  an  auto- 
biographical sketch,  which  is  one  of  the  most  characteristic 
of  his  writings. 

Hume  was,  omnium  consensu,  blessed  with  a  singularly 
amiable  and  equable  temperament.  One  of  the  few  occasions 
on  which  his  equanimity  was  perceptibly  ruffled  in  company 
was  when  John  Home  informed  him  that  the  studies  of  a 
young  man  who  had  robbed  his  master  of  a  considerable  sum 
had  been  chiefly  confined  to  two  books  :  Boston's  Fourfold 
State  and  Hume's  Essays.  The  same  simplicity  and  native 
benevolence  of  character  distinguished  him  whether,  in  his 
poorer  days,  he  was  entertaining  his  companions  with  a  roasted 
hen,  a  dish  of  minced  collops,  and  a  bowl  of  punch,  or  was 
regaling  them  in  his  prosperity  with  "  elegant  dinners  and 
suppers,  and  the  best  claret."  "  For  innocent  mirth  and 
agreeable  raillery,"  continues  Carlyle,  "  I  never  knew  his 
match."  3  Even  in  his  will  there  is  a  well-known  snatch 
of  pleasant  badinage  at  the  expense  of  John  Home.4  His 

1  Burton,  Hume,  vol.  ii.  p.  268.         2  Atitob.,  p.  340.         3  Ibid.,  p.  275. 

4  "  I  leave  to  my  friend,  Mr.  John  Home  of  Kilduff,  ten  dozen  of  my  old 
claret  at  his  choice  ;  and  one  single  bottle  of  that  other  liquor  called  port. 
I  also  leave  to  him  six  dozen  of  port,  provided  that  he  attests  under  his 


326    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

conversation,  Carlyle  further  tells  us,  "  was  truly  irresistible, 
for  while  it  was  enlightened  it  was  naive  almost  to  puerility." 
Perhaps  it  was  this  ingenuousness  that  his  mother  had  in 
view  when  she  gave  utterance  to  the  cryptic  saying  which 
has  puzzled  all  the  commentators  :  "  Our  Davie's  a  fine  good- 
natured  creature,  but  uncommon  weak-minded."  Adam 
Smith's  verdict  upon  the  character  ot  his  friend  is  even  more 
emphatic  than  Carlyle's.  "  Upon  the  whole,"  he  solemnly 
declares  in  his  famous  letter  to  Strahan,  "  I  have  always 
considered  him,  both  in  his  lifetime  and  since  his  death,  as 
approaching  as  nearly  to  the  idea  of  a  perfectly  wise  and 
virtuous  man  as  perhaps  the  nature  of  human  frailty  will 
permit."  J  We  may  acquiesce  in  the  judgment,  subject  to 
certain  qualifications.  There  is  nothing  very  inspiring  or 
romantic  about  Hume's  type  of  moral  excellence,  though 
Mr.  Burton  has  done  his  best  to  vindicate  his  poetical  gifts 
from  the  aspersions  of  Scott.2  Again,  his  was  not  the 
temper  of  the  man  who  voluntarily  invites  martyrdom  for  his 
opinions  :  a  fact  which  some  may  impute  to  him  for  a  positive 
merit.  He  had  no  wish  to  outrun  public  opinion  by  too  great 
a  distance  ;  many  of  the  younger  clergy  were  his  personal 
friends,  to  the  immense  scandal  of  the  zealots,  "  who  little 
knew,  as  Carlyle  boldly  avers,  "  how  impossible  it  was  for 


hand,  signed  John  Hume,  that  he  has  himself  alone  finished  that  bottle  at 
two  sittings.  By  this  concession,  he  will  at  once  terminate  the  only  two 
differences  that  ever  arose  between  us  concerning  temporal  matters." 

1  Hume,  Phil.  Works,  ed.  Green  and  Grose,  vol.  iii.  p.  14. 

2  "  \ve  visited  Corby  Castle  on  our  return  to  Scotland,  which  remains, 
in  point  of  situation,  as  beautiful  as  when  its  walks  were  celebrated  by 
David  Hume,  in  the  only  rhymes  he  was  ever  known  to  be  guilty  of. 
Here  they  are  from  a  pane  of  glass  in  an  inn  at  Carlisle — 

"  '  Here  chicks  in  eggs  for  breakfast  sprawl, 
Here  godless  boys  God's  glories  squall, 
Here  Scotchmen's  heads  do  guard  the  wall, 
But  Corby's  walks  atone  for  all.'  " 

Scott  to  Morritt,  October  2,  1815,  apud  Lockhart,  Life,  p.  323. 


THE  AUGUSTAN  AGE:  PROSE          327 

him,  had  he  been  willing,  to  shake  their  opinions  "  ; I  and  he 
was  little  disposed  to  court  the  obloquy  and  ostracism 
which  must  have  then  resulted  from  the  ostentatious  avowal 
of  sceptical  views  upon  religion.  One  would  have  imagined 
that  many  of  his  published  opinions  were  open  and  explicit 
enough,  and  that  of  others  the  true  drift  could  by  no  means 
be  mistaken.  Yet  he  was  at  great  pains  to  ignore — and  he 
succeeded  for  a  time,  at  any  rate,  in  making  "  all  the  good 
company  in  town  "  ignore — the  logical  consequences  which 
inevitably  flowed  from  them.  The  really  weak  spot  in  his 
character  was  his  excessive  literary  vanity.  We  have  seen 
how  a  wound  in  this  his  tenderest  part  made  him  lift  up  his 
voice  against  London  and  the  society  of  London  ;  and  indeed 
the  ruling  passion  distorted  his  outlook  upon  current  politics 
to  that  extent  that  he  actually  professed  to  sigh  for  the 
downfall  and  bankruptcy  of  England  with  greater  fervour 
than  many  a  revolting  American  colonist.  It  was  not 
vouchsafed  to  him  to  see  that,  dull  and  besotted  as  the 
world  of  London  might  in  his  estimation  be,  it  was  yet  more 
clean  and  wholesome — less  saturated  with  the  poison  of  deadly 
corruption — than  that  brilliant  and  attractive  world  of  Paris, 
where  vice  was  made  doubly  hateful  by  masquerading  in  the 
guise  of  intelligence  and  enlightenment.  After  all,  these 
foibles  subtract  little  from  the  sum-total  of  Hume's  excellences; 
and  he  deserves  something  better  at  our  hands  than  a  cautious 
and  merely  negative  verdict  of  approbation. 

Hume's  reputation  as  an  historian  has,  partly  from  his  pre- 
eminence in  other  departments  and  partly  from  causes  for  which 
he  cannot  be  held  responsible,  suffered  unmerited  eclipse.  He 
belongs  neither  to  the  "scientific"  nor  to  the  "picturesque" 

1  Autob.,  p.  275.  Carlyle  avows  himself  of  those  who  "never  believed 
that  David  Hume's  sceptical  principles  had  laid  fast  hold  on  his  mind,  but 
thought  that  his  books  proceeded  rather  from  affectation  of  superiority 
and  pride  of  understanding  and  love  of  vain-glory  "  (ibid.  p.  273).  He 
then  proceeds  to  fortify  this  not  very  flattering  hypothesis  with  a  not  very 
convincing  anecdote  repeated  on  the  authority  of  Mr,  Patrick  Boyle. 


328     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

category  of  historians.  He  had  little  of  the  true  antiquarian 
instinct,  and  the  portion  of  his  great  work  which  is  latest 
in  date  and  which  deals  with  the  earliest  period  of  English  his- 
tory is  not  only  unsatisfactory  according  to  modern  lights,  but 
betrays  no  sign  of  the  diligent  research  which  has  rendered 
a  book  like  Thomas  Warton's  History  of  English  'Poetry 
a  possession  of  permanent  value.  On  the  other  hand  he  has 
none  of  the  pomp  and  circumstance  of  Gibbon,  nor  any  of  the 
faculty  of  imposing  narrative  which  undoubtedly  belonged 
to  Macaulay.  On  a  first  reading,  Hume  is  comparatively  tame. 
He  does  not  indulge  in  the  purple  patches  which  a  reader  is  apt 
to  seek,  and  for  the  sake  of  which  he  is  content  to  traverse 
intervening  tracts  of  dulness.  But  Hume  wears  well  as  an 
historian,  in  the  sense  that  the  more  often  he  is  read  the  better 
he  will  be  liked.  His  native  shrewdness  and  sense  of  humour 
disclose  themselves  more  fully,  the  more  attentively  his  chapters 
are  studied.  And  this  at  least  can  be  said  of  Hume :  that  he 
is  not  a  deliberate  falsifier  of  facts,  and  makes  no  parade  of  being 
free  from  bias.  The  sentiments  to  which  he  gave  expression 
in  his  History  were  a  cause  of  high  offence  to  the  Whigs  of  his 
time,  and  have,  perhaps,  not  contributed  to  keep  that  work 
in  high  esteem.  The  liberty  of  thought  and  speech,  for  which 
every  Whig  was  prepared  to  go  to  the  scaffold,  or  at  the  very 
least  to  send  his  King  thither,  has  generally  been  denied  to  a 
Tory,  except  upon  pain  of  provoking  the  most  withering  scorn 
and  indignation.  Yet  no  man  with  any  taste  of  good  literature 
can  help  admiring  the  adroit  manner  in  which  Hume  insinuates 
his  views,  and  the  quiet  way  in  which  he  delivers  his  deadliest 
thrusts.  Now  and  then,  to  be  sure,  he  lets  himself  go.  The 
inscrutable  smile  at  the  follies  and  failings  of  humanity  leaves 
his  lips,  and  his  features  for  a  moment  become  suffused  with  the 
glow  of  passion.  It  is  thus,  for  example,  when  he  criticises 
those,  "partial  to  the  patriots"  of  the  age  of  the  Great  Rebellion, 
who  have  mentioned  the  names  of  Pym,  Hampden,  and  Vane, 
as  a  just  parallel  to  those  of  Cato,  Brutus,  and  Cassius : — 


THE  AUGUSTAN  AGE:  PROSE          329 

"  Profound  capacity,  indeed,  undaunted  courage,  extensive  enter- 
prise ;  in  these  particulars,  perhaps,  the  Roman  did  not  much  surpass 
the  English  worthies  ;  but  what  a  difference,  when  the  discourse, 
conduct,  conversation,  and  private  as  well  as  public  behaviour  of  both 
are  inspected  !  Compare  only  one  circumstance  and  consider  its 
consequences.  The  leisure  of  those  noble  ancients  was  totally 
employed  in  the  study  of  Grecian  eloquence  and  philosophy  ;  in  the 
cultivation  of  polite  letters  and  civilized  society  :  the  whole  discourse 
and  language  of  the  moderns  were  polluted  with  mysterious  jargon, 
and  full  of  the  lowest  and  most  vulgar  hypocrisy."  r 

But  such  violent  and  inartistic  outbursts  are  rare.  As  a  rule 
the  historian  has  his  temper  well  in  hand.  To  throw  contempt 
and  ridicule  upon  the  Presbyterian  and  sectarian  fanatics,  who 
had  their  day  between  1640  and  1660,  is,  perhaps,  no  very 
difficult  task.  Hume  has  done  it  once  for  all  with  incompar- 
able skill  ;  and  the  lesson  he  taught  will  never  be  superfluous, 
so  long  as  the  extravagant  claims  of  those  hypocrites  and 
enthusiasts  to  superior  virtue  and  superior  political  wisdom  are 
solemnly  reasserted  by  their  admirers.  The  reputation  of 
Gibbon  for  an  unrivalled  power  of  sneering  at  the  palpable 
inconsistencies  of  religious  zealots  should  not  blind  us  to  the 
more  subtle  and  less  ostentatious  art  of  Hume  in  the  same 
department.  Yet  his  intense  dislike  of  pretensions  to  moral 
excellence  which  rested  upon  no  solid  foundation  in  conduct 
never  blinded  him  to  real  strength  of  character  and  true 
political  or  military  genius.  Repellent  as  one  side  of  Crom- 
well's temperament  was  to  his  own,  he  pays  his  tribute  to  the 
abilities  of  the  Protector  with  a  tolerably  good  grace ;  acknow- 
ledges the  pitch  of  efficiency  to  which  he  brought  the  arma- 
ments of  England  ;  and  admits  the  success  of  his  administration 
of  Scottish  affairs  : — 

"He  courted  the  Presbyterian  clergy,  though  he  nourished  that 
intestine  enmity  which  prevailed  between  resolutioners  and  pro- 
testers ;  and  he  found  that  very  little  policy  was  requisite  to  foment 


History,  ed.  1825,  vol.  vi.  p.  316. 


330    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

quarrels  among  theologians.  He  permitted  no  church  assemblies  ; 
being  sensible  that  from  thence  had  proceeded  many  of  the  past 
disorders.  And  in  the  main  the  Scots  were  obliged  to  acknowledge, 
that  never  before,  while  they  enjoyed  their  irregular  factious  liberty, 
had  they  attained  so  much  happiness  as  at  present,  when  reduced  to 
subjection  under  a  foreign  nation."  ' 

Not  the  least  interesting  feature  in  Hume's  History  is  the 
occasional  surveys  of  manners,  arts,  science,  and  literature  at 
different  periods.  In  these  there  is  much  that  is  valuable 
in  itself,  and  more  that  throws  light  on  Hume's  own  attitude 
of  mind.  As  regards  literature,  his  fame  as  a  critic  stands  no 
higher  than  it  deserves  to  do.  He  and  Adam  Smith  are  involved 
in  one  sweeping  and  celebrated  censure  by  Wordsworth.  Even 
by  the  younger  men,  his  own  friends,  he  was  thought  to  be 
"  behind  the  age  "  ;  and  was  regarded  with  the  same  feelings 
of  compassion  as  a  thoroughgoing  admirer  of  Tennyson  is  now 
viewed  by  the  disciples  of  the  latest  apostle  of  decadence.  He 
contrives,  with  an  effort,  to  speak  pretty  handsomely  of  Milton, 
and  he  does  not  obtrude  his  doubts  about  Shakespeare  to  an 
alarming  extent.  But  the  French  theatre  was  much  more  to 
his  mind  than  the  British,  and  he  was  probably  quite  sincere  in 
the  extravagant  praise  which  he  squandered  upon  Douglas.'2  He 
had  little  true  artistic  sensibility,  and  Carlyle  seems  to  sum  up 
his  case  and  Adam  Smith's  very  justly  when  he  opines  that 
"  their  taste  was  a  rational  act  rather  than  the  instantaneous 
effect  of  fine  feeling."  3 

The  views  which  found  their  way  into  his  History^  Hume 
was  far  from  seeking  to  exclude  from  his  political  speculations.4 

1  History,  tit  sup.,  vol.  vii.  p.  259. 

2  Dedication  to  Four  Dissertations  (1757)  to  "  the  Reverend  Mr.  Hume." 

3  Autob.,  p.  283. 

4  Among  the  Scottish  political  inquirers  of  the  age,  we  must  not  forget 
to  note  Robert  Wallace  (1697-1771),  whose  Dissertation  on  the  numbers 
of  Mankind  in  Ancient  and  Modern  Times  (1753)  is  designed  to  prove 
"  the  superior  populousness  of  antiquity,"  and  who  has  a  great  hatred 
of  luxury  and  all  "  operose  manufactures," 


THE  AUGUSTAN  AGE:  PROSE          331 

A  free-thinker  and  a  rationalist  in  religion  and  metaphysics,  he 
was  a  strong  Tory  in  politics,  in  the  sense  that  he  always  leaned 
to  the  side  of  authority.     He  was  what  we  should  call  a  strong 
supporter  of  "law  and  order."     License  and  faction  disgusted, 
perhaps  alarmed,  him.     The  strange  spectacle  presented  by  the 
vehement  contentions  of  political  parties  in  England  struck  him 
with    anything    rather    than    admiration.     In  Scotland   active 
political  life  may  be  said  to  have  been  at  a  standstill ;  and  the 
only   variation   from  the  quiet  routine  of  being  governed  by 
some  great  nobleman  like  the  Duke  of  Argyll,  was  afforded 
by  a  meal-mob,  or  by  some  such  recrudescence  of  the  national 
love  of  organised  turbulence  as  the  Porteous  riot.     Hume  saw 
no  reason  why,  if  men  would  only  be  moderate  and  consistent, 
the  government  of  the  country  should  not  be  carried  on  with 
much  less  brawling  and  at  least  equal  efficiency.     In  the  Essay 
entitled  Politics  a  Science,  he  sets  forth  his  views  on  this  topic 
with  even  more  than  his  usual  delicacy  of  wit.      But  the  mis- 
fortune is  that,  neither  in  Hume's,  nor  in  any  other  age,  have 
men  been  content  to  be  moderate  and  consistent  ;    and  in  this 
respect,  if  not  in  others,  Hume  like  many  writers  of  the  school 
which    insists    that    man    invariably    and    necessarily    acts    in 
obedience  to  the  strongest  desire  of  the  moment  is  open  to  the 
charge  of  under-rating  the  strength  of  human  passion.     Never- 
theless, his  political  essays  cannot  be  neglected  by  the  historian 
of  political  thought,  and  those  of  them  which  are  concerned 
with  economic  problems  are  particularly  valuable.     We  shall 
not  assert  that  he  anticipated  Adam  Smith  in  the  discovery,  as 
well  as  in  the  promulgation,  of  some  of  his  most  characteristic 
doctrines.     The  paternity  of  new  ideas  is  as  much  a  matter  of 
uncertainty  as  the  paternity  of  anything  else.      But  it  is  a  simple 
matter  of  facts  and  dates  that  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century 
before  the  publication  of  The  Wealth  of  Nations  Hume  had 
advanced  precisely  the  same  considerations  against  the  Mer- 
cantile System  as  were  afterwards  employed  by  the  father  of 
Political  Economy,  and  had  advocated  Free  Trade  for  the  very 


332     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

reasons  for  which  Free  Trade  has  always  been  theoretically 
justified. 

It  was  in  the  religious  world  that  Hume's  philosophical 
speculations  made  the  loudest  noise  in  his  lifetime  ;  and, 
whether  he  deserved  the  appellation  of  "  atheist "  or  not,  we 
cannot  affect  to  be  surprised  that  some  of  his  work  should 
have  goaded  the  ministers  of  religion  into  vigorous  antagonism. 
The  Deistical  controversy  had  closed  with  the  complete  failure 
of  the  attempt  to  substitute  natural  for  revealed  religion. 
Hume  instituted  a  new  method  of  attack  by  adopting  an 
attitude  equally  hostile  to  both.  Thus  Butler's  argument,  to 
which  the  Deists  were  unable  to  make  any  reply  worth  stating, 
became  to  a  great  extent  inapplicable  where  the  ultimate 
premises  of  the  opponent  were  consistently  sceptical.  Other 
lines  of  defence  had  to  be  constructed,  and  posterity  is  on  the 
whole  agreed  that  neither  the  Essay  on  the  Nature  and  Im- 
mutability of  Truth,  of  James  Beattie  (1735-1803),  Professor 
of  Moral  Philosophy  in  the  University  of  Aberdeen,  nor  the 
Dissertation  on  Miracles,  of  George  Campbell  (1719-96), 
Principal  of  the  Marischal  College  in  the  same  University,  is 
conclusive  as  a  refutation  of  Hume's  contentions,  however  they 
may  rise  above  the  level  of  the  average  controversial  work  of 
the  period.  It  would  be  strange,  indeed,  if  the  clergy  had 
remained  silent  and  supine  under  Hume's  assault  upon  the 
faith  ;  for  to  those  who  hold  that  Christianity  itself  disappears 
with  the  elimination  of  its  miraculous  and  supernatural 
elements,  it  is  perfectly  plain  that  Hume  left  not  one  jot  or 
tittle  of  their  creed  intact.  The  Essay  on  Miracles  cannot  be 
accused  of  temporising  with  the  fundamentals  ;  and  its  tone  is 
assuredly  not  conciliatory,  for  those,  at  all  events,  who  can 
penetrate  the  not  very  opaque  veil  of  its  irony.  Few  more 
pungent  or  contemptuous  things  have  been  penned  in  religious 
controversy  than  its  closing  paragraphs,  which,  familiar  though 
they  are,  it  is  impossible  to  help  once  more  transcribing  : — 


THE  AUGUSTAN  AGE:  PROSE          333 

"  I  am  the  better  pleased  with  the  method  of  reasoning  here 
delivered,  as  I  think  it  may  serve  to  confound  those  dangerous 
friends  or  disguised  enemies  to  the  Christian  Religion  who  have 
undertaken  to  defend  it  by  the  principles  of  human  reason. 

"  Our  most  holy  religion  is  founded  on  Faith,  not  on  reason  ;  and  it 
is  a  sure  method  of  exposing  it  to  put  it  to  such  a  trial  as  it  is  by  no 
means  fitted  to  endure.  To  make  this  more  evident,  let  us  examine 
those  miracles  related  in  Scripture  ;  and  not  to  lose  ourselves  in  too 
wide  a  field,  let  us  confine  ourselves  to  such  as  we  find  in  the 
Pentateuch,  which  we  shall  examine,  according  to  the  principles  of 
those  pretended  Christians,  not  as  the  word  or  testimony  of  God 
Himself,  but  as  the  production  of  a  mere  human  writer  and  his- 
torian. Here  then  we  are  first  to  consider  a  book,  presented  to  us 
by  a  barbarous  and  ignorant  people,  written  in  an  age  when  they 
were  still  more  barbarous,  and  in  all  probability  long  after  the  facts 
which  it  relates,  corroborated  by  no  concurring  testimony,  and 
resembling  those  fabulous  accounts  which  every  nation  gives  of  its 
origin.  Upon  reading  this  book,  we  find  it  full  of  prodigies  and 
miracles.  It  gives  an  account  of  the  state  of  the  world  and  of 
human  nature  entirely  different  from  the  present ;  of  our  fall  from 
that  state  :  of  the  age  of  man  extended  to  near  a  thousand  years  : 
of  the  destruction  of  the  world  by  a  deluge  :  of  the  arbitrary  choice 
of  one  people  as  the  favourites  of  heaven,  and  that  people  the 
countrymen  of  the  author  :  of  their  deliverance  from  bondage  by 
prodigies  the  most  astonishing  imaginable  :  I  desire  any  one  to  lay 
his  hand  upon  his  heart,  and  after  a  serious  consideration  declare, 
whether  he  thinks  that  the  falsehood  of  such  a  book,  supported  by 
such  a  testimony,  would  be  more  extraordinary  and  miraculous  than 
all  the  miracles  it  relates  ;  which  is,  however,  necessary  to  make  it 
be  received,  according  to  the  measures  of  probability  above 
established. 

"  What  we  have  said  of  miracles  may  be  applied,  without  any 
variation,  to  prophecies ;  and  indeed,  all  prophecies  are  real 
miracles,  and  as  such  only  can  be  admitted  as  proofs  of  any 
revelation.  If  it  did  not  exceed  the  capacity  of  human  nature  to 
foretell  future  events,  it  would  be  absurd  to  employ  any  prophecy 
as  an  argument  for  a  divine  mission  or  authority  from  heaven.  So 
that,  upon  the  whole,  we  may  conclude  that  the  Christian  Religion 
not  only  was  at  first  attended  with  miracles,  but  even  at  this  day 
cannot  be  believed  by  any  reasonable  person  without  one.  Mere 
reason  is  insufficient  to  convince  us  of  its  veracity  ;  and  whoever  is 
moved  by  Faith  to  assent  to  it  is  conscious  of  a  continued  miracle  in 
his  own  person,  which  subverts  all  the  principles  of  his  understanding, 


334     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

and  gives  him  a  determination  to  believe  what  is  most  contrary  to 
custom  and  experience."  ' 

It  is  almost  incredible,  but  so,  nevertheless,  it  is,  that  on  the 
strength  of  this  passage  Hume  has  actually  been  claimed  as 
"  a  witness  for  Christianity,  whose  testimony  is  in  some 
respects  the  more  valuable,  since  beset  with  so  many  and  such 
grave  doubts."  2 

Up  to  this  point  Hume's  most  enthusiastic  admirers  in  the 
nineteenth  century  have  willingly  followed  him.  But  many 
of  them  have  failed  to  observe,  or  have  taken  care  not  to 
observe,  that  his  doctrines  go  a  great  deal  further.  He  has 
cut  away  the  supports,  not  only  of  revealed  religion,  but,  of 
all  knowledge.  So  far  from  laying  down  the  fundamental 
principles  upon  which  scientific  inquiry  must  proceed,  he  has 
laid  down  principles  which  render  scientific  inquiry  nugatory, 
and  the  attainment  of  any  species  of  certainty  impossible. 

Assuming  experience  to  be  the  ultimate  test,  and  waiving 
the  question  of  its  value,  Hume  argues  that,  just  as  all  that  we 
know  of  the  outside  world  may  be  resolved  into  certain  sensations, 
so  all  that  we  know  of  our  own  mind,  of  our  self,  is  certain  per- 
ceptions. "  When  I  enter  most  intimately,"  he  says,  "  into 
what  I  call  myself,  I  always  stumble  on  some  particular  con- 
ception or  other.  I  never  can  catch  myself  at  any  time 
without  a  perception,  and  never  can  observe  anything  but  the 
perception."  Hence  he  concludes  that  the  rest  of  mankind 
are  "  but  a  bundle  of  different  conceptions  which  succeed  each 
other  with  an  inconceivable  rapidity,  and  are  in  a  perpetual 
flux  and  movement."  In  other  words,  the  identity  which  we 
ascribe  to  mind  is  as  purely  fictitious  as  Berkeley  had  proved 
that  identity  to  be  which  we  attribute  to  external  objects. 
All  attempts  to  form  a  rational  theory  of  the  identity  of  self 
are  futile  ;  and  the  whole  world  is  consequently  left  a  chaos  of 

1  Philosophical  Works,  ed.  cit.,  vol.  iv.  p.  107. 

2  See  Calderwood,  David  Hume  (F.S.S.),  Edin.,  1898. 


THE  AUGUSTAN  AGE:  PROSE          335 

unrelated  and  unrelatable  particulars.  David,  in  short  (if  the 
quotation  may  be  permitted),  was  "the  daring  boy,  who  fairly 
floored  both  mind  and  matter." 

This  thorough-going  scepticism  is  not  so  plainly  indicated 
in  his  other  works  as  in  the  Treatise  of  Human  Nature,  his 
earliest  work,  of  which  the  posthumous  edition  of  the  Essays, 
published  in  1777,  contains  a  singular  and  not  very  candid 
repudiation,  but  which,  certain  defects  in  style  notwithstanding, 
will  always  be  regarded  as  his  philosophical  masterpiece.  He 
there  does  for  Berkeley  what  Berkeley  had  done  for  Locke,  by 
carrying  his  principles  to  their  logical  conclusion.  "  Mind  " 
once  reduced  to  a  series  of  sensations,  Hume  was  wise  enough 
not  to  stultify  his  cardinal  proposition  at  the  very  outset  by 
attributing  to  that  series  a  consciousness  of  itself.  It  is  no 
business  of  ours  to  discuss  whether  Hume  was  right  or  wrong. 
But  it  is  ours  to  note  that,  whether  in  metaphysics  or  in  ethics, 
he  is  incomparably  the  greatest  of  all  modern  empirical  or 
sceptical  philosophers.  Consistent  in  detail  he  may  not  always 
have  been  ;  for  to  few  is  the  good  fortune  granted  so  to  be. 
But  in  all  the  essentials  of  his  teaching  he  is  stedfast  and 
immovable,  and  he  is  rarely,  if  ever,  caught  in  the  act  of 
making  concessions  which  at  once  put  him  out  of  court. 
Above  all,  he  never  thumps  the  pulpit  in  a  frenzy  of  enthusiasm 
for  a  negation.  There  have  been  sceptical  philosophers  who 
were  obviously  designed  by  nature  for  the  street-preacher's 
tub  ;  who  have  gushed  and  snuffled  and  whined  about  the  high 
ideals  of  hedonism  ;  and  who,  having  knocked  the  Humpty- 
Dumpty  of  virtue  off  his  comfortable  wall,  have  endeavoured 
to  set  him  up  again  with  many  elaborate  compliments  upon 
the  improvement  which  the  catastrophe  has  wrought  in  his 
attractiveness  and  charm.  Not  so  Hume.  He  has  the 
enviable  gift  of  writing  as  though,  while  in  the  world,  he  were 
not  of  it,  but  had  secured  absolute  immunity  from  its  manifold 
temptations  and  snares.  This  welcome  air  of  detachment, 
coupled  with  his  unfailing  humour,  his  knowledge  of  mankind, 


336    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

and  his  all  but  invariable  lucidity,  will  preserve  his  works  as 
literature  long  after  the  writings  of  the  "  high-flying"  school 
of  empirical  philosophers  has  sunk  into  well-merited  oblivion. 

Hume  lived  on  terms  of  good  fellowship  with  the  many 
eminent  men  who  were  to  be  found,  during  the  period  of  his 
maturity  and  fame,  in  the  society  of  Edinburgh.  But  pro- 
bably his  most  intimate  friend  was  Adam  Smith,1  who  was 
born  in  Kirkcaldy  in  1722.  Smith,  in  due  course,  proceeded 
to  Glasgow  College,  and  thence,  with  the  aid  of  the  Snell 
Exhibition,  to  Balliol.  He  remained  at  Oxford  from  1740 
until  1746,  and  he  is  creditably  distinguished  from  some  whose 
residence  there  was  nearly  contemporary  with  his  by  having 
been  less  vehement  and  sweeping  than  they  in  the  reproaches 
which  he  cast  at  his  Alma  Mater.  In  his  early  youth  he  had 
a  strong  taste  for  mathematics,  but  at  a  later  stage  he  applied 
himself  to  all  branches  of  learning,  and  during  the  greater  part 
of  his  life  he  must,  consciously  and  unconsciously,  have  been 
accumulating  material  for  his  magnum  opus. 

After  leaving  Oxford,  he  gave  a  course  of  lectures  in 
Edinburgh  upon  English  Literature  ;  a  private  speculation  of 
his  own,  which  met  with  a  large  measure  of  success  ;  for 
English  was  all  the  rage,  and  long  before  the  soi-disant 
University  Extension  movement  was  initiated,  the  half- 
educated  classes  of  the  community  appear  to  have  had  an 
appetite  for  dabbling  in  what  they  were  ill-fitted  to  compre- 
hend. His  capabilities  as  a  critic  have  been  summarily 
disposed  of  by  Wordsworth  ;  and  there  is  little  inducement 
to  plead  for  a  more  lenient  sentence  in  the  case  of  one  who, 
in  discussing  the  Philoctetes,  the  Hippolytus,  and  the  Hercules 
of  Greek  tragedy,  has  opined  that  these  attempts  to  excite 
compassion  by  the  representation  of  bodily  pain,  "  may  be 
regarded  as  among  the  greatest  breaches  of  decorum  of  which 

1  Kae,  Life  of  Adam  Smith,  1895.  The  most  convenient  edition  of  the 
Theory  of  Moral  Sentiments,  is  that  published  by  Bohn,  1853  ;  of  The 
Wealth  of  Nations,  the  best  is  that  ed.  by  Rogers,  2  vols.,  Oxford,  1869. 


THE  AUGUSTAN  AGE:  PROSE          337 

the  Greek  theatre  has  set  the  example." I  The  educated, 
however,  as  well  as  the  half-educated  classes,  supported  Smith 
as  a  lecturer,  and  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  reputation 
he  won  in  this  volunteer  enterprise  contributed  to  secure  his 
appointment  to  the  chair  of  Logic  in  the  University  of 
Glasgow  in  1750.  Two  years  later,  he  was  transferred  to  the 
chair  of  Moral  Philosophy,  which  had  formerly  been  held  by 
Francis  Hutcheson. 

Smith  discharged  the  duties  of  his  professorship  with  what 
in  another,  though  cognate,  sphere,  is  styled  "great  accept- 
ance." In  1759,  he  gave  some  of  the  results  of  his  labours  to 
the  general  public,  in  the  Theory  of  Moral  Sentiments^  to  which 
allusion  has  been  already  made.  But  the  emoluments  of  a 
professorial  chair  in  a  Scottish  University  in  that  age  were 
meagre,  even  judged  by  the  prevailing  standard  of  comfort. 
Better  things  were  in  store;  and  Smith,  in  1764,  became 
private  tutor  to  the  young  Duke  of  Buccleuch — one  of  the 
most  excellent  and  respected  of  the  many  excellent  and 
respected  men  who  have  borne  that  title.  In  this  office 
he  won  the  lasting  esteem  and  respect  of  his  pupil,  for, 
though  no  great  hand  at  making  a  festive  gathering  pass 
off  with  eclat,  he  had  so  much  solid  worth  as  rarely  failed 
to  recommend  him  to  those  with  whom  he  had  been  brought 
into  contact.  Functus  officio,  he  received  from  the  Duke  an 
annuity  of  ^300  a  year,  and  in  1778  his  means  were  further 
increased  by  his  preferment  to  the  post  of  Commissioner  of 
Customs  in  Scotland.  This  meant  the  transference  of  his 
establishment  to  Edinburgh  from  his  native  town,  whither  he 
had  retired  twelve  years  before,  and  whence  he  had  issued  to 
the  world  his  Wealth  of  Nations  (1776).  He  died  in  1790, 
having  survived  his  mother,  his  filial  devotion  to  whom  was  in 
the  highest  degree  examplary,  by  no  more  than  six  years. 

Even  during  the  period  of  his  residence  in  Glasgow,  Smith 
was  constantly  in  Edinburgh,  where  the  majority  of  his  friends 

1  Theory  \>f  Moral  Sentiments,  ed.  cit.,  p.  38. 
Y 


338     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

had  their  abode.  He  was  a  contributor  to  the  first  Edinburgh 
Review^  of  which  two  numbers  appeared  in  1755,  and  he 
belonged  to  the  "  Select  Society,"  founded  in  1754  by  Allan 
Ramsay  the  younger.  That  grown-up  men  should  form  an 
association  for  the  purpose  of  discussing  any  question  in  a  more 
or  less  formal  manner  is  certainly  a  startling  notion  to  the 
present  generation.  Debating  Societies,  we  are  apt  to  think, 
should  be  left  to  the  youthful,  to  those  who  have  plenty  of 
time  to  canvass  topics  on  which  all  sensible  men  have  made 
up  their  minds,  and  would  rather  not  divulge  their  sentiments. 
The  men  of  the  eighteenth  century  apparently  possessed  the 
talisman  of  perpetual  youth.  At  all  events,  the  Select  ones 
held  their  meeting  every  Friday  in  the  Advocates'  Library, 
and  seem  to  have  been  as  "  keen  "  as  if  they  had  been  lads  in 
the  "Speculative,"  which  was  yet  a  thing  of  the  future. 
Smith,  we  gather,  did  not  shine  much  in  private  life.  He  had 
none  of  the  charm  of  Hume  or  Robertson.  His  absent- 
mindedness  was  notorious,  and  we  have  an  anecdote  on  the 
subject  from  Scott,1  more  accurate  probably,  if  not  more 
authentic,  than  his  celebrated  story  of  the  meeting  of  Smith 
and  Johnson.  That  some  "  holtercation  "  took  place  between 
the  great  men  at  their  meeting  is  certain.  It  is  equally 
certain  that  Glasgow  was  not  the  scene  of  it.  But  what 
passed,  and  what  language  was  employed,  no  one  knows. 
Johnson,  for  one,  bore  no  malice,  for  he  declared  to  Boswell 
in  1763  that  had  he  known  of  Smith's  strong  preference  for 
rhyme  before  blank  verse,  he  would  have  "  hugged  him." 

Both  as  a  moral  philosopher  and  as  an  economist  there  is  no 
doubt  that  Smith  imbibed  some  of  his  views  from  Francis 
Hutcheson  (i694-i746),2  who,  though  born  in  the  North  of 
Ireland,  was  of  Scots  extraction,  and  who  played  a  prominent 
part  in  the  awakening  of  the  Scottish  Universities.  Hutcheson, 
like  many  Protestant  dissenters  in  Ireland  at  that  time,  had 

1  Miscellaneous  Prose  Works,  vol.  xix.  p.  339. 

z  W.  R.  Scott,  Francis  Hutcheson,  Cambridge,  1900. 


THE  AUGUSTAN  AGE:   PROSE          339 

himself  been  a  student  at  Glasgow,  and,  after  conducting  an 
Academy  for  his  co-religionists  in  Dublin,  where  he  became 
a  persona  grata  at  the  Court  of  the  Lord  Lieutenant,  he 
returned  to  Glasgow  as  Professpr  of  Moral  Philosophy.  Smith 
was  one  of  his  pupils,  who  all  appear  to  have  been  deeply 
impressed  by  the  excellence  and  earnestness  of  their  teacher. 

Hutcheson's  principal  works  consist  of  an  Inquiry  into  the 
Original  of  our  Ideas  of  Beauty  and  Virtue  (1725),  an  Essay  on 
the  Nature  and  Conduct  of  the  Passions  (1728),  a  Short  Intro- 
duction to  Moral  Philosophy  (1747),  and  a  System  of  Moral 
Philosophy  (1755).  His  philosophical  principles  are  to  a  large 
extent  founded  upon  Shaftesbury's,  with  benevolence  put  into 
the  prominent  place,  and  the  dilettante  element  omitted.  But 
he  rarely,  if  ever,  comes  to  close  quarters  with  moral  or 
psychological  facts,  and  he  is  as  incurable  an  optimist  as 
Dr.  Pangloss.  What  importance  he  was  once  thought  to 
possess  in  the  history  of  philosophy,  he  can  no  longer  lay  claim 
to.  Even  his  admirers  are  compelled  to  praise  him,  somewhat 
vaguely,  as  one  of  the  heralds  of  the  aufklarung  in  Scotland, 
rather  than  as  the  founder  of  some  striking  system  of  ethics. 
They  fall  back  upon  his  personal  character,  and  tell  us  that  he 
was  "a  living  example  of  lofty  aims  and  noble  aspirations." 
But  even  the  fact  that  he  was  "  one  of  those  rare  spirits  who 
exercise  a  gracious  influence  over  those  they  meet  "  z  cannot 
justify  his  occupation  of  much  space  in  a  history  of  literature. 
His  style,  to  which  reference  has  been  already  made,  is 
sufficiently  echoed  in  the  excerpt  from  Smith  which  will  be 
found  later  on  ;  for  to  Smith  he  communicated  his  forcible- 
feeble  turns  of  oratory,  his  optimism,  and  his  Whiggery.2  He 

1  Scott,  ut  supra,  p.  147.     It  is  right,  however,  to  say  that  Mr.  Scott 
makes  a  thorough  examination  of  Hutcheson's  teaching,  as  developed  in 
his  works. 

2  As  a  specimen  of  the  optimism,  take  Smith's  attack  on  "  those  whining 
and  melancholy  moralists  who  are  perpetually  reproaching  us  with  our 
happiness   while   so   many  of  our  brethren   are  in  such  misery."    The 
"  artificial  commiseration  "  thus  advocated  is,  he  points  out,  at  once  absurd 


will  be  best  remembered  as  the  inventor  of  that  most  ambiguous 
and  potent  of  phrases,  "  the  greatest  happiness  of  the  greatest 
number." 

We  may  accordingly  return  to  Smith,  and  attempt  to  justify 
the  opinion  already  indicated  of  the  Theory  of  Moral  Sentiments. 
The  cardinal  proposition  of  that  work,  which  was  received 
with  great  favour,  may  be  stated  thus,  in  the  author's  own 
language.  "  We  either  approve  or  disapprove  of  the  conduct 
of  another  man,  according  as  we  feel  that,  when  we  bring  his 
case  home  to  ourselves,  we  either  can  or  cannot  entirely 
sympathise  with  the  sentiments  and  motives  which  directed  it. 
And,  in  the  same  manner,  we  either  approve  or  disapprove  of 
our  own  conduct,  according  as  we  feel  that,  when  we  place 
ourselves  in  the  situation  of  another  man,  and  view  it,  as  it  were, 
with  his  eyes  and  from  his  station,  we  either  can  or  cannot 
entirely  enter  into  and  sympathise  with  the  sentiments  and 
motives  which  influenced  him."  x  The  reader  must  judge  for 
himself  of  the  validity  of  this  fantastic  standard  by  which  praise 
and  blame  are  to  be  distributed,  involving,  as  it  does,  a  constant 
and  endless  transmigration  from  one  man's  skin  into  another's. 
Also  the  reader  must  judge  for  himself  as  to  the  adequacy  of 
Smith's  psychology  :  as  to  whether,  for  example,  the  account 
of  sympathy  at  the  beginning  of  the  book  is  at  all  satisfactory, 
and  whether  it  be  true  that  violent  hunger  evokes  no  sympathy 
(and  therefore  is  considered  indecent),  because,  by  reading  the 
description  of  it,  or  seeing  it,  we  do  not  grow  hungry  our- 
selves. The  point  for  us  is,  not  whether  Smith's  contentions 

[a  very  favourite  word  of  reproach  with  him],  unattainable,  and  useless. 
"  Take  the  whole  earth  at  an  average,  for  one  man  who  suffers  pain  or 
misery,  you  will  find  twenty  in  prosperity  and  joy,  or  at  least  in  tolerable 
circumstances.  No  reason  surely  can  be  assigned,  why  we  should  rather 
weep  with  the  one  than  rejoice  with  the  twenty  "  (Theory,  ed.  cit.,  p.  197). 
As  a  specimen  of  the  Whiggery,  take  this  dictum  :  "That  kings  are  the 
servants  of  the  people,  to  be  obeyed,  resisted,  deposed,  or  punished,  as  the 
public  conveniency  may  require,  is  the  doctrine  of  reason  and  philosophy  " 
Ibid.  p.  74).  He  admits,  however,  that  it  is  not  "the  doctrine  of  nature," 
1  Theory,  ed.  cit.,  p.  161. 


THE  AUGUSTAN  AGE:  PROSE         341 

are  sound,  but  how  he  has  expressed  them  :  and,  as  his  work 
stands,  I  question  whether  a  larger  collection  of  pompous  and 
empty  platitudes  was  ever  made  by  a  great  writer.  When 
we  find  conscience  described  as  "  the  great  inmate  of  the 
breast,"  we  may  well  be  on  our  guard  ;  and,  when  we  find  an 
argument  enforced  by  a  series  of  rhetorical  questions  in  the 
manner  of  Mr.  Chad  band,  we  know  that  we  are  dealing  not  with 
a  man  who  has  penetrated  the  depths  of  human  nature  (and, 
indeed,  Smith  is  as  superficial  as  can  be),  but  with  one  who  is 
determined  to  demonstrate  his  own  accomplishment  by  exhibit- 
ing all  the  tricks  of  English  rhetoric.  Occasionally  there  is 
an  outburst  of  something  like  genuine  feeling,  as  when  he 
deplores  the  cruel  destiny  of  the  North  American  Indian  and 
the  Negro,  to  whose  peculiar  merits  he  has  paid  a  handsome 
tribute.  "  Fortune,"  he  says,  "  never  exerted  more  cruelly  her 
empire  over  mankind  than  when  she  subjected  those  nations  of 
heroes  to  the  refuse  of  the  gaols  of  Europe,  to  wretches  who 
possess  the  virtues  neither  of  the  countries  which  they  come 
from,  nor  of  those  which  they  go  to,  and  whose  levity,  brutality, 
and  baseness,  so  justly  expose  them  to  the  contempt  of  the 
vanquished." *  But  much  more  frequently  he  is  in  the 
following  strain  : — 

"  How  aimiable  does  he  appear  to  be  whose  sympathetic  heart 
seems  to  re-echo  all  the  sentiments  of  those  with  whom  he  con- 
verses, who  grieves  for  their  calamities,  who  resents  their  injuries, 
and  who  rejoices  at  their  good  fortune  ?  When  we  bring  home  to 
ourselves  the  situation  of  his  companions,  we  enter  into  their  grati- 
tude, and  feel  what  consolation  they  must  derive  from  the  tender 
sympathy  of  so  affectionate  a  friend.  And,  for  a  contrary  reason, 
how  disagreeable  does  he  appear  to  be  whose  hard  and  obdurate 
heart  feels  for  himself  only,  but  is  altogether  insensible  to  the  happi- 
ness or  misery  of  others  ?  We  enter,  in  this  case  too,  into  the  pain 
which  his  presence  must  give  to  every  mortal  with  whom  he  con- 
verses, to  those  especially  with  whom  we  are  most  apt  to  sympathise, 
the  unfortunate  and  the  injured. 


1  Theory,  ed  cit.,  p.  300. 


342     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

"  On  the  other  hand,  what  noble  propriety  and  grace  do  we  feel  in 
the  conduct  of  those  who,  in  their  own  case,  exert  that  recollection 
and  self-command  which  constitute  the  dignity  of  every  passion,  and 
which  bring  it  down  to  what  others  can  enter  into  ?  We  are  dis- 
gusted with  that  clamourous  grief,  which,  without  any  delicacy, 
calls  upon  our  compassion  with  sighs  and  tears,  and  importunate 
lamentations.  But  we  reverence  that  reserved,  that  silent  and 
majestic  sorrow,  which  discovers  itself  only  in  the  swelling  of  the 
eyes,  in  the  quivering  of  the  lips  and  cheeks,  and  in  the  distant,  but 
affecting,  coldness  of  the  whole  behaviour.  It  imposes  the  like 
silence  upon  us.  We  regard  it  with  respectful  attention,  and  watch 
with  concern  over  our  whole  behaviour,  lest  by  any  impropriety  we 
should  disturb  that  concerted  tranquillity  which  it  requires  so  great 
an  effort  to  support. 

"  The  insolence  and  brutality  of  anger,  in  the  same  manner,  when 
we  indulge  its  fury  without  check  or  restraint,  is,  of  all  objects,  the 
most  detestable.  But  we  admire  that  noble  and  generous  resent- 
ment which  governs  its  pursuit  of  the  greatest  injuries,  not  by  the 
rage  which  they  are  apt  to  excite  in  the  breast  of  the  sufferer,  but  by 
the  indignation  which  they  naturally  call  forth  in  that  of  the 
impartial  spectator ;  which  allows  no  word,  no  gesture,  to  escape  it 
beyond  what  this  more  equitable  sentiment  would  dictate  ;  which 
never,  even  in  thought,  attempts  any  greater  vengeance,  nor  desires 
to  inflict  any  greater  punishment,  than  what  every  indifferent  person 
would  rejoice  to  see  executed. 

"  And  hence  it  is,  that  to  feel  much  for  others,  and  little  for  our- 
selves, that  to  restrain  our  selfish,  and  to  indulge  our  benevolent 
affections,  constitutes  the  perfection  of  human  nature  ;  and  can 
alone  produce  among  mankind  that  harmony  of  sentiments  and 
passions  in  which  consists  their  whole  grace  and  propriety.  As  to 
love  our  neighbour  as  ourselves  is  the  great  law  of  Christianity,  so 
it  is  the  great  precept  of  nature  to  love  ourselves  only  as  we  love  our 
neighbours,  or,  what  comes  to  the  same  thing,  as  our  neighbour  is 
capable  of  loving  us. 

"  As  taste  and  good  judgment,  when  they  are  considered  as  qualities 
which  deserve  praise  and  admiration,  are  supposed  to  imply  a 
delicacy  of  sentiment  and  an  acuteness  of  understanding  not  com- 
monly to  be  met  with  ;  so  the  virtues  of  sensibility  and  self-command 
are  not  apprehended  to  consist  in  the  ordinary  but  in  the  uncommon 
degrees  of  those  qualities.  The  aimiable  virtue  of  humanity  requires, 
surely,  a  sensibility  much  beyond  what  is  possessed  by  the  rude 
vulgar  of  mankind.  The  great  and  exalted  virtue  of  magnanimity 
undoubtedly  demands  much  more  than  that  degree  of  self-command 


THE  AUGUSTAN  AGE:  PROSE          343 

which  the  weakest  of  mortals  is  capable  of  exerting.  As  in  the 
common  degree  of  the  intellectual  qualities  there  are  no  abilities  ;  so 
in  the  common  degree  of  the  moral  there  is  no  virtue.  Virtue  is 
excellence,  something  uncommonly  great  and  beautiful,  which  rises 
far  above  what  is  vulgar  and  ordinary.  The  aimiable  virtues  consist 
in  that  degree  of  sensibility  which  surprises  by  its  exquisite  and  un- 
expected delicacy  and  tenderness.  The  awful  and  respectable,  in 
that  degree  of  self-command  which  astonishes  by  its  amazing 
superiority  over  the  most  ungovernable  passions  of  human 
nature."  ' 

Better,  surely,  than  this  the  blunt  straightforward  hedonism  of 
Hume  ;  better,  even,  the  brutal  cynicism  of  the  philosopher 
whom  Smith  denominates  "  Dr.  Mandeville." 

But  the  author  of  the  Inquiry  into  the  Nature  and  Causes  of 
the  Wealth  of  Nations  is  a  very  different  person  from  the  author 
of  the  Theory  of  Moral  Sentiments.  The  vices  of  the  earlier 
work  are  superseded  by  the  corresponding  virtues.  While  the 
Theory  is  flaccid  and  invertebrate,  the  Inquiry  is  firm  and 
vigorous  ;  while  the  Theory  seems  hopelessly  unreal,  the  Inquiry 
brings  us  into  the  closest  contact  with  hard  facts  ;  while  the 
Theory  is  little  better  than  a  collection  of  what  were  then  esteemed 
fine  phrases,  the  Inquiry  is  compact  of  shrewd  judgment  and 
sagacious  observation  ;  and,  finally,  while  the  Theory  has  left 
practically  no  mark  on  the  development  of  ethical  speculation, 
the  influence  of  the  Inquiry  has  been  of  the  most  extensive  and 
penetrating  kind.  The  Wealth  of  Nations  (to  call  it  by  the 
more  familiar  abbreviation)  remains  still,  and  is  likely  to 
remain,  the  most  valuable  contribution  made  by  any  one 
person  to  the  "  science  "  of  Political  Economy,  whose  birth, 
indeed,  its  first  appearance  announced  to  an  expectant  world. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  trace  in  detail  Smith's  obligations  to  his 
predecessors  or  contemporaries.  His  debt  to  Hutcheson  has 
been  well  established  ;  and  what  he  owes  to  Hume  is  plain 
enough.  It  used  to  be  supposed  that  his  indebtedness  to  the 
French  physiocrats  was  heavy,  but  it  seems  that  he  had  been 

1  Theory,  ed  cit.,  p.  26. 


344    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

expounding  some  of  their  doctrines  in  his  lectures  before  their 
appearance  in  print.  The  truth  is,  of  course,  that  many  of  the 
ideas  to  which  Smith  gave  such  clear  and  forcible  expression 
were  "  in  the  air,"  and  were  the  common  property  of  his 
generation.  He  himself  would  not  have  been  slow  to  acknow- 
ledge the  share  that  men  like  Hutcheson  or  Hume  had  in 
forming  his  opinions.  But  he  was  naturally  a  little  apprehen- 
sive lest  his  distinctive  views  should  be  fathered  on  persons  who 
had  absolutely  no  claim  to  be  considered  their  originators.  To 
this  risk  he  considered  himself  peculiarly  liable  in  consequence 
both  of  his  situation  as  a  professor,  and  of  his  "  unreserved  com- 
munications in  private  companies."  With  a  view  to  establish- 
ing his  exclusive  right  to  "  certain  leading  principles  both 
political  and  literary,"  he  accordingly  drew  up  a  paper  which, 
after  his  death,  came  into  the  possession  of  Dugald  Stewart. 
Whatever  else  this  document  may  or  may  not  prove,  it  demon- 
strates that,  as  early  as  1755,  he  maintained  the  dogma  of 
individualism  in  that  extreme  form  which  was  long  the  badge 
of  the  orthodox  economic  school. 

Many  of  Smith's  most  cherished  tenets  have  for  long  been 
out  of  fashion,  and  many  others  have  never  had  a  vogue  at  all 
except  in  the  United  Kingdom.  Yet,  while  the  reputation  of 
many  economical  thinkers  who  followed  Smith  has  suffered 
severely,  no  one  thinks  the  less  of  him.  This  is  due  partly, 
perhaps,  to  the  extraordinary  extent  of  the  information  upon 
which  he  based  his  reasonings  (and  no  one  of  his  time,  except 
Gibbon,  can  have  worked  harder),  and  partly  to  the  cool  and 
deliberate  way  in  which  his  inferences  are  deduced.  His  style 
is  eminently  business-like  ;  yet  it  is  never  harsh  or  crabbed. 
It  is  said  that  in  the  act  of  dictation  he  used  to  walk  up  and 
down  his  room,  rubbing  a  shoulder  as  he  turned  against  the 
wall.  Some  critics  profess  to  detect  the  effects  of  this  habit  in 
his  writing.  His  sentences,  they  say,  are  much  about  the 
same  length,  and  that  length  was  determined  by  the  space 
of  time  which  each  turn  of  the  room  occupied.  When  we 


THE  AUGUSTAN  AGE:  PROSE          345 

fall  in  with  such  theories  as  this,  we  are  tempted  to  believe 
that  the  critics  who  broach  them  must  possess  to  aid  their 
vision  "  a  pair  of  patent  double  million  magnifying  glass  micro- 
scopes of  extra  power." 

The  ordinary  reader  is  certainly  ill-qualified  to  detect  such 
nuances  of  style  ;  but  he  can  have  no  difficulty  in  appreciating 
more  palpable  characteristics.  The  following  passages  are 
selected  for  specimens  as  being  not  without  some  application 
to  certain  questions  of  our  own  day : — 

"  The  property  which  every  man  has  in  his  own  labour,  as  it  is  the 
original  foundation  of  all  other  property,  so  it  is  the  most  sacred  and 
inviolable.  The  patrimony  of  a  poor  man  lies  in  the  strength  and 
dexterity  of  his  hands ;  and  to  hinder  him  from  employing  this 
strength  and  dexterity  in  what  manner  he  thinks  proper  without 
injury  to  his  neighbour,  is  a  plain  violation  of  this  most  sacred 
property.  It  is  a  manifest  encroachment  upon  the  just  liberty  both 
of  the  workman  and  of  those  who  might  be  disposed  to  employ  him. 
As  it  hinders  the  one  from  working  at  what  he  thinks  proper,  so  it 
hinders  the  others  from  employing  whom  they  think  proper.  To 
judge  whether  he  is  fit  to  be  employed  may  surely  be  trusted  to  the 
discretion  of  the  employers,  whose  interest  it  so  much  concerns. 
The  affected  anxiety  of  the  lawgiver  lest  they  should  employ  an 
improper  person,  is  evidently  as  impertinent  as  it  is  oppressive. 

"  People  of  the  same  trade  seldom  meet  together  even  for  merri- 
ment and  diversion  but  the  conversation  ends  in  a  conspiracy 
against  the  public,  or  in  some  contrivance  to  raise  prices.  It  is 
impossible,  indeed,  to  prevent  such  meetings  by  any  law  which 
either  could  be  executed,  or  would  be  consistent  with  liberty  and 
justice.  But  though  the  law  cannot  hinder  people  of  the  same 
trade  from  sometimes  assembling  together,  it  ought  to  do  nothing 
to  facilitate  such  assemblies,  much  less  to  render  them  necessary. 

"  A  regulation  which  obliges  all  those  of  the  same  trade  in  a  par- 
ticular town  to  enter  their  names  and  places  of  abode  in  a  public 
register,  facilitates  such  assemblies.  It  connects  individuals  who 
might  never  otherwise  be  known  to  one  another,  and  gives  every 
man  of  the  trade  a  direction  where  to  find  every  other  man  of  it. 

"A  regulation  which  enables  those  of  the  same  trade  to  tax  them- 
selves in  order  to  provide  for  their  poor,  their  sick,  their  widows 
and  orphans,  by  giving  them  a  common  interest  to  manage,  may  also 
render  such  assemblies  necessary. 


346    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

"  An  incorporation  not  only  renders  them  necessary,  but  makes  the 
act  of  the  majority  binding  upon  the  whole.  In  a  free  trade  an 
effectual  combination  cannot  be  established  but  by  the  unanimous 
consent  of  every  single  trader,  and  it  cannot  last  any  longer  than 
every  single  trader  continues  of  the  same  mind.  The  majority  of  a 
corporation  can  enact  a  bye-law  with  proper  penalties,  which  will 
limit  the  competition  more  effectually  and  more  durably  than  any 
voluntary  combination  whatever. 

"  The  pretence  that  corporations  are  necessary  for  the  better 
government  of  the  trade  is  without  foundation.  The  real  and 
effectual  discipline  which  is  exercised  over  a  workman  is  not  that 
of  his  corporation  but  that  of  his  customers.  It  is  the  fear  of  losing 
his  employment  which  restrains  his  frauds  and  corrects  his  negli- 
gence. An  exclusive  corporation  necessarily  weakens  the  force  of 
this  discipline.  A  particular  set  of  workmen  must  then  be  employed, 
let  them  behave  well  or  ill.  It  is  upon  this  account  that  in  many  large 
incorporated  towns  no  tolerable  workmen  are  to  be  found,  even  in 
some  of  the  most  necessary  trades.  If  you  would  have  your  work 
tolerably  executed,  it  must  be  done  in  the  suburbs,  where  the  work- 
men, having  no  exclusive  privilege,  have  nothing  but  their  character 
to  depend  upon,  and  you  must  then  smuggle  it  into  the  town  as  well 
as  you  can. 

"  It  is  in  this  manner  that  the  policy  of  Europe,  by  restraining  the 
competition  in  some  employments  to  a  smaller  number  than  would 
otherwise  be  disposed  to  enter  into  them,  occasions  a  very  important 
inequality  in  the  whole  of  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  the 
different  employments  of  labour  and  stock."  * 

Next  to  Hume  and  Smith,  the  most  eminent  Scottish  prose 
writer  of  his  time  was  William  Robertson  (172 1-93), 2  the 
eldest  son  of  the  minister  of  Borthwick.  Robertson  followed 
in  his  father's  footsteps  by  entering  the  ministry  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland,  and  in  1743  he  was  appointed  to  the  parish  of 
Gladsmuir.  On  a  yearly  stipend  not  exceeding  j£iOO,  he  there 
supported  his  brother  and  sisters,  who  had  been  thrown  upon 
his  care  by  the  death  of  their  father  and  mother.  Robertson 
took  as  active  a  part  as  was  possible  for  him  in  concerting 
measures  to  repel  the  young  Pretender  in  the  '45,  and,  when 

1  Wealth  of  Nations,  bk.  i.,  ch.  x.,  part  ii. 

2  Works,  ed.  Alex.  Stewart,  12  vols.,  Edin.,  1818  ;  ed.  Dugald  Stewart, 
10  vols.,  Edin.,  1821. 


THE  AUGUSTAN  AGE:   PROSE          347 

the  rebellion  was  over,  began  to  play  that  part  in  the  Courts  of 
the  Church  which  led  in  due  course  to  his  being  the  undisputed 
leader  of  the  General  Assembly.  His  first  publication  was  a 
sermon  on  The  Situation  of  the  World  at  the  time  of  Christ's 
appearance  (1755).  Three  years  later  he  was  translated  to  the 
charge  of  Lady  Y  ester's,  in  Edinburgh,  which  he  gave  up  in 
1761  to  go  to  the  Old  Greyfriars.  There  Dr.  John  Erskine, 
the  chief  of  the  rival  party  in  the  General  Assembly,  presently 
became  his  colleague  ;  and  the  amicable  nature  of  their  inter- 
course has  not  unnaturally  formed  the  theme  of  much  admiring 
comment  in  a  country  in  which  religious  faction  has  always 
run  high,  and  such  conspicuous  instances  of  good  sense  and 
good  feeling  have  been  by  no  means  common.1 

Meanwhile,  in  1759,  Robertson  had  published  in  London 
his  History  of  Scotland^  and  the  work  had  achieved  instantaneous 
and  great  success,  particularly  on  the  South  side  of  the  border. 
In  1762  he  was  appointed  Principal  of  the  University  of 
Edinburgh,  and  in  1763  he  was  chosen  Moderator  of  the 
General  Assembly,  besides  receiving  the  dignity  of  Historio- 
grapher for  Scotland.  In  1769  his  History  of  the  Reign  of  the 
Emperor  Charles  V.  not  only  enhanced  his  already  high  reputa- 
tion, but  enriched  him  by  the  substantial  amount  of  ^4,500. 
The  History  of  America,  which  appeared  in  1777,  though  full  of 
striking  passages,  is  perhaps  inferior  to  its  predecessor  from  the 
same  pen  ;  and  the  Historical  Disquisition  (1791),  which  closes 
the  list  of  his  works,  has  probably  attracted  less  notice  than  any 
of  the  rest.  The  old  age  of  Robertson  was  happy  and  serene, 
as  his  youth  and  middle  life  had  been  busy  and  useful.  He  died 
too  soon  to  see  the  successful  revival  of  that  school  of 
thought  in  the  Church  of  Scotland  to  which  he  had  always 
been  opposed. 

High  as   was  the   character  of  the  eminent  men  of  letters 

1  See  the  account  of  Erskine's  preaching  in  Guy  Manncriiig  (Waverlcy 
Novels,  48  vols.,  vol.  iv.  p.  99),  which  winds  up  with  a  tribute  by  Mr. 
Pleydell  to  the  mutual  regard  of  the  two  colleagues. 


34B    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

who  then  were  the  glory  of  Edinburgh,  there  was  not  one  of 
them  who  surpassed  Robertson  in  amiability  of  temper  and 
sweetness  of  disposition.  All  who  knew,  and  have  attempted 
to  describe,  him  testify  to  his  integrity  and  uprightness,  his 
temperance  and  discretion,  his  possession,  in  short,  of  all  the 
Christian  virtues.  It  is  only  when  the  Evangelicals  begin  to 
get  their  horns  out  in  the  next  century — begin  to  write  violent 
pamphlets  and  contribute  letters  to  the  newspapers — that  we 
hear  whispers  against  his  laxity,  not  indeed  of  conduct,  but  of 
creed,  and  catch  a  hint  of  solemn  doubts  whether  he  really  had 
a  grasp  of  the  "  gospel."  :  To  knowledge  of  the  world  he 
made  no  pretensions  ;  and  even  the  "  lionising  "  which  he  had 
to  undergo  in  London  as  the  result  of  his  literary  efforts,  left 
him  simple  and  unsophisticated :  a  victim  of  the  not  unkindly 
ridicule  of  "  old  hands,"  like  his  friend  Carlyle.  He  was  "  a 
very  great  master  of  conversation,"  2  and  seems  indeed  to  have 
excelled  all  other  members  of  the  Edinburgh  circle  in  that 
department.  But  this  supremacy  brought  in  its  train  his  chief 
failing  :  "  a  strong  itch  for  shining,"  3  which  made  him  some- 
times tedious  even  to  his  friends.  His  direction  of  ecclesiastical 
affairs  was  wise  and  statesmanlike  ;  and  the  eloquence  which 
enabled  him  to  maintain  his  predominance  in  the  Assembly 
was  eminently  persuasive.  Few  more  attractive  personalities 
present  themselves  to  the  student  of  Scottish  Church  history. 

It  .would  be  vain  to  pretend  that  the  historical  works  of 
Robertson  have  passed  the  ordeal  of  more  than  a  century  of 
criticism  as  triumphantly  as  the  masterpiece  of  Gibbon.  A 
mass  of  new  evidence  has  been  brought  to  light,  and  the 
generalisations  which  were  justified  by  the  facts  at  Robertson's 
command  have  had  to  be  correspondingly  modified.  But  that 
Robertson  made  a  conscientious  and  honest  use  of  the  materials 

1  Vide  Hugh  Miller,  Letter  to  Lord  BrongJiain,  1839,  p.  4:  "Aged  men 
who  sat  under  his  ministry  have  assured  me  that  in  hurrying  over  the  New 
Testament  he  had  missed  the  doctrine  of  the  Atonement." 

2  Carlyle,  Atttob.,  p.  285.  3  Ibid.,  p.  171. 


THE  AUGUSTAN  AGE:   PROSE           349 

at  his  disposal  no  one  has  seriously  or  successfully  denied.  Even 
at  the  present  day  his  View  of  the  Progress  of  Society  in  Europe, 
prefixed  to  the  Charles  V.,  may  still  be  described  as  the  best 
essay  on  its  subject,  though  allowance  has  to  be  made  for  the 
faults  arising  from  his  own  temperament  and  the  spirit  of  his 
age.  Robertson  was  no  "enthusiast,"  any  more  than  Hume 
or  Adam  Smith.  But  it  may  well  be  questioned  whether  an 
enthusiast  is  the  best  qualified  person  to  deal  with,  say,  the 
Reformation,1  so  apt  is  enthusiasm  to  degenerate  into  unscru- 
pulous partisanship.  He  probably  failed  to  do  justice  to  the 
work  of  the  Church  in  the  dark  ages.  Yet  he  is  never  tempted 
to  cast  a  halo  round  the  Reformers  ;  and  he  is  wise  enough  to 
remember  the  extreme  complexity  of  the  motives  and  causes 
at  the  bottom  of  any  great  religious,  economic,  or  social  move- 
ment. His  style  partakes  of  his  coolness  and  prudence.  There 
are  no  heroics,  and  praise  and  blame  are  scattered  with  no 
careless  hand,  but  in  strict  obedience  to  the  dictates  of 
moderation  and  good  sense.2  Destitute  of  idiom  or  "race," 
his  manner  never  sinks  into  slovenliness,  and  a  more  flamboyant 
and  ambitious  mode  of  expression  would  in  all  likelihood  do 
much  less  justice  to  such  impressive  episodes  as  the  subjugation 
of  Mexico  or  Peru.  In  dealing  with  the  thorny  questions 
which  beset  the  history  of  his  own  country,  he  is  never 
betrayed  into  passion  or  partiality  ;  and  he  is  throughout 
laudably  free  from  the  provincial  type  of  patriotism  from  which 
certain  of  his  countrymen  have  not  been  exempt. 


1  Robertson's  "phlegmatic  account"  of  the   Reformation  gave  great 
offence  to  Mr.  William  Wilberforce.     See  his  Practical  View,  5th  ed. 
p.  304. 

2  Johnson  thought  that  Robertson  should  follow  the  advice  of  an  old 
college  tutor  to  one  of  his  pupils,  and  strike  out  all  his  particularly  fine 
passages.    (Boswell,  Life  of  Johnson,  Globe  ed.  1893,  p.  260.)   At  the  same 
time  he  owned  that  if  Robertson's  style  was  faulty  he  owed  it  to  him, 
Johnson  (ibid.,  p.  420).     It  is  difficult  to  see  why  Robertson's  style  should 
have  been  thought  to  be  overloaded  with  ornament,  though  no  doubt  it 
has  none  of  the  easy  and  delightful  fluency  of  Goldsmith's. 


350    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

I  select  for  illustration  a  passage  descriptive  of  the  arrival 
ot  Columbus  in  the  New  World  : — 

"As  they  proceeded,  the  indications  of  approaching  land  seemed 
to  be  more  certain,  and  excited  hope  in  proportion.  The  birds  began 
to  appear  in  flocks,  making  towards  the  south-west.  Columbus,  in 
imitation  of  the  Portuguese  navigators,  who  had  been  guided  in 
several  of  their  discoveries  by  the  motion  of  birds,  altered  the  course 
from  due  west  towards  that  quarter  whither  they  pointed  their 
flight.  But,  after  holding  on  for  several  days  in  this  new  direction, 
without  any  better  success  than  formerly,  having  seen  no  object 
during  thirty  days  but  the  sea  and  sky,  the  hopes  of  his  companions 
subsided  faster  than  they  had  risen  ;  their  fears  revived  with  addi- 
tional force ;  impatience,  rage,  and  despair  appeared  in  every 
countenance.  All  sense  of  subordination  was  lost  :  the  officers  who 
had  hitherto  concurred  with  Columbus  in  opinion  and  supported  his 
authority,  now  took  part  with  the  private  men ;  they  assembled 
tumultuously  on  the  deck,  expostulated  with  their  commander, 
mingled  threats  with  their  expostulations,  and  required  him  instantly 
to  tack  about  and  return  to  Europe.  Columbus  perceived  that  it 
would  be  of  no  avail  to  have  recourse  to  any  of  his  former  arts, 
which  having  been  tried  so  often  had  lost  their  effect  ;  and  that  it 
was  impossible  to  rekindle  any  zeal  for  the  success  of  the  expedition 
among  men  in  whose  breasts  fear  had  extinguished  every  generous 
sentiment.  He  saw  that  it  was  no  less  vain  to  think  of  employing 
either  gentle  or  severe  measures  to  quell  a  mutiny  so  general  and  so 
violent.  It  was  necessary  on  all  these  accounts  to  soothe  passions 
which  he  could  no  longer  command,  and  to  give  way  to  a  torrent  too 
impetuous  to  be  checked.  He  promised  solemnly  to  his  men  that 
he  would  comply  with  their  request,  provided  they  would  accom- 
pany him,  and  obey  his  command  for  three  days  longer,  and  if, 
during  that  time,  land  were  not  discovered,  he  would  then  abandon 
the  enterprise,  and  direct  his  course  towards  Spain. 

"  Enraged  as  the  sailors  were,  and  impatient  to  turn  their  faces 
again  towards  their  native  country,  this  proposition  did  not  appear 
to  them  unreasonable.  Nor  did  Columbus  hazard  much  by  confin- 
ing himself  to  a  term  so  short.  The  presages  of  discovering  land 
were  now  so  numerous  and  promising  that  he  deemed  them  infallible. 
For  some  days  the  sounding  line  reached  the  bottom,  and  the  soil 
which  it  brought  up  indicated  land  to  be  at  no  great  distance.  The 
flocks  of  birds  increased,  and  were  composed  not  only  of  sea-fowl, 
but  of  such  land  birds  as  could  not  be  supposed  to  fly  far  from  the 
shore.  The  crew  of  the  Pinta  observed  a  cane  floating,  which 


THE  AUGUSTAN  AGE:   PROSE          351 

seemed  to  have  been  newly  cut,  and  likewise  a  piece  of  timber 
artificially  curved.  The  sailors  aboard  the  Nina  took  up  the  branch 
of  a  tree  with  red  berries,  perfectly  fresh.  The  clouds  around  the 
setting  sun  assumed  a  new  appearance ;  the  air  was  more  mild  and 
warm,  and,  during  night,  the  wind  became  unequal  and  variable. 
From  all  these  symptoms  Columbus  was  so  confident  of  being  near 
land  that,  on  the  evening  of  the  nth  of  October,  after  public  prayers 
for  success,  he  ordered  the  sails  to  be  furled,  lest  they  should  be 
driven  ashore  in  the  night.  During  this  interval  of  suspense  and 
expectation  no  man  shut  his  eyes  ;  all  kept  upon  deck,  gazing 
intently  towards  that  quarter  where  they  expected  to  discover  the 
land  which  had  been  so  long  the  object  of  their  wishes. 

"  About  two  hours  after  midnight  Columbus,  standing  on  the  fore- 
castle, observed  a  light  at  a  distance,  and  privately  pointed  it  out  to 
Pedro  Guttierez,  a  page  of  the  queen's  wardrobe.  Guttierez  per- 
ceived it,  and  calling  to  Salcedo,  comptroller  of  the  fleet,  all  three 
saw  it  in  motion,  as  if  it  were  carried  from  place  to  place.  A  little 
after  midnight  the  joyful  sound  of  "  Land  !  land  !"  was  heard  from 
the  Pinta,  which  kept  always  ahead  of  the  other  ships.  But,  having 
been  deceived  so  often  by  fallacious  appearances,  every  man  was 
now  become  slow  of  belief,  and  waited  in  all  the  anguish  of  un- 
certainty and  impatience  for  the  return  of  day.  As  soon  as  morning 
dawned  all  doubts  and  fears  were  dispelled.  From  every  ship  an 
island  was  seen  about  two  leagues  to  the  north,  whose  flat  and 
verdant  fields,  well  stored  with  wood  and  watered  with  many  rivu- 
lets, presented  the  aspect  of  a  delightful  country.  The  crew  of  the 
Pinta  instantly  began  the  Te  Deum,  as  a  hymn  of  thanksgiving  to 
God,  and  were  joined  by  those  of  the  other  ships,  with  tears  of  joy 
and  transports  of  congratulation.  The  office  of  gratitude  to  heaven 
was  followed  by  an  act  of  justice  to  their  commander.  They  threw 
themselves  at  the  feet  of  Columbus  with  feelings  of  self-condemna- 
tion mingled  with  reverence.  They  implored  him  to  pardon  their 
ignorance,  incredulity,  and  insolence,  which  had  created  so  much 
unnecessary  disquiet,  and  had  so  often  obstructed  the  prosecution  of 
his  well-concerted  plan ;  and,  passing  in  the  warmth  of  their  admira- 
tion from  one  extreme  to  another,  they  now  pronounced  the  man 
whom  they  had  lately  reviled  and  threatened  to  be  a  person  in- 
spired by  heaven  with  sagacity  and  fortitude  more  than  human,  in 
order  to  accomplish  a  design  so  far  beyond  the  ideas  and  conception 
of  all  former  ages."  ' 

Substantial    as    were    the    services    rendered    by    Principal 
1  History  of  America,  in  H'orAs,  ed.  Stewart,  lit  sup.,  vol.  viii.  p.  121. 


352     LITERARY  HISTORY   OF  SCOTLAND 

Robertson  to  literature,  it  may  be  questioned  whether  they 
were  not  outweighed  by  his  contributions  to  the  progress  of 
intellect  and  civilisation  generally  in  Scotland.  The  Revolu- 
tion settlement  had  left  outside  the  pale  of  the  religious 
establishment  the  most  violent  fanatics,  whose  only  resource 
thereafter  was  to  intrigue  with  the  Roman  Catholics  for  the 
return  of  the  Stuarts  to  the  throne.  But  even  within  the 
Church  there  was  a  residuum  of  extreme  men  in  whose  hands 
the  Act  of  Anne,1  which  restored  patronage  to  the  patrons, 
placed  a  powerful  weapon.  It  is,  of  course,  a  mistake  to  sup- 
pose that  the  system  of  patronage  established  after  the 
Revolution  was  one  of  popular  election.  The  Act  1690, 
c.  23,  had  imposed  the  duty,  or  conferred  the  privilege,  of 
choosing  ministers  upon  the  Kirk  Session,  plus  the  heritors,  or 
landed  proprietors,  in  country  parishes,  and  plus  the  magistrates 
in  burghs.  Such  an  arrangement  was  very  far  indeed  from 
giving  the  congregation  or  the  parishioners  a  commanding 
voice  in  the  selection  of  their  spiritual  guide.  But  the  Act  of 
Anne  was  unpopular,  and  thus  afforded  the  ultra-evangelical 
party  a  valuable  opportunity  for  "  getting  up  steam  "  on  their 
side.  By  insisting  in  their  own  peculiar  dialect  upon  some 
imaginary  right  inherent  in  the  flock  to  choose  its  own  herd,2 
they  might  contrive  to  secure  the  acquiescence,  if  not  the 
active  support,  of  the  populace  in  achieving  their  praiseworthy 
objects  ;  the  persecution  of  the  Episcopalians,  the  proscription 
of  the  Roman  Catholics,  the  extermination  of  witches,  and  the 
re-establishment  of  an  odious  form  of  ecclesiastical  tyranny. 

1  10  Anne,  c.  12. 

2  See  Burns,  The  Two,  Herds,  Stanza  iv.,  apropos  of  a  quarrel  between 
Moodie  of  Riccarton  and  Russell  of  Kilmarnock. 

"  O  sirs  !  whae'er  wad  hae  expeckit 
Your  duty  ye  wad  sae  negleckit  ? 
Ye  wha  were  no  by  lairds  respeckit 

To  wear  the  plaid, 
But  by  the  brutes  themselves  eleckit, 
To  be  their  guide  !  " 
Works,  ed.  Henley  and  Henderson,  vol.  ii.  p.  21, 


THE  AUGUSTAN  AGE:  PROSE          353 

Luckily,  after  a  long  course  of  recalcitrancy  against  the 
authority  of  the  Church  Courts,  during  which  they  were 
treated  with  extraordinary  indulgence,  the  extreme  left  seceded 
in  the  fourth  decade  of  the  century. 

Had  the  Moderate  party  been  less  eminent  in  ability  and 
respectable  in  character  than  it  was,  the  fanatics  might  have 
achieved  partial  success  in  their  aims.  If  Carlyle,  for  example, 
had  been  their  most  prominent  leader  instead  of  merely  an 
active  officer — Carlyle,  who  was  maliciously  described  by 
Robertson's  evangelical  uncle  as  being  "  too  good  company 
to  have  any  deep  tincture  of  religion  " — they  might  not  have 
been  able  to  appeal  to  the  best  instincts  of  their  countrymen 
with  the  force  they  did.  Happy  is  the  religious  or  political 
party  whose  destiny  is  directed  by  its  very  best  men  !  Robert- 
son was  the  complete  embodiment  in  his  own  person  of  the 
virtues  of  the  Moderates,  and  the  scrupulous  propriety  of 
his  walk  and  conversation  precluded  the  possibility  of  any 
aspersions  being  cast  on  his  life  and  character.1  The  Evan- 
gelical party  was  less  fortunate.  That  there  were  many 
ministers  of  that  cast  of  thought  who  were  in  no  way  inferior 
to  their  Moderate  brethren  in  learning  and  refinement,  no  one 
who  knows  anything  of  the  internal  history  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland  can  doubt.  But  it  was  not  they  who  came  to  the 
front  either  in  literature  or  the  Church  Courts.  In  the  latter 
arena,  the  protagonist  of  the  party  for  some  years  was 
Alexander  Webster  (1707-84)  a  man  of  immense  practical 
gifts,  but  of  notoriously  "  convivial  "  habits.  In  the  former, 
the  works  of  Thomas  Boston  (1676-1732)2  still  keep  a 

1  "  He  enjoyed  the  bounties  of  providence  without  running  into  riot  ; 
was  temperate  without  austerity  ;  condescending  and  affable  without 
meanness  ;  and  in  expense  neither  sordid  nor  prodigal."  Thus  his  col- 
league, John  Erskine,  apud  Dugald  Stewart,  Memoir,  p.  134. 

3  Boston's  most  popular  works  were  his  Human  Nature  in  its  Fourfold 
State,  and  The  Crook  in  the  Lot.  Though  not  comparable  to  the  writings 
of  William  Law,  they  are  distinguished  by  a  fervour  and  sincerity  which 
is  not  unattractive,  despite  a  few  ludicrous  and  undignified  touches,  and 
the  tone  of  mysticism  which  prevails  in  some  passages  renders  them  very 
acceptable  to  those  who  like  it. 

Z 


354    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

precarious  hold  upon  the  skirts  of  fame,  and  the  names  or 
John  Willison  (1680-1750),  minister  of  Dundee,  Robert 
Walker  (1716-83),  minister  of  the  High  Kirk,  Edinburgh, 
and  John  Witherspoon  (1722-94),  are  remembered  by  a  few. 
But  the  mass  of  the  sermons,  discourses,  and  other  lucubrations 
of  the  "high-flyers"  are  plunged  in  oblivion. 

From  one  point  of  view,  then,  the  era  of  Robertson  was 
the  golden  age  of  the  Church  of  Scotland.  Never  before 
or  since  have  her  ministers  been  so  learned,  and  at  the 
same  time  so  free  from  the  patois  of  pedantry  or  puritanism. 
Never  have  they  occupied  a  more  creditable  position  in 
the  society  of  their  own  country.1  The  tradition  thus 
established  has  not  been  completely  maintained,  though  it 
has  never  become  extinct.  The  old  Moderate  party  came  to 
an  end  with  the  death  of  Principal  George  Hill  (1750-1819), 
who  represented  its  orthodox  branch,  and  whose  View  of  the 
Constitution  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  (1817)  and  Lectures  in 
Divinity  (1821)  are  still  of  high  authority.  The  Broad  Church 
party  of  the  nineteenth  century  rather  lacked  the  dignity  and 
polish,  the  fine  manner,  the  eager  desire  to  appeal  to  the  whole 
world  of  educated  men,  which  marked  the  Moderate  of  the 
true  breed.  And  if  the  era  of  Robertson  was  the  golden 
age  of  the  Church,  it  was  no  less  a  period  of  revival  for  the 
Universities  of  Scotland,  with  which  the  Church  was  still 
so  intimately  connected,  and  which  since  the  Revolution 
had  lost  much  of  the  glory  which  was  theirs  in  the  seven- 
teenth century.  Many  of  the  men  who  had  a  large  share 
in  promoting  this  revival  have  no  claim  to  more  than  the 
barest  mention  in  a  history  of  literature  ;  but  it  were  more 
than  ungrateful  to  omit  the  names  of  Dunlop,  of  Maclaurin, 
of  Simson,  of  Black,  of  Cullen,  and  of  the  Gregorys — through 
whose  labours,  in  conjunction  with  those  of  many  another,  the 

1  Some  very  just  observations  on  the  position  of  the  clergy  at  this  period 
will  be  found  in  Mackenzie's  Account  of  Home's  life,  prefixed  to  Home's 
Works,  ed.  1822,  vol.  i. 


THE  AUGUSTAN  AGE:  PROSE          355 

Universities  were  again  rendered  at  once  useful  and  efficient. 
A  survey  of  the  educated  world  in  Scotland  from  the  'fifteen 
down  to  the  death  of  Robertson,  will  disclose,  it  is  true,  many 
differences  of  opinion,  much  futile  endeavour,  many  weak- 
nesses, and  even  follies,  which  mar  the  symmetry  of  the  piece  ; 
but  it  will  also  reveal  a  vigorous,  indomitable,  and  concentrated 
effort  to  raise  Scotland  to  a  level  with  richer  and  more  highly 
favoured  nations,  and  to  restore  to  her  an  honourable  place  in 
the  community  of  civilised  Europe. 

It  is  some  such  ambition  as  this  that  is  put  in  the  forefront 
of  the  old  Edinburgh  Review l ;  and  it  was  some  such  ambition 

1  "  The  Edinburgh  Review  [To  be  published  every  six  months],  Edin- 
burgh :  printed  for  G.  Hamilton  and  J.  Balfour,  1755.  Price  is."  Thus 
the  title  page  of  number  i,  which  further  bears  that  the  work  contains  an 
account  of  all  the  books  and  pamphlets  that  have  been  published  in  Scot- 
land from  1st  of  January  to  ist  of  July,  1755,  and  promises  an  appendix  to 
each  number  "  giving  an  account  of  the  books  published  in  England  and 
other  countries  that  are  worthy  of  notice."  Here  are  the  contents  of  the 
number  : 

I.  History  of  Peter  the  Great.  XIII.  Mrs.  Cleland's  Cookery. 

II.  Hutcheson's  Moral  Philosophy.       XIV.  An  Analysis  of  the  Writings 

III.  Moyse's  Memoirs    of  Scottish  of  Sopho  and  David  Hume,  Esq. 
Affairs.  XV.  Observations  on  it. 

IV.  History  of  the  Rebellion,  1745  XVI.  The    Deist    stretched    on    a 
and  1746.  Death-bed. 

V.  Mr.  John  M'Laurin's  Sermons.         XVII.  Moderation  without  Mercy. 

VI.  Mr.  Eben.  Erskine's  Sermons.  The  Appendix  contains  : — 

VII.  Mr.  Will.  Robertson's  Sermon.       I.  Bp.  Sherlock's  Discourses. 

VIII.  Mr.  Fordyce's  Sermon.  II.  Dodsley's  Collection  of  Poems, 

IX.  Dr.   Martin's   Commentary  on  vol.  iv. 

Eustachius's  Tables.  III.  Johnson's  Dictionary  [By  Adam 

X.  Barclay's  Greek  Grammar.  Smith]. 

XI.  Decisions  of  the  Court  of  Session       IV.  Theron  and  Aspasio. 

XII.  Abridgement  of  the  Statutes,       V.  The  Centaur  not  fabulous. 
&c. 

A  tolerably  varied  bill  of  fare  indeed  !  The  general  preface  seems  to  be 
by  Robertson.  Mr.  Ebenezer  Erskine  comes  in  for  many  shrewd  knocks, 
as  does  the  author  of  the  tracts  reviewed  in  XVI.  and  XVII.  We  may 
suspect  the  Review  died  not  by  reason  of  its  severity  so  much  as  by  reason 
of  the  tendency  to  "  log-rolling."  All  the  contributors  were  on  intimate 
terms  with  one  another,  and  most  of  them  were  authors.  Hume  seems 
to  have  had  no  active  part  in  the  enterprise. 


356    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

as  this  that,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  fired  the  remarkable 
group  of  men  in  the  Scottish  capital  of  which  that  short-lived 
periodical  may  be  said  to  have  been  the  organ.  We  have 
already  dealt  with  the  three  most  illustrious  of  the  band  ;  its 
remaining  members  must  be  more  summarily  disposed  of. 

One  of  the  oldest,  as  well  as  oddest,  figures  in  the  circle 
is  that  of  Henry  Home,  of  Kames  J  (1696-1782),  who  was 
raised  to  the  bench  in  1752  by  his  territorial  title.  There  were 
few  subjects  on  which  he  was  not  prepared,  and  to  some  extent 
qualified,  to  pronounce  an  opinion  ;  and  law,  moral  philosophy, 
criticism,  history,  and  agriculture,  all  in  due  turn  received  a 
share  of  his  attention.  He  commenced  philosopher  in  the 
orthodox  manner  of  his  age,  that  is  to  say,  by  writing  a  letter 
(like  Butler  and  Hutcheson)  to  Dr.  Samuel  Clarke  ;  and  we 
are  told  that  in  his  youth  he  was  reckoned  among  the  "  Beaux 
or  fine  gentlemen,"  an  Edinburgh  group  who  "  united  an 
extensive  knowledge  of  literature,  and  a  cultivated  taste,  to  the 
utmost  elegance  of  manners,  of  dress,  and  of  accomplishments."2 
In  after  life,  elegance  was  certainly  not  the  most  striking 
feature  of  his  usual  mode  of  speech,  if  all  tales  are  true.  It 
was  his  lot  to  come  to  blows  in  the  latter  part  of  his  career 
with  the  two  most  formidable  opponents  whom  it  was  then 
possible  to  meet  in  controversy.  He  quarrelled  with  War- 
burton  on  the  question,  whether  ridicule  is  the  test  of  truth, 
and  he  was  violently  attacked  by  Voltaire  for  presuming  to 
admire  Shakespeare  too  much.  It  is  unnecessary  to  enumerate 
his  works,  which  comprise  an  Essay  on  the  History  of  Civil 
Society^  Elements  of  Criticism,  and  Sketches  of  the  History  of 
Man.  His  intellect  was  acute,3  but  not  well  balanced,  and  he 
was  apt  to  ride  off  on  highly  abstruse  metaphysical  specula- 


1  Memoirs,  by  Alexander  Fraser  Tytler,  2  vols.,  1807. 

2  Ibid.,  vol.  i.  p.  59. 

3  He  was  sharp  enough,  for  example,  to  detect  that  Adam  Smith's  ethical 
theories  were  "only  a  refinement  of  the  selfish  system  "  (Memoirs,  vol.  i. 
App.  p.  105). 


THE  AUGUSTAN  AGE:   PROSE          357 

tions,  when  a  little  common  sense  would  have  better  served  the 
turn.  But  he  was  a  monument  of  good  sense  compared  with 
his  colleague,  James  Burnett,  Lord  Monboddo  (17 14-99),* 
whose  name  has  long  been  a  very  synonym  for  mental 
eccentricity.  Monboddo's  memory  is  inseparably  associated 
with  the  anticipation  of  what,  for  "  the  man  in  the  street,"  is 
naturally  the  cardinal  doctrine  or  Mr.  Darwin — the  descent  of 
men  from  monkeys.2  Picturesque  as  is  his  figure,  and  enter- 
taining as  are  his  peculiarities,  it  is  vain  to  attempt  the  resusci- 
tation of  his  writings,  or  to  maintain  the  paradox  that  he  made 
any  material  contribution  to  thought.  Infinitely  more  cool- 
headed  and  sagacious  than  either  Kames  or  Monboddo  was 
Sir  David  Dalrymple,  Lord  Hailes  (1726-92),  whose  Annals 
of  Scotland  (1776-79)  may  not  be  picturesque,  but  are  based 
upon  a  scrupulous  adherence  to  the  best  original  authorities. 
He  had  a  predecessor  on  the  antiquarian  side  of  his  studies 
in  Father  Thomas  Innes  (1662—1714),  whose  Critical  Essay 
(1729)  is  highly  prized  ;  but  Dalrymple  was  a  greater  even 
than  Innes,  and  Sir  Walter  Scott  has  pronounced  a  high 
eulogium  upon  him  as  the  father  of  our  national  history.3 

The  author  whom  his  contemporaries  most  over-rated  was 
probably  Dr.  Hugh  Blair  (supra,  p.  319),  one  of  the  ministers  of 
the  High  Church,  and  Professor  of  Rhetoric  and  Belles  Lettres 
in  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  We  have  already  referred  to 
his  Sermons  as  typical  of  the  worst  sort  of  eighteenth-century 
prose,  and  his  Lectures  (1783)  on  his  professorial  subject  are 
not  much  better,  though  they  have  some  value  as  an  indication 
of  what  it  was  thought  proper  to  think  about  literature  at  the 
date  of  their  delivery.  Blair's  great  fault  is  that  he  can  not  say 


1  Knight,  Lord  Monboddo,  and  some  of  his  Contemporaries,  1900  ;  Scots 
Law  Times,  vol.  vii.  pp.  I  and  9  (a  couple  of  admirable  papers  by  the  late 
Mr.  James  Marshall)  ;  and  Guy  Maiuicring,  vol.  ii.  ch.  20,  ;/.  i. 

2  For  a  concise  yet  accurate  summary  of  Monboddo's  views,  see  Songs 
and  Verses,  by  an  old  contributor  to  Maga,  4th  ed.,  1875,  p.  5. 

3  Misc.  Prose  Works,  vol.  xx.  p.  314  ;  vol.  xxi.  p.  187. 


358     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

a  plain  thing  in  a  plain  way *  ;  nor  is  he  comparable  for 
originality  and  suggestiveness  of  view  to  Principal  George 
Campbell,  of  Aberdeen  (1719-96),  whose  Philosophy  of 
Rhetoric  (1776),  though  somewhat  discursive,  is  by  far  the 
most  valuable  contribution  to  criticism  which  came  from 
Scotland  during  the  century.  The  Essays  on  the  Nature  ana 
Principles  of  Taste  (1790)  of 'Archibald  Alison,  an  Episcopal 
clergyman  in  Edinburgh,  belong  to  that  class  of  vague 
writing  about  aesthetics  which  makes  the  hardest  reading  in 
the  world.2 

Not  the  least  agreeable  of  the  circle  was  John  Home  (1722- 
i8o8),3  sometime  minister  of  Athelstaneford,  who  is  said  to 
have  been  "  truly  irresistible,"  and  whose  entry  to  a  company 
was  "  like  opening  a  window,  and  letting  the  sun  into  a  dark 
room."  4  He  possessed  the  "  poetical  temperament "  in  a  very 
marked  degree,  if  the  poetical  temperament  be  equivalent  to 
an  insatiable  appetite  for  praise ;  but  the  modern  reader  is 
unable  to  detect  much  poetry  in  his  performances.  By  far  his 
most  successful  piece  was  the  tragedy  of  Douglas,  produced  in 
Edinburgh  with  immense  applause  towards  the  close  of  1756, 
and  at  Covent  Garden  in  the  following  year.  Its  appearance 
on  the  stage  was  the  signal  for  an  outburst  of  bigotry  on  the 
part  of  the  "  high-flyers,"  from  which  his  clerical  allies  man- 
fully endeavoured  to  shield  both  him  and  themselves  as  best 

1  When  he  wants  to  say,  for  example,  that  a  good  writer  may  be  a  bad 
man,  he  puts  it  thus  :  "  Elegant  speculations  are  sometimes  found  to  float 
on  the  surface  of  the  mind,  while  bad  passions  possess  the  interior  of  the 
heart  "  (Lecture  II.).     It  sounds  like  a  bad  parody  of  Johnson  :  and  all 
the  parodies  of  Johnson  are  bad. 

2  One  of  the  "  curiosities  of  criticism  "  of  the  century  was  the  attempt 
of  William  Lauder  (d.    1771)  to  show  that  Milton  was   an  unblushing 
plagiarist.     His  Essay  on  Milton's  Use  and  Imitation  of  the  Moderns  in  liis 
Paradise  Lost  (1750)  is  as  impudent  a  performance  as  any  age  can  boast 
of.     Lauder,  who  edited  a  collection  named  Poctarum  Scotornin  Musce 
Sacrce  (1739),  strongly  maintained  the  superiority  of  Arthur  Johnston  to 
George  Buchanan  as  a  Latin  versifier. 

3  Works,  with  an  Account  of  his  life,  by  Mackenzie,  3  vols.,  Edin.,  1822. 

4  Carlyle,  Autob.,  p.  223. 


THE  AUGUSTAN  AGE:  PROSE          359 

they  could.  But  Home  thought  it  prudent  to  demit  his 
charge,  and  they  were  well  pleased  to  come  off  with  no  severer 
penalty  than  an  admonition.  Neither  The  Fatal  Discovery 
(1769),  nor  Alonzo  (1773),  both  of  which  were  presented  at 
Drury  Lane  under  the  auspices  of  Garrick,  won  anything  like 
the  popularity  of  Douglas^  whose  plot  was  borrowed  from  the 
old  ballad  of  Gil  Morrice^  and  one  soliloquy  from  which 
lingered  long  into  the  nineteenth  century  in  schoolrooms  and 
places  where  they  recite.  There  is  nothing  distinguished  or 
striking  about  Home's  blank  verse  ;  and  indeed  it  abounds 
with  bald  and  prosaic  passages.  Much  more  to  the  point  is 
his  well-known  epigram  occasioned  by  the  imposition  of  a 
heavy  duty  upon  claret.  His  dramatic  tradition  was  continued 
by  Joanna  Baillie  ( 1762-1851),  on  whom  Scott  pronounced  an 
unmeasured  eulogy,1  but  who  is  best  remembered  by  The 
Chough  and  Grow*  which  is  almost  as  good  as  some  of  Scott's 
in  the  same  vein,  and  by  certain  lyrics  in  the  vernacular  to  be 
mentioned  in  their  proper  place. 

But  the  most  important  of  the  dl  minor  es  of  the  Scottish 
metropolis  was,  neither  Kames  (though  Adam  Smith  described 
him  as  the  master  of  the  literary  men  of  the  time) ;  nor  Home 
(though  David  Hume  pronounced  him  to  possess  "  the  true 
theatric  genius  of  Shakespear  and  Otway,  refined  from  the 
unhappy  barbarism  of  the  one  and  licentiousness  of  the  other  ") ; 
nor  yet  Henry  Mackenzie,  the  longest  survivor  of  that  golden 
age  (of  whom  something  falls  to  be  said  later  on )  ;  but,  Adam 
Ferguson  (1723-1816),  Professor  of  Moral  Philosophy  in  the 
University  of  Edinburgh  from  1759  to  1785.  Ferguson  began 
life  as  chaplain  to  the  Black  Watch,  with  which  regiment  he 
served  at  Fontenoy,  performing  prodigies  of  valour.  In  spite 
of  a  shock  of  paralysis,  he  protracted  existence  to  the  great  age 

1  "  When  she,  the  bold  enchantress,  came 

With  fearless  hand  and  heart  on  flame," 

And  so  forth,  in  Maniiion,  introduction  to  Canto  iii 

2  In  Orra  ;  a  tragedy,  act  iii.  sc.  I. 


360    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

of  ninety-three  by  means  of  a  rigid  vegetarian  diet.1  Besides 
a  political  tract  on  the  militia  question,  modelled  upon  Swift, 
and  entitled,  The  History  of  Margaret^  otherwise  called  Sister 
'Peg  (1760),  he  wrote  an  Essay  on  the  History  of  Civil  Society 
(1766),  Institutes  of  Moral  Thilosophy  (1772),  and  a  History  of 
the  Progress  and  Termination  of  the  Roman  Republic  (1782). 
Of  these  works  the  most  original  and  interesting  is  the  Essayy 
which  discovers  all  the  marks  of  a  vigorous  and  candid  intellect. 
Ferguson  is  not  to  be  fobbed  off  with  the  fine  phrases  which 
conceal  error  ;  he  insists  upon  examining  everything  for  him- 
self. It  is  highly  refreshing  to  come  across  a  work,  published 
in  the  decade  in  which  Rousseau  began  to  be  really  powerful 
for  evil,  which  nevertheless  insists  that  men  must  be  studied 
"  in  groups,  as  they  have  always  subsisted  "  ;  in  society,  not 
in  fictitious  isolation.  The  fallacy  involved  of  setting  up  an 
imaginary  "  state  of  nature,"  and  drawing  a  sharp  line  between 
natural  and  civilised  man  has  never  been  better  exposed  than 
in  the  following  passage  : — 

"  Man  finds  his  lodgment  alike  in  the  cave,  the  cottage,  or  the 
palace ;  and  his  subsistence  equally  in  the  woods,  in  the  dairy,  or 
the  farm.  He  assumes  the  distinction  of  titles,  equipage,  and  dress  ; 
he  devises  regular  systems  of  government,  and  a  complicated  body 
of  laws ;  or  naked  in  the  woods  has  no  badge  of  superiority  but  the 
strength  of  his  limbs  and  the  sagacity  of  his  mind  ;  no  rule  of  con- 
duct but  choice  ;  no  tie  with  his  fellow  creatures  but  affection,  the 
love  of  company,  and  the  desire  of  safety.  Capable  of  a  great 
variety  of  arts,  yet  dependent  on  none  in  particular  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  his  being ;  to  whatever  length  he  has  carried  his  artifice, 
there  he  seems  to  enjoy  the  conveniences  that  suit  his  nature,  and 
to  have  found  the  condition  to  which  he  is  destined.  The  tree 
which  an  American,  on  the  banks  of  the  Oroonoko  has  chosen  to 
climb  for  the  retreat  and  the  lodgment  of  his  family,  is  to  him  a 


1  "The  deep  interest  which  he  took  in  the  [French]  war  had  long 
seemed  to  be  the  main  tie  that  connected  him  with  passing  existence  ;  and 
the  news  of  Waterloo  acted  on  the  aged  patriot  as  a  mine  dimittis." 
(Scott,  Misc,  Prose  Works,  vol.  xix.  p.  332). 


THE  AUGUSTAN  AGE:   PROSE          361 

convenient    dwelling.     The    sopha,   the    vaulted    dome,    and    the 
colonnade,  do  not  more  effectually  content  their  native  inhabitant. 

"  If  we  are  asked,  therefore,  Where  the  state  of  nature  is  to  be 
found  ?  we  may  answer,  It  is  here ;  and  it  matters  not  whether  we 
are  understood  to  speak  in  the  island  of  Great  Britain,  at  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope,  or  the  Straits  of  Magellan.  While  this  active  being 
is  in  the  train  of  employing  his  talents,  and  of  operating  on  the 
subjects  around  him,  all  situations  are  equally  natural.  If  we  are 
told,  That  vice,  at  least,  is  contrary  to  nature ;  we  may  answer,  It  is 
worse  ;  it  is  folly  and  wretchedness.  But  if  nature  is  only  opposed 
to  art,  in  what  situation  of  the  human  race  are  the  footsteps  of  art 
unknown  ?  In  the  condition  of  the  savage,  as  well  as  in  that  of  the 
citizen,  are  many  proofs  of  human  invention  ;  and  in  either  is  not 
an}'  permanent  station,  but  a  mere  stage  through  which  this  travel- 
ling being  is  destined  to  pass.  If  the  palace  be  unnatural,  the 
cottage  is  so  no  less  ;  and  the  highest  refinements  of  political  and 
moral  apprehension,  are  not  more  artificial  in  their  kind,  than  the 
first  operations  of  sentiment  and  reason." ' 

It  is  tempting  to  linger  over  this  collection  of  learned, 
excellent,  and  polished  men  ;  to  dwell  on  John  Clerk  of  Eldin 
(1728-1812),  the  author  of  the  Inquiry  into  Naval  Tactics 
(1782);  on  Dr.  John  Jardine  (1706-66),  who  excelled  in  a 
spontaneous  flow  of  good  humour  ;  on  Patrick,  Lord  Elibank 
(1703-78),  perhaps  the  wittiest  of  them  all  ;  on  Charles 
Townshend  (1725-67),  the  brilliant  but  unprincipled  politician. 
But  we  must  hasten  on,  pausing  only  for  a  moment  at  the 
majestic  figure  of  Alexander  Carlyle2  (1722-1805),  known  as 
"  Jupiter,"  to  whose  autobiography  we  have  had  so  frequently 
to  acknowledge  our  indebtedness.  Was  a  little  diplomacy 
required  to  secure  a  majority  for  the  Moderates  in  the  General 
Assembly  ? — then,  who,  but  the  Minister  of  Inveresk  ?  Was 
a  statesman  in  London  to  be  convinced  of  the  serious  grievances 
under  which  the  Scottish  clergy  laboured  ? — then  who,  again, 

1  Essay  on  Civil  Society,  part  i.  sec.  I. 

"  "  His  person  and  countenance,  even  at  a  very  advanced  age,  were  so 
lofty  and  commanding  as  to  strike  every  artist  with  his  resemblance  to  the 
Jupiter  Tonans  of  the  Pantheon."  (Scott,  Misc.  Prose  Works  vol.  xix. 
P-  314). 


362     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

but  the  Doctor  ?  Lastly,  was  a  new  tavern  to  be  discovered 
for  the  meetings  of  the  "  Poker  "  or  the  "  Oyster  Club  "  ? — 
Why,  once  more,  Carlyle  was  the  very  man  to  do  it.  In 
addition  to  his  invaluable  memoirs  *  (which  were  not  published 
until  after  the  death  of  Principal  Lee  to  whom  he  had  be- 
queathed them),  he  wrote  two  pamphlets  in  the  ironical  vein 
of  Swift  :  one,  An  argument  to  prove  that  the  Tragedy  of 
Douglas  ought  to  be  publicly  burnt  by  the  Hands  of  the  Hangman 
(1757)  ;2  the  other,  Plain  reasons  for  removing  a  certain  great 

man  from  his  M y's  presence  and  councils  for  ever  (1759). 

But  his  hours  were  too  much  taken  up  with  affairs,  with 
jaunts  to  England,  and  with  "  club-life  "  (as  we  should  now 
call  it)  to  leave  much  time  for  the  muses.  That  he 
was  a  man  of  great  practical,  if  not  of  speculative,  ability, 
is  certain  ;  that  he  was  at  bottom  a  man  of  integrity  and 
worth,  in  spite  of  his  tendency  to  self-indulgence  (not 
intemperance),  is  no  less  sure.  For  so  much  the  company 
he  kept  will  answer.  We  may  or  may  not  be  able  alto- 
gether to  agree  with  Mackenzie  when  he  compares  the 
literary  society  of  London,  to  its  great  disadvantage,  with  that 
of  Edinburgh.  In  London,  he  says,  "  all  ease  of  intercourse 
was  changed  for  the  pride  of  victory,  and  the  victors,  like 
some  savage  combatants,  gave  no  quarter  to  the  vanquished. "3 
This  he  accounts  for  by  the  fact  that  the  literary  circle  of 
London  was  a  sort  of  sect,  "  a  caste  separate  from  the  ordinary 
professions  and  habits  of  common  life."  Its  members  were 
accordingly  apt,  like  other  traders,  to  bring  samples  of  their 
wares  into  company,  and  were  too  jealous  to  enjoy  any  ex- 

1  Ed.  Burton,  1860.     Only  less  interesting  and  valuable  than  Carlyle's 
work,  though  decidedly  inferior  in  spirit  arid  vitality,  is  My  Own  Life 
and  Times  by  Dr.  Thomas  Somerville  (1741-1830),  minister  of  Jedburgh, 
published  in  1861. 

2  He  also  drew  up  A  full  ami  true  History  of  the  Bloody  Tragedy  of 
Douglas,  which,  being  hawked  about  the  streets,  added  a  couple  of  nights 
to  the  original  run  of  Douglas  at  the  Canongate  Theatre. 

3  Lockhart  brings  much  the  same  charge  against  a  section  of  Edinburgh 
society  in  the  heyday  of  the  Edinburgh  Review, 


THE  AUGUSTAN  AGE:  PROSE          363 

cellence  in  their  competitors.  In  Edinburgh,  on  the  contrary, 
were  to  be  found  the  "  free  and  cordial  communication  of 
sentiments,  the  natural  play  of  fancy  and  good  humour."  x  Be 
all  this  as  it  may,  it  is,  at  any  rate,  highly  improbable  that  a 
society  at  once  so  illustrious  and  so  elegant  as  that  which  we 
have  been  engaged  in  considering,  will  ever  be  seen  again 
in  Edinburgh.2  The  thinking  was  high,  and  the  living 
plain ;  and  yet  not  so  plain  neither.  With  the  Firth  of 
Forth  prolific  in  excellent  oysters,  and  with  the  best  of  claret  at 
eighteen  shillings  a  dozen,  the  most  exacting  of  philosophers 
could  have  little  to  complain  of. 

We  conclude  this  chapter  by  glancing  at  the  founder  of 
what  is  known  as  the  "  Scottish  School "  of  philosophy,  and  at 
one  of  his  colleagues  in  the  University  of  Glasgow,  who, 
though  less  famous,  perhaps,  than  some  of  his  contemporaries, 
was  second  only  to  the  greatest  in  sheer  keenness  of  intellect. 

Thomas  Reid  (1710—96)  3  was  transferred  from  the  charge 
of  the  parish  of  Newmachar  to  the  chair  of  philosophy  in  the 
King's  College,  Aberdeen,  in  1752.  While  resident  in  that 
town,  he  was  largely  instrumental  in  founding  the  Philo- 
sophical Society,  which  counted  Dr.  Campbell,  Dr.  Beattie, 
and  Dr.  John  Gregory  among  its  members,  and  to  which  he 
communicated  much  of  the  material  which  was  collected  and 
arranged  in  his  Inquiry  into  the  Human  Mind  (1764).  In  the 
year  of  its  publication,  he  succeeded  Adam  Smith  as  Professor 
of  Moral  Philosophy  at  Glasgow  ;  an  appointment  which  he 
resigned  in  1781  with  a  view  to  the  elaboration  of  his  philo- 
sophical system.  The  fruits  of  his  retirement  are  apparent  in 


1  Account  of  Home's  life  prefixed  to  his  Works,  ed.  cit.  vol.  i.  p.  23. 

2  For  a  comparison  between  the  old  order  and  the  new,  see   Cockburn, 
Journal,  2  vols.,  Edin.,  1874,  vol.  ii.  p.  194  et  seq.    Cockburn,  however, 
thinks  that   the   first  thirty  years  of  the   nineteenth  century  more  than 
equalled  any  period  of  the  eighteenth  in  brilliance  and  distinction. 

3  Works,  ed.  Stewart,  4  vols.,  1803,  ed.  Hamilton,  I  vol.  (xxiii  +  io34  pp.  !), 
1863  ;  M'Cosh,  Scottish  Philosophy,  1875  ;  A.  Seth,  Scottish  Philosophy,  2nd 
ed.  1890. 


364    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

his  Essays  on  the  Intellectual  Powers  of  Man  (1785),  and  the 
Essays  on  the  Active  Powers  of  the  Human  Mind  (1788). 

Reid's  importance  in  the  history  of  philosophy  was  for  long 
overshadowed,  in  the  first  place,  by  the  superior  rhetorical  gifts 
of  his  disciple  Dugald  Stewart  (1753-1 828), *  who  in  reality 
added  nothing  of  consequence  to  his  master's  work,  and  in  the 
second  place  by  the  overpowering  force  of  Sir  William 
Hamilton's  abilities,  which  many  are  now  disposed  to  think 
were  sadly  wasted  in  wedding  the  philosophy  of  the  uncon- 
ditioned to  the  philosophy  of  "  common-sense."  But  in  recent 
years  he  has  been  restored  to  his  proper  place,  and  has  been 
recognised  as  one  of  the  chief  agents  in  the  work  of 
reconstructing  the  fabric  of  thought  and  knowledge  out  of 
the  ruins  to  which  Hume  had  reduced  it.  Reid  started  with 
the  great  advantage  of  seeing  how  thoroughgoing  Hume's 
scepticism  was  ;  and  he  tells  us  that  it  was  the  Treatise  of 
Human  Nature  which  first  induced  him  "  to  call  in  question 
the  principles  commonly  received  with  regard  to  the  human 
understanding."  "  I  am  persuaded,"  he  says  in  the  dedication 
to  his  Inquiry,  "  that  absolute  scepticism  is  not  more  destruc- 
tive of  the  faith  of  a  Christian  than  of  the  science  of  a 
philosopher,  and  of  the  prudence  of  a  man  of  common 
understanding.  I  am  persuaded  that  the  unjust  live  by  faith 
as  well  as  the  just ;  that,  if  all  belief  could  be  laid  aside,  piety, 
patriotism,  friendship,  parental  affection,  and  private  virtue 
would  appear  as  ridiculous  as  knight-errantry  ;  and  that  the 
pursuits  of  pleasure,  of  ambition,  and  of  avarice,  must  be 
grounded  upon  belief,  as  well  as  those  that  are  honourable  and 
virtuous."  He  proceeds  to  undermine  Hume's  system  from 
the  very  bottom  by  denying  that  (to  borrow  the  dialect  of 
another  school)  the  ultimate  elements  of  experience  are  un- 

1  Professor  of  Moral  Philosophy  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh, 
1785-1810.  Works,  ed.  Hamilton  and  Veitch,  n  vols.,  1854-58.  They 
include  Elements  of  the  Philosophy  of  the  Human  Mind  (1792),  Outlines 
of  Moral  Philosophy  (1793),  and  Philosophical  Essays  (1810). 


THE  AUGUSTAN  AGE:   PROSE          365 

related  units  or  sense  atoms.  Reid's  contention  could  not  be 
more  succinctly  stated  than  it  is  by  Professor  Pringle  Pattison.1 
"  The  unit  of  knowledge  is  not  an  isolated  impression  but  a 
judgment  ;  and  in  such  a  judgment  is  contained,  even  initially, 
the  reference  both  to  a  permanent  subject  and  to  a  permanent 
world  of  thought,  and,  implied  in  these,  such  judgments,  for 
example,  as  those  of  existence,  substance,  cause,  and  effect. 
Such  principles  are  not  derived  from  sensation,  but  are  'sug- 
gested '  on  occasion  of  sensation,  in  such  a  way  as  to  constitute 
the  necessary  conditions  of  our  having  perceptive  experience 
at  all." 

Reid's  philosophy  has  also  suffered  to  some  extent  from  his 
employment  of  so  ambiguous  an  expression  as  "  common-sense." 
Passages  like  the  following  "  brust "  of  eloquence  are  not  likely 
to  restore  confidence  in  that  touchstone,  or  its  champion  : — 

"  Admired  Philosophy  !  daughter  of  light !  parent  of  wisdom  and 
knowledge  !  if  thou  art  she,  surely  thou  has  not  yet  arisen  upon 
the  human  mind,  nor  blessed  us  with  more  of  thy  rays  than  are 
sufficient  to  shed  a  darkness  visible  upon  the  human  faculties,  and  to 
disturb  that  repose  and  security  which  happier  mortals  enjoy,  who 
never  approached  thine  altar,  nor  felt  thine  influence !  But  if,  indeed, 
thou  hast  not  power  to  dispel  those  clouds  and  phantoms  which  thou 
hast  discovered  or  created,  withdraw  this  penurious  and  malignant 
ray  ;  I  despise  Philosophy  and  renounce  its  guidance — let  my  soul 
dwell  with  Common  Sense." 

But,  in  making  his  appeal  to  Common  Sense,  Reid  did  not 
desire  to  take  the  judgment  of  "  the  man  in  the  street."  He 
meant  to  appeal  to  those  principles  which  are  common  to  the 
understanding  of  all  men,  and  which  are  the  indispensable  con- 
ditions precedent  to  an  act  of  judgment  on  the  part  of  any  one. 
It  is  not  often  that  he  indulges  in  such  meaningless  and 
ineffectual  flights  as  this  ;  and  the  following  passage  gives  a 
much  more  favourable  and  at  the  same  time  just  impression  of 
his  normal  style  : — 

1  Encycl.  Brit.  art.  Reid. 


366    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

"Suppose  that  once,  and  only  once,  I  smelled  a  tuberose  in  a 
certain  room,  where  it  grew  in  a  pot  and  made  a  very  grateful  perfume. 
Next  day  I  relate  what  I  saw  and  smelled.  When  I  attend  as  care- 
fully as  I  can  to  what  passes  in  my  mind  in  this  case,  it  appears 
evident  that  the  very  thing  I  saw  yesterday,  and  the  fragrance  I 
smelled,  are  now  the  immediate  objects  of  my  mind,  when  I 
remember  it.  Further,  I  can  imagine  this  pot  and  flower  trans- 
ported to  the  room  where  I  now  sit,  and  yielding  the  same  perfume. 
Here  likewise  it  appears,  that  the  individual  thing  which  I  saw  and 
smelled,  is  the  object  of  my  imagination. 

"  Philosophers  indeed  tell  me  that  the  immediate  object  of  my 
memory  and  imagination  in  this  case,  is  not  the  past  sensation,  but 
an  idea  of  it,  an  image,  phantasm,  or  species  of  the  odour  I 
smelled  :  that  this  idea  now  exists  in  my  mind,  or  in  my  sensorium  ; 
and  the  mind,  contemplating  this  present  idea,  finds  it  a  representa- 
sion  of  what  is  past,  or  of  what  may  exist ;  and  accordingly  calls  it 
memory  or  imagination.  This  is  the  doctrine  of  the  ideal  philo- 
sophy ;  which  we  shall  not  now  examine,  that  we  may  not  interrupt 
the  thread  of  the  present  investigation.  Upon  the  strictest  attention, 
memory  appears  to  me  to  have  things  that  are  past,  and  not 
present  ideas,  for  its  object.  We  shall  afterwards  examine  this 
system  of  ideas,  and  endeavour  to  make  it  appear,  that  no 
solid  proof  has  ever  been  advanced  of  the  existence  of  ideas  ; 
that  they  are  a  mere  fiction  and  hypothesis,  contrived  to  solve  the 
phaenomena  of  the  human  understanding  ;  that  they  do  not  at  all 
answer  this  end ;  and  that  this  hypothesis  of  ideas  or  images  of 
things  in  the  mind,  or  in  the  sensorium,  is  the  parent  of  those  many 
paradoxes,  so  shocking  to  common  sense,  and  of  that  scepticism 
which  disgrace  our  philosophy  of  the  mind,  and  have  brought  upon 
it  the  ridicule  and  contempt  of  sensible  men. 

"  In  the  meantime,  I  beg  leave  to  think,  with  the  vulgar,  that,  when 
I  remember  the  smell  of  the  tuberose,  that  very  sensation  which  I 
had  yesterday,  and  which  has  now  no  more  any  existence,  is  the  im- 
mediate object  of  my  memory  ;  and  when  I  imagine  it  present,  the 
sensation  itself,  and  not  any  idea  of  it,  is  the  object  of  my  imagina- 
tion. But,  though  the  object  of  sensation,  memory,  and  imagination, 
be  in  this  case  the  same,  yet  these  acts  or  operations  of  the  mind  are 
as  different,  and  as  easily  distinguishable,  as  smell,  taste  and  sound. 
I  am  conscious  of  a  difference  in  kind  between  sensation  and 
memory,  and  between  both  and  imagination.  I  find  this  also,  that 
the  sensation  compels  my  belief  of  the  present  existence  of  the 
smell,  and  memory  my  belief  of  its  past  existence.  There  is  a  smell 
is  the  immediate  testimony  of  sense  ;  there  was  a  smell  is  the  im- 


THE  AUGUSTAN  AGE:  PROSE          367 

mediate  testimony  of  memory.  If  you  ask  me,  why  I  believe  that 
the  smell  exists,  I  can  give  no  other  reason,  nor  shall  be  ever  able  to 
give  any  other,  than  that  I  smell  it.  If  you  ask,  why  I  believe  that 
it  existed  yesterday,  I  can  give  no  other  reason  but  that  I  remember 
it.  Sensation  and  memory,  therefore,  are  simple,  original,  and  per- 
fectly distinct  operations  of  the  mind,  and  both  of  them  are  original 
principles  of  belief."  I 

John  Millar  (1735-1801)  passed  advocate  in  1760,  and  in 
the  following  year  accepted  the  chair  of  Law  in  Glasgow 
College,  whence  he  was  able,  owing  to  the  latitude  which  his 
subject  allowed  him,2  to  promulgate  his  opinions  upon  a  great 
variety  of  topics.  In  politics  he  was  the  strongest  of  Whigs, 
though  in  metaphysics  his  views  coincided  with  Hume's  ;  and 
at  a  later  date  he  belonged  to  the  "  Society  of  the  Friends 
of  the  People."  These  proclivities  caused  him  to  be  distrusted 
by  many  an  honest  parent.  Jeffrey's  father  refused  to  permit 
his  son  to  attend  Millar's  class  ;  and  Carlyle  has  a  story  of  how 
a  certain  Mr.  Colt  dissuaded  Sir  Hew  Dalrymple  from  putting 
his  son  under  Millar's  charge. 3  There  is  only  one  voice, 
however,  as  to  Millar's  intellectual  energy  and  zeal,  as  to 
the  "  magical  vivacity "  of  his  conversation,  and  as  to  his 
intrepidity  and  resource  in  argument  or  debate.  He  has  left 
us  two  interesting  memorials  of  his  abilities.  The  Origin  of 
the  Distinction  of  Ranks  (1771)4  is  a  work  which  has  won 
high  praise  from  modern  experts  in  anthropology  on  account  of 
its  comparatively  full  discussion  of  the  position  of  woman  in 
primitive  and  savage  communities,  and  it  may  still  be  read 
by  the  layman  with  profit.  The  style  approaches,  perhaps, 
more  closely  to  that  of  Mr.  John  Mill  than  does  the  style 
of  any  other  writer.  The  Historical  View  of  the  English 

1  Inquiry  into  the  Human  Mind,  ch.  ii.  sec.  3. 

-  In  the  eighteenth  century,  the  Professor  of  Law  taught,  or  might  have 
taught,  or  ought  to  have  taught,  inter  alia,  civil  law,  Scots  law,  constitu- 
tional law  and  history,  conveyancing,  mercantile  law,  and  the  law  of 
England.  See  pamphlet  by  W.  G.  Miller,  The  University  of  Glasgow:  the 
position  and  wants  of  the  Faculty  of  Law,  Glasgow,  1901. 

3  Autob.,  p.  493.  4  Ed.  Craig,  Edin.,  1806. 


368     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Government  (i786),x  which  was  dedicated  to  Fox,  is  naturally 
of  a  more  controversial  character,  and  finds  an  excellent  object 
of  attack  in  the  History  of  Hume.  Yet  it  is  worth  reading,  in 
part,  at  all  events,  as  an  exposition  of  plain  Whig  principles, 
to  which  the  author's  devotion  is  so  consistent  that  he 
expressly  denounces  the  "  dexterity  and  villany  of  Cromwell 
in  seating  himself  on  the  throne  of  England  with  greater 
power  than  had  ever  been  enjoyed  either  by  James  or  by 
Charles."2  His  manner  of  writing  occasionally  lapses  into 
the  flowery. 3  No  successful  professor  could  venture  to 
dispense  altogether  with  such  a  well-proved  device  for  securing 
his  hearers'  attention.  But,  as  a  rule,  his  writing  is  business- 
like, and  free  from  intentional,  as  from  undesigned,  obscurity. 

The  reader  may  have  expected  to  find  in  this  chapter  an 
account  of  that  "  very  good-humoured,  very  agreeable,  and 
very  mad  "4  person,  James  Boswell  (1740-95),  who  mingled 
with  the  best  society  of  Edinburgh,  and  in  whom  inquisitive- 
ness,  the  love  of  notoriety,  and  a  lively  interest  in  his 
neighbour's  affairs  were  carried  to  such  a  pitch  as  to  amount 
to  unmistakable  and  unqualified  genius.  Boswell,  however, 
was  not  so  much  a  typical  Scot  as  a  citizen  of  the  world,  and 
it  may  be  suspected  that  he  felt  more  at  home  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Fleet  Street,  and  in  the  company  of  Johnson, 
than  on  the  plainstanes,  or  in  the  Outer  House,  or  in  the 
society  of  Hume  and  Robertson.  His  two  great  works, 
therefore,  The  Journal  of  a  Tour  to  the  Hebrides  (1786)  and 
The  Life  of  Samuel  Johnson,  LL.D.  (1791),  belong,  in  virtue 
of  their  hero,  as  well  as  of  their  own  quality,  to  the  literature 
of  England  rather  than  to  that  of  Scotland,  and  perhaps  the 
best  proof  of  this  assertion  lies  in  the  fact  that  there  is 
practically  nothing  in  them  which  an  Englishman  cannot 

1  Four  vols.,  1803.  *  Historical  View,  ed.  cit.,  vol.  iii.  p.  332. 

3  E.g., "  The  modest  graces  wing  their  flight  from  the  revels  of  Bacchus  " 
(ibid.  vol.  iv.  p.  209). 

4  Burton,  Hume,  vol.  ii.  p.  307. 


THE  AUGUSTAN  AGE:   PROSE          369 

appreciate  and  enjoy  to  the  full  as  much  as  a  Scot.  While, 
therefore,  it  may  well  be  a  legitimate  source  of  pride  to 
the  patriot  that  the  two  great  biographies  in  the  language 
are  the  work  of  Scotsmen,  we  take  leave  to  content  ourselves, 
for  the  reasons  stated,  with  this  brief  mention  of  the  author  of 
one  of  them.1 


1  By  much  the  best  account  of  Boswell  will  be  found  in  Elwin's 
Some  XVIII.  Century  Men  of  Letters,  2  vols.,  1902,  vol.  ii.  pp.  237  et  scq. 
To  this  it  would  be  impossible  to  add  anything  profitable. 


2  A 


CHAPTER   VII 

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY    POETRY  :    BURNS 

POETRY  is  an  art  more  provocative  of  imitation  than  prose  ; 
and  it  is  not  surprising  that,  when  to  excel  in  the  use 
of  English  and  to  eschew  the  Scots  dialect  became  the 
mark  of  an  enlightened  mind  and  a  cultivated  taste,  a  con- 
siderable number  of  Scottish  writers  should  have  betaken 
themselves  to  verse  as  their  form  of  literary  expression.  In 
too  many  of  these  it  is  impossible,  even  for  partiality,  to  ignore 
"  the  vain  stiffness  of  a  lettered  Scot."  But  they  must  all  be 
supposed  to  have  served  some  purpose,  and  it  is  proposed  to 
take  a  brief  survey  of  their  performances  before  passing  on 
to  the  vernacular  poetry,  in  which  we  shall  find  a  great  deal 
more  that  is  worth  dwelling  on. 

By  far  the  greatest  poet  and  most  accomplished  artist  of  the 
Scots  versifiers  who  wrote  in  English  during  the  eighteenth 
century  was  James  Thomson  (1700-48),  a  native  of  Ednam  in 
Roxburghshire,  and  a  son  of  the  manse.  The  Seasons  (1726-30) 
and  The  Castle  of  Indolence  (1746)  are  poems  which  well  repay 
minute  examination  and  detailed  criticism,  though  the  lyric, 
Rule  Britannia  (1740),  is  better  remembered  by  the  general. 
But  they  belong  essentially  to  English  literature,  on  which 
the  former  exerted  no  little  influence,  and  of  which  both  are 
justly  esteemed  among  the  most  pleasing  ornaments  of  the 
second  class.  To  treat  Thomson  as  a  characteristically 
Scottish  poet  would  be  as  absurd  as  to  devote  time  and  space 

37° 


EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY  POETRY       371 

to  Dr.  John  Arbuthnot  ( 1667-1 7  35  ),T  whose  proper  place  is 
with  the  London  wits  of  the  age  of  Anne  and  of  the  first 
two  Georges.  Similar  considerations  recommend  an  equally 
summary  treatment  of  Dr.  John  Armstrong,  whose  Economy 
of  Love  (1736),  doubtless  for  excellent  reasons,  does  not  appear 
in  Anderson  or  Chalmers,  nor  yet  in  any  edition  of  his  works 
that  I  have  been  fortunate  enough  to  fall  in  with  ;  whose 
Art  of  Preserving  Health  (1744)  is  better  than  its  title  might 
lead  one  to  expect ;  and  whose  Taste :  An  Epistle  to  a  young 
Critic  (1753)  is  a  satire  of  the  familiar  type  in  rhymed  heroics. 
His  brother  in  medicine,  Dr.  Smollett,  was  a  greater  favourite 
of  the  muses.  The  Tears  of  Scotland  (1746)  is  a  piece  very 
creditable  to  his  good  feeling  ;  the  Ode  to  Leven  Water^  which 
appeared  in  Humphry  Clinker  (1771),  is  more  excellent  still; 
and  if  the  Ode  to  Independence  (1773)  had  fulfilled  the  promise 
of  its  opening  lines,2  we  had  been  blessed  in  him  with  a 
writer  of  odes  superior  to  most  of  his  rivals  in  that  sort  of 
composition,  and  perhaps  not  so  very  far  beneath  the  level 
of  Gray  himself. 

Robert  Blair  (1699-1746)  was  not  one  of  those  who 
followed  the  road  to  London  ;  and  he  died,  as  he  had  lived 
for  fifteen  years,  minister  of  Athelstaneford,  in  East  Lothian, 
in  which  cure  he  was  the  predecessor  of  John  Home.  His 
poem,  The  Grave  (1743),  enjoyed  unbounded  popularity  both  in 
its  own  day,  and  at  a  much  later  period.  Suggested,  it  may 
be,  by  Young's  Night  Thoughts,  the  first  instalment  of  which 
had  appeared  in  the  preceding  year,  it  has,  at  all  events,  the 
merit  of  comparative  brevity,  and  it  works,  with  considerable 
skill,  the  vein  of  gloom  which  that  long-winded  exercise  in 
blank  verse  opened,  and  which  found  such  favour  with  the 
public  of  the  eighteenth  century.  In  the  structure  and 
cadence  of  his  measures,  however,  Blair  owes  very  little  to 

1  Life  and  Works,  ed.  Aitken,  Oxford,  1892. 

2  "  Thy  spirit,  Independence  !  let  me  share, 

Lord  of  the  lion  heart  and  eagle  eye," 


372    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Young  ;  but  rather,  as  Mr.  Saintsbury  has  pointed  out,1  stands 
debtor  to  the  Elizabethan  dramatists.  Certainly  there  is  no 
echo  of  Thomson,  or  of  any  other  writer  of  blank  verse  later 
than  the  Elizabethans,  in  the  concluding  passage  of  a  poem,  in 
which  good  single  lines  are  not  infrequent,  but  which  contains 
nothing  else  of  such  refreshing  and  unexpected  beauty  : — 

"  Thus  at  the  shut  of  even  the  weary  bird 
Leaves  the  wide  air,  and,  in  some  lonely  brake, 
Cowers  down  and  dozes  till  the  dawn  of  day, 
Then  claps  his  well-fledged  wings  and  bears  away." 

David  Hume  was  always  willing  to  give  to  any  of  his  friends 
the  "  hand  "  which  "  every  fellow  likes."  He  indulged  in 
extravagant  eulogy  of  John  Home's  Douglas ;  and  another  poet 
whom  he  went  out  of  his  way  to  praise  at  considerable  length 
was  William  Wilkie  1(1721-72),  the  minister  of  Ratho,  and 
Professor  of  Natural  Philosophy  at  St.  Andrews.  Wilkie  was 
a  man  of  real  erudition,  though  of  the  most  eccentric 
manners;2  and  in  1757  he  published  a  classical  epic, 'entitled 
the  Epigoniady  in  nine  books  and  about  six  thousand  lines. 
This  masterpiece  was  thought,  perhaps  by  Wilkie,  and 
certainly  by  Wilkie's  friends,  to  afford  a  striking  proof  of  the 
vast  strides  which  Scotland  had  made  along  the  road  which 
leads  from  barbarism  and  ignorance  to  refinement  and  learning. 
Nevertheless,  the  Critical  Review,  then  under  the  editorship  of 
Smollett,  had  spoken  disrespectfully  of  the  great  work  on  its 
first  appearance,  and  had  called  attention  to  certain  mistakes  in 
expression  and  prosody  by  which  it  was  disfigured.  To  repair 
this  injustice,  Hume  addressed  a  long  letter  to  "the  authors" 
of  that  periodical  in  1759,  in  which,  after  premising  that  "no 
literary  journal  was  ever  carried  on  in  this  country  with  equal 
spirit  and  impartiality,"  he  goes  on  to  extenuate  the  faults 

1  The  English  Poets,  ed.  Ward,  vol.  iii.,  1900,  p.  217. 

2  Charles  Townshend  told  Alexander  Carlyle  "  that  he  had  never  met 
with  a  man  who  approached  so  near  the  two  extremes  of  a  god  and  a 
brute  as  Wilkie  did  "  (Carlyle,  Antob.,  p.  394). 


EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY  POETRY       373 

complained  of  on  the  ground  that  they  proceeded  "  entirely 
from  the  author's  being  a  Scotchman,  who  had  never  been  out 
of  his  own  country,"  and  then  engages  in  a  defence  of  the 
book,  pointing  out  its  merits,  and  illustrating  them  by 
quotations.  A  more  curious  piece  of  fatuity  was  never 
perpetrated  by  a  genius  of  the  first  order  than  this  critical 
essay  of  Hume's.  So  at  least  it  is  apt  to  strike  a  generation 
whose  standards  of  taste  are  very  different  from  his.  No 
amount  of  special  pleading  will  make  the  Epigonlad  a  great 
poem.  It  is  well  enough  in  its  way,  and  is  preferable  to 
Glover's  Leonidas  or  Athenaid.  The  episode  of  the  Cyclops, 
for  example,  in  book  iv.,  might  be  worse,  though  even  there 
Wilkie  never  comes  up  to  the  not  very  exacting  measure  of 
Pope's,  or  Broome's,  Odyssey.  The  whole  thing  is  "as  dead 
as  mutton  "  ;  it  is  the  offspring  of  convention  and  rule,  not  of 
passion,  or  sensibility,  or  vision.  Wilkie's  Fables  (1768)  are 
very  much  better,  though  far  from  being  in  the  front  rank  of 
such  trifles,  with  the  possible  exception  of  The  Hare  and  the 
Parian,  which  is  in  the  vernacular  of  the  Lothians. 

Nor  is  it  possible  to  be  at  all  enthusiastic  over  The  Shipwreck 
(1762)  of  William  Falconer  (1732-69),  a  piece  of  frigid 
classicism,  memorable  chiefly  as  affording,  in  an  occasional 
cadence  or  turn  of  phrase,  some  anticipation  of  Crabbe's 
manner.  It  is  difficult  even  to  counterfeit  interest  in  the 
fortunes  of  Palemon,  and  Albert,  and  Anna ;  and  if  the 
reading  of  the  poem  once  begun  is  not  soon  desisted  from, 
it  is  because  of  the  peculiar  fascination  which  arises  from  the 
mingling  of  two  such  incongruous  elements  as  the  poetical 
diction  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  the  terms  of  the 
seaman's  art.  The  result  is  so  quaint  that  a  specimen  may 
be  pardoned  : — 

"  A  lowering  squall  obscures  the  southern  sky, 
Before  whose  sweeping  breath  the  waters  fly  ; 
Its  weight  the  topsails  can  no  more  sustain — 
Reef  topsails,  reef  !  the  master  calls  again. 


374    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

The  halyards  and  top  bow-lines  soon  are  gone, 

To  clue  lines  and  reef  tackles  next  they  run  : 

The  shivering  sails  descend  ;  the  yards  are  square  ; 

Then  quick  aloft  the  ready  crew  repair  : 

The  weather  earings  and  the  lee  they  past, 

The  reefs  enrolled  and  every  point  made  fast. 

Deep  on  her  side  the  reeling  vessel  lies  : 
Brail  up  the  mizen  quick  !  the  master  cries, 
Man  the  clue-garnets  !  let  the  main-sheet  fly  ! 
It  rends  in  thousand  shivering  shreds  on  high  !" * 

The  contrast  between  this  stilted  and  lumbering  stuff  and 
the  rapid  and  masterly  handling  of  technicalities  displayed, 
say,  in  M- Andrew's  Hymn 2  is  striking  and  suggestive. 

James  Beattie  (1735-1803)  may  not  have  been  an  acute 
metaphysician  (and  he  signally  failed  to  demolish  Hume),  or 
a  cool-headed  critic  (for  he  fell  a  willing  victim  to  the  famous 
Macpherson  imposture),  or  yet  a  great  poet  (for  he  never 
seems  quite  to  know  what  he  would  be  at).  But  at  least  he 
deserves  our  thanks  for  the  effort  he  made  to  escape  from  the 
common  groove,  and  to  provide  the  public  with  a  commodity 
bearing  a  stronger  superficial  resemblance  to  poetry  than  the 
Epgoniads  and  Shipwrecks  could  boast  of.  He  did  not,  indeed, 
altogether  abandon  the  rhymed  heroic  couplet,  and  his  lines 
On  the  proposed  monument  to  Churchill  (1765)3  are  a  typical 

1  The  Shipwreck,  canto  ii.  ;  cp.  Lyndsay's  Satyre,  supra,  p.  98. 

2  Kipling,  Writings,  ed.  de  luxe,  vol.  xi.  p.  227.     The  Hymn  is  one  of 
the  very  few  things  written  of  a  Scotsman  by  an  Englishman  to  which 
the  most  captious  of  North  Britons  can  take  little  exception.     Yet  even  it 
is  marred  by  a  cockney  rhyme  near  the  end,  bad  enough  in  itself,  but 
particularly  inept  in  such  a  setting. 

3  The  opening  lines  run  as  follows  : — 

"  Bufo  begone  ;  with  thee  may  Faction's  fire 

That  hatched  thy  salamander-fame  expire. 

Fame,  dirty  idol  of  the  brainless  crowd, 

What  half-made  moon-calf  can  mistake  for  good  ! 

Since  shared  by  knaves  of  high  and  low  degree  ; 

Cromwell  and  Catiline  :  Guido  Faux  and  thee,"  &c.,  &c. 
For  the  rest,  the  piece  is  creditable  to  Beattie's  patriotism  if  to  nothing 
else.    The  Scots  had  a  long  score  to  settle  with  Churchill. 


EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY  POETRY       375 

specimen  of  the  conventional  satire  :  not  without  vigour  and 
point,  but  immeasurably  below  satire  as  it  comes  from  the 
hands  of  a  true  master,  like  Pope.  In  the  Hermit  he  employs 
with  laudable  freedom  and  ease  a  galloping  sort  of  measure, 
in  considerable  request  for  bacchanalian  lyrics,  to  which  class 
that  poem  does  not  belong ;  and  in  his  chef  cfceuvre,  The 
Minstrel  (1770-74),  he  betakes  himself  to  the  Spenserian 
stanza,  to  write  in  which  was  a  favourite  exercise  of  almost 
all  the  poets  and  poetasters  of  the  age  from  Thomson  (or 
indeed  from  Prior  and  Pope)  down  to  William  Julius  Mickle 
(1734-88),  the  translator  of  the  Lusiady  the  reputed  author 
of  at  least  one  spirited  and  popular  song  in  his  national  dialect, 
and  the  undoubted  author  of  the  ballad  of  Cumnor  Hall^ 
which  fascinated  the  youthful  ear  of  Scott.  Beattie  seems  to 
share  with  many  of  his  fellow  versifiers  the  suspicion  that 
there  is  something  inherently  and  incurably  ridiculous  in  the 
Spenserian  stanza.  He,  like  them,  appears  never  to  get  rid 
of  the  feeling  that  he  is  writing  a  parody.  And  accordingly, 
every  now  and  then,  he  gives  to  his  verse  a  ludicrous  turn, 
of  which,  it  must  in  fairness  be  owned,  the  metre  of  Spenser 
when  wedded  to  commonplace  and  degrading  ideas  is  readily 
susceptible,  owing  to  the  lofty  and  ennobling  associations  with 
which  that  poet  invested  it.1  Hence  a  want  of  steady  aim,  an 
infirmity  of  artistic  purpose,  is  very  noticeable  in  the  Minstrel, 
which  is  disjointed  in  structure  and  confused  in  arrangement. 
Yet  Beattie,  one  may  venture  to  think,  had  some  true 
feeling  for  what  we  call  nature,  and  was  not  insensible  to  the 
charm  of  the  "  melodies  of  morn,"  or  the  "  sheep-fold's  simple 
bell,"  or  "  the  full  choir  that  wakes  the  universal  grove,"  or 
any  of  the  other  phenomena  which  he  notes  and  records,  in 
a  vocabulary  that  was,  unfortunately,  not  yet  emancipated 
from  the  thraldom  of  "  poetic  "  convention.  The  following 
stanzas,  though  the  first  is  more  in  his  jocose  than  in  his 

1  The   same   tendency  is    strongly   marked    in    Thomson's    Castle  of 
Indolence. 


3/6    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

serious  vein,  may  serve   to   give  a   tolerably  accurate   idea  or 
his  versification  : — 

"  The  dream  is  fled.     Proud  harbinger  of  day, 
Who  scar'dst  the  vision  with  thy  clarion  shrill, 
Fell  chanticleer  !  who  oft  hath  reft  away 
My  fancied  good,  and  wrought  substantial  ill  ! 
O  to  thy  cursed  scream,  discordant  still, 
Let  harmony  aye  shut  her  gentle  ear  : 
Thy  boastful  mirth  let  jealous  rivals  spill, 
Insult  thy  crest,  and  glossy  pinions  tear, 
And  ever  in  thy  dreams  the  ruthless  fox  appear  ! 

Forbear,  my  muse.     Let  love  attune  thy  line. 
Revoke  the  spell.     Thine  Edwin  frets  not  so. 
For  how  should  he  at  wicked  chance  repine 
Who  feels  from  every  change  amusement  flow  ? 
Even  now  his  eyes  with  smiles  of  rapture  glow, 
As  on  he  wanders  through  the  scenes  of  morn, 
Where  the  fresh  flowers  in  living  lustre  blow, 
Where  thousand  pearls  the  dewy  lawns  adorn, 
A  thousand  notes  of  joy  in  every  breeze  are  born." 

The  names  of  Michael  Bruce  (1746-67)  and  John  Logan 
(1748-88)  J  recall  a  rather  squalid,  but  at  the  same  time 
characteristic,  controversy.  On  the  death  of  the  former,  the 
latter  obtained  Bruce's  manuscripts  and  papers  from  his  father, 
with  a  view  to  their  publication,  and  in  1770  brought  out 
a  volume  purporting  to  contain  Bruce's  poems,  together  with 
some  pieces  by  other  hands.  Bruce's  relations,  according  to 
the  story,  were  astonished  to  find  that  the  youth's  "  Gospel 
Sonnets "  were  not  included  in  this  collection,  and  the 
suspicion  of  unfair  dealing  on  the  part  of  Logan  became 
to  their  minds  a  certainty  when  in  1781  Logan  published 
a  volume  of  his  own  poems  in  which  were  to  be  found  certain 
sacred  verses  alleged  to  be  Bruce's,  and  an  amended  version 

1  Bruce,  Works,  ed.  Grosart,  1865  ;  ed.  Stephen,  1895.  Both  these 
editors  are  of  the  Bruce  faction,  as  was  Principal  Shairp.  See  Good 
Words,  1873.  For  the  Logan  side,  see  British  and  Foreign  Evangelical 
Review,  July,  1877,  and  April  and  October,  1879. 


EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY  POETRY       377 

of  an  Ode  to  the  Cuckoo,  which  had  formed  part  of  the  1770 
publication.  On  the  one  hand,  then,  it  is  said  that  Logan 
deliberately  turned  Bruce's  manuscripts  to  his  own  account, 
and  falsely  claimed  to  be  the  author  of  poems  which  he  had 
never  written  :  on  the  other  hand,  this  accusation  is  indignantly 
denied,  and,  though  it  is  admitted  that  Logan's  conduct  and 
behaviour  were  not  always  such  as  becomes  a  minister  of  the 
gospel,  his  authorship  of  the  Ode  and  of  sundry  other  pieces  in 
dispute  is  strenuously  maintained.  The  evidence  in  support 
of  either  contention  is  extremely  unsatisfactory.  There  is  a 
vast  amount  of  hearsay,  and  a  great  deal  about  manuscripts 
which  A  said  that  B  told  him  that  C  had  seen.  Local 
patriotism  has,  of  course,  stepped  in  to  supply  deficiencies  in 
solid  fact,  and,  the  village  of  Kinnesswod  being  inferior  in 
population  and  importance  to  the  port  of  Leith,  the  clamour 
of  the  Bruce  faction  has  naturally  been  shriller  and  more 
insistent  than  that  of  Logan's  partisans.  Moreover,  Logan's 
is  not  so  picturesque  a  figure  as  that  of  the  youthful  poet,  nor 
has  he  the  moral  support  of  an  aged  parent.  Also,  it  may  be 
questioned  whether  the  participators  in  this  wretched  squabble 
have  always  taken  pains  to  forget  that  Bruce  was  a  Seceder, 
whereas  Logan  belonged  to  the  Establishment,  and  was  a 
Moderate. 

The  one  thing  certain  is  that,  apart  from  the  grave 
aspersions  cast  upon  Logan's  personal  character,  the  matter 
is  not  worth  fighting  about.  The  Ode  to  the  Cuckoo,  round 
which  the  battle  has  raged  most  hotly,  is  a  poor  enough  affair 
in  all  conscience.1  It  contains  two  really  good  lines,  and 
only  two  : — 

1  Burke,  it  is  true,  described  it  as  "  the  most  beautiful  lyric  in  our 
language."  But  literary  criticism  was  not  Burke's  forte.  It  will  be 
remembered  how  he  cites  the  instance  of  Dr.  Thomas  Blacklock  (1721- 
91),  who  was  blind  from  his  birth,  in  support  of  the  proposition  that 
a  poet  need  not  have  a  clear  conception  of  the  external  objects  he 
professes  to  describe  (Sublime  and  Beautiful,  part  v.  sec.  v.).  To  the 
modern  critic  the  illustration  seems  to  prove  exactly  the  contrary. 


378     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

"  Thou  hast  no  sorrow  in  thy  song, 
No  winter  in  thy  year." 

The  rest  or  it  is  essentially  commonplace,  and  in  parts 
indisputably  pedestrian.  No  man  need  be  ambitious  to  be 
reckoned  the  author  of  such  a  quatrain  as  this  : — 

"  O  could  I  fly,  I'd  fly  with  thee  : 
We'd  make  with  social  wing 
Our  annual  visit  o'er  the  globe, 
Companions  of  the  Spring." 

In  the  1770  version,  there  is  one  line  which  positively  declines 
to  scan.  This  was  corrected  in  the  later  edition,  and  indeed 
all  the  changes  made  by  Logan  are  for  the  better.  As  for 
Bruce's  acknowledged  work,  it  may  be  wonderful  for  his  age, 
and  considering  the  circumstances  of  his  upbringing  ;  but  it 
will  not  suffer  the  application  of  any  reasonably  high  standard. 
That  his  imitative  faculty  was  strong  is  manifest.  Not  only 
does  he  follow  the  "  classical  "  convention  with  abject  fidelity, 
calling  his  friend  Mr.  Arnot,  for  instance,  in  Lochleveny  by  the 
name  of  Agricola,  but  he  makes  no  scruple  of  appropriating 
ear-marked  words  and  phrases  from  his  models.  The  Elegy  to 
Spring  is  neither  more  nor  less  than  a  palpable  imitation  ot 
Gray.  It  is  perhaps  a  misfortune  for  the  memory  of  this 
hapless  young  man  that  his  champions  should  persist  in  attri- 
buting to  his  praiseworthy  efforts,  not  merely  comparative, 
but,  absolute  merit.  Were  it  not  for  their  misdirected  zeal,  it 
would  be  superfluous  to  subject  them  to  any  serious  examina- 
tion. 

In  addition  to  the  volume  of  poems  already  referred  to 
Logan  was  responsible  for  a  tragedy,  entitled  Runnamede, 
which,  like  Home's  Douglas^  gave  great  offence  to  the  "  wild  " 
party  in  the  Church.  But  it  is  not  as  a  dramatist,  or  an 
original  poet,  that  he  deserves  to  be  held  in  remembrance.  His 
claim  upon  the  regard  of  posterity  is  founded  on  the  Translations 
and  Paraphrases  in  verse  of  several  passages  of  Sacred  Scripture 


EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY  POETRY       379 

(1781 J,1  collected  and  prepared  by  a  Committee  of  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  in  order  to  be  sung  in 
churches.  Of  this  anthology,  which  consists  of  sixty-seven 
"  paraphrases "  and  five  "  hymns,"  Logan  was  to  all  intents 
and  purposes  the  editor.  Addison,  Watts,  Doddridge,  and 
other  less  eminent  writers  were  drawn  upon ;  and  in  the 
case  of  almost  all,  save  Addison,  considerable  alterations  were 
made  upon  the  original  text.  The  practice  of  emendation  in 
such  circumstances  is,  as  a  rule,  highly  reprehensible.  But 
in  this  case  it  was  abundantly  justified  by  success.  Scarce  one 
of  the  modifications  which  we  owe  to  Logan  but  is  a  self- 
evident  improvement ;  scarce  one  but  vouches  for  his  true  ear, 
sound  judgment,  and  correct  taste.  The  Paraphrases  form 
incomparably  the  best  collection  of  sacred  lyrics  (or  "  Gospel 
sonnets "),  for  its  size,  which  has  ever  been  made  in  the 
English  language.  Devout,  dignified,  and  reticent,  they 
afford  a  truly  admirable  medium  for  expressing  the  religious 
feelings  and  aspirations  of  an  intelligent,  educated,  and  self- 
respecting  people.  Their  genuine  piety  is  untainted  by 
extravagance,  their  grave  severity  unruffled  by  hysteria. 
They  that  seek  for  glitter,  and  banality,  and  noise,  must 
turn  to  the  more  comprehensive  volumes  of  a  later  date, 
whence  they  will  not  be  sent  empty  away.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  significant  symptoms  of  the  degeneration  which,  as 
some  believe,  is  overtaking  the  Scottish  character,  that  this 
excellent  little  collection  is  falling  into  something  like 
desuetude  in  public  worship. 

The  "  classical "  tradition  was  sufficiently  prolific.  It 
produced  some  one's  Albania  (1737)  in  blank  verse  and  the 
Clyde  (1764)  of  John  Wilson  (1720-89)  in  rhymed  heroics, 
both  typical  specimens  of  their  kinds.  It  may  also  be  said  to 
have  been  an  unconscionable  time  in  dying,  and  its  extinction 
by  no  means  coincides  with  the  close  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  A  particularly  favourable  specimen  of  what  it  could 
1  See  Maclagan,  Scottish  Paraphrases,  Edin.,  1889. 


38o    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

produce  is  to  be  found  in  the  Scenes  of  Infancy  (1803)  of 
John  Leyden,  who  will  have  to  be  adverted  to  in  another 
connection. 

"The  waning  harvest  moon  shone  cold  and  bright  ; 
The  warder's  horn  was  heard  at  dead  of  night ;    * 
And  as  the  massy  portals  wide  were  flung, 
With  stamping  hoofs  the  rocky  pavement  rung." 

Such  lines  are  at  all  events  much  preferable  to  the  perform- 
ances of  the  amiable  James  Grahame  (1765-1811),  advocate, 
and  clerk  in  holy  orders  of  the  Church  of  England.  Blank 
verse  was  the  metre  of  Grahame's  choice,  and  the  excellence  of 
his  intention  will  scarce  atone  for  the  futility  of  his  execution. 
The  Rural  Calendar,  The  Birds  of  Scotland,  and  The  Sabbath 
(1803),  his  chef  d'eewvrt)  are  conventional,  ineffective,  and 
tedious.  But  he  deserves  a  niche  in  the  Caledonian  Temple 
of  fame  for  the  following  exquisite  example  of  the  genuine 
"  poetic  diction,"  culled  from  his  versified  ornithology  : — 

"  Within  the  fabric  rude 
Or  e'er  the  new  moon  waxes  to  the  full 
The  assiduous  dam  eight  spotted  spheroids  sees." 

Few  poets  have  surpassed  this  elegant  periphrasis  for  eggs. 
The  last  of  the  "classical  "  Anglo-Scottish  poets  who  need  be 
mentioned  is  Robert  Pollok  (1798-1827),  a  native  of  Renfrew- 
shire, who  become  a  Seceder  Minister.  The  Course  of  Time 
(1827)  enjoyed  great  renown  in  its  day.  John  Wilson  greeted 
it  with  loud  applause  ;  and  the  moral  lessons  it  inculcates  were 
justly  thought  to  be  beyond  exception.  But  all  its  choice 
passages — even  the  once  celebrated  screed  on  Byron — are  of  no 
significance  for  the  present  generation  ;  and  Pollok,  for  us,  is 
merely  one  of  the  not  insignificant  band  of  his  countrymen 
who  with  indomitable  perseverance  have  confronted  the 
obstacles  presented  by  narrow  means  and  humble  circumstances, 
only  to  perish  in  the  very  moment  when  victory  has  been 
achieved. 


EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY  POETRY       381 

In  the  Scottish  vernacular  verse  of  the  eighteenth  century 
we  possess  one  of  the  happiest  illustrations  of  what  is 
called  a  "  school "  of  poetry,  culminating  in  the  supreme 
achievement  of  an  acknowledged  and  unsurpassed  master. 
The  members  of  the  school  were  numerous,  and  were 
drawn  from  every  class  of  the  community  and  almost  every 
part  of  the  country.  But  there  is  a  certain  unity  of  tone 
and  feeling,  as  well  as  of  method  and  craftsmanship,  in  the 
work  of  all  of  them.  None  of  them  attempted  to  be 
"  original  "  in  the  hackneyed  sense  of  the  word.  Each  tried 
to  accommodate  his  effort  to  some  old  and  well-proved  con- 
vention. The  new  wine  was  put  into  old  bottles,  so  to  say  ; 
but  the  old  bottles  stood  the  strain.  And  from  many  men 
whom  it  would  be  affectation  to  class  as  great  poets  there 
emanated  lyrics  which  only  a  practised  and  delicate  sense  or 
discrimination  can  distinguish  from  the  writing  of  men  whose 
pre-eminence  it  were  no  less  affectation  to  dispute.  The 
rhythms,  the  metres,  the  manner  which  had  been  established 
as  the  invariable  concomitants  of  Scots  poetry  upwards  or 
two  centuries  before,  were  once  more  summoned  to  the 
poet's  aid  ;  and  "  emulation  "  (an  almost  technical  term  with 
Burns  in  discussing  his  art)  accomplished  what  less  judicious 
and  well-regulated  ambition  had  probably  failed  to  perform. 

By  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  religious  or, 
rather,  ecclesiastical  gloom  in  which  the  Scots  had  been 
involved  for  a  hundred  years  and  more  began  to  be 
dissipated.  The  nation  had  time  to  take  breath,  and  to 
recall  the  "  makaris "  and  singers  in  whom  generations  less 
sophisticated  with  theological  subtleties  had  taken  unaffected 
delight,  and  whose  memory  had  never  become  wholly 
obliterated.  The  Choice  Collection  of  Comic  and  Serious 
Scots  poems  both  ancient  and  modern  (1706-11)  put  forth 
by  James  Watson  (d.  1722)  doubtless  met  some  public 
demand,  and  being,  as  its  preface  tells  us,  "  the  first  of  its 
nature  which  has  been  published  in  our  own  native  Scots 


382     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

dialect,"  it  marks  the  beginning  of  a  vigorous  revival  of 
interest  in  the  poetry  of  the  vernacular.  The  contents  of  the 
work  are  extremely  varied.  They  embrace  many  English 
pieces,  like  Montrose's  verse,  Sir  George  Mackenzie's  Gaelics 
Country-house  and  Closet,  and  Colonel  Cleland's  Halloo  my 
Fancie,  whither  wilt  thou  go?;  macaronics  like  Drummond's 
Polemo-Middinia ;  and  Scots  poems  like  Montgomerie's  The 
Cherry  and  the  Slae^  and  Christis  Kirk  on  the  Green.  The  most 
valuable  and  interesting  ingredients  of  the  miscellany,  how- 
ever, are  Sempill's  Piper of  Kilbarchan  and  Sanny  Brigs ;  Hamil- 
ton of  Gilbertfield's  Sonny  Heck ;  the  octosyllabics  on  the  old 
theme  of  the  fashionable  extravagances  of  the  age,  entitled 
The  Speech  of  a  Fife  Laird;  and,  above  all,  the  Blythsome 
Bridal,  a  jingle  of  rare  spirit  and  gusto.  The  following 
catalogue  of  typical  Scots  "  vivers "  might  well  be  set  for 
translation  and  paraphrase  in  schools  where  such  exercises  are 
indulged  in  : — 


"  There  will  be  Tartan,  Dragen,  and  Brachen, 

And  fouth  of  good  gappocks  of  Skate  ; 
Pow-sowdie  and  Drammock  and  Crowdie, 

And  callour  Nowt-feet  in  a  plate  ; 
And  there  will  be  Partans  and  Buckles, 

Speldens  and  Haddocks  anew  ; 
And  sing'd  Sheepsheads  and  a  Haggize, 

And  Scadlips  to  sup  till  ye're  fow. 

There  will  be  good  lappered-milk  Kebucks, 

And  Sowens,  and  Farles,  and  Baps, 
And  Swats  and  scraped  Paunches, 

And  Brandie  in  stoups  and  in  caps. 
And  there  will  be  Meal  Kail  and  Castocks, 

And  Skink  to  sup  till  you  rive, 
And  Rosts  to  rost  on  a  brander, 

Of  Flouks  that  was  taken  alive." 


Of  this  lyric,  as  of  The  Barring  of  the  Door^  Leader  Haughs 


EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY  POETRY       383 

and  Yarrow, z  Maggie  Lauder,  Maggie  s  Tocher,  My  Jo  Janet, 
Toddlin  Home,  and  a  host  of  other  pieces,  the  origin  and 
date  are  unknown,  or,  at  best,  uncertain.  As  in  the  case 
of  the  ballads,  already  discussed,  we  may  be  pretty  sure  that 
they  did  not  spring  automatically  from  a  common  artistic 
consciousness,  or  unconsciousness,  but  that  some  one  man 
was  originally  responsible  for  bringing  them  into  the  world. 
As  they  flew  viva  per  ora  virum,  they  became  modified 
according  to  the  intelligence  and  taste  of  the  transmitter. 
Sometimes  they  were  improved,  sometimes  they  suffered,  in 
the  process.  But  of  none  perhaps  can  we  positively  say  that 
we  possess  the  text  in  the  state  in  which  it  left  the  author's 
hands,  and,  in  point  of  fact,  many  have  been  touched  up 
deliberately  and  not  by  accident.  It  was  the  Scots  tradition 
to  seize  upon  some  snatch  of  ancient  song  and  write  a  new 
poem  up  to  and  about  it.  The  method  had  its  advantages  and 
its  drawbacks.  Some  of  those  who  practised  it  (not  very  many, 
be  it  said)  were  tasteless  botchers.  The  greatest  of  all  the 

1  So  haunting  are  the  rhythm  and  melody  of  this  well-known  poem 
and  so  exquisite  is  the  art  with  which  the  names  of  localities  are  intro- 
duced, that  no  apology  is  needed  for  presenting  the  reader  with  a  couple 
of  stanzas  : — 

"  Sing  Erceldoune  and  Cowdenknowes, 

Where  Homes  had  ance  commanding  ; 
And  Dryegrange  with  thy  milk-white  ewes, 

'Twixt  Tweed  and  Leader  standing  : 
The  bird  that  flies  through  Reedpath  trees, 

And  Glcdswood  banks  ilk  morrow, 
May  chant  and  sing,  sweet  Leader-Haughs, 
And  bonny  howms  of  Yarrow. 

"  But  minstrel  Burn  cannot  assuage 

His  grief,  while  life  endureth, 
To  see  the  changes  of  this  age, 

That  fleeting  time  procureth  ; 
For  mony  a  place  stands  in  hard  case, 
Where  blyth  fowk  kend  nae  sorrow, 
With  Homes  that  dwelt  on  Leader  side, 
And  Scots  that  dwelt  on  Yarrow." 

Tea-Table  Miscellany,  ed.  1762,  p.  181. 


384    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

vampers  was  a  genius,  whose  touch  transformed  the  poorest 
dross  into  gold.  If  we  consider  the  fate  of  Auld  Lang  Syne 
we  see  the  best  and  the  worst  of  the  system.  In  Watson's 
Collection  we  find  an  Anglicised  version,  possibly  by  Sir  Robert 
Ayton,  which  is  respectable  but  not  much  more  : — 

"  Should  old  acquaintance  be  forgot, 

And  never  thought  upon, 
The  flames  of  love  extinguished, 

And  freely  past  and  gone  ? 
Is  thy  kind  heart  now  grown  so  cold 

In  that  loving  breast  of  thine, 
That  thou  canst  never  once  reflect 

On  Old-long-syne  ? 

"  But  since  that  nothing  can  prevail, 

And  all  hope  is  in  vain, 
From  these  rejected  eyes  of  mine 

Still  showers  of  tears  shall  rain  : 
And  though  thou  hast  me  now  forgot, 

Yet  I'll  continue  thine, 
And  ne'er  forget  for  to  reflect 

On  Old-long-syne."1 

Allan  Ramsay  caught  the  hint,  and  turned  out  something  even 
more  frigid  and  uninspiring  : — 

"  Should  auld  acquaintance  be  forgot, 

Tho'  they  return  with  scars  ? 
These  are  the  noble  hero's  lot, 

Obtained  in  glorious  wars  : 
Welcome,  my  Varo,  to  my  breast, 

Thy  arms  about  me  twine, 
And  make  me  once  again  as  blest 

As  I  was  lang  syne."  2 

Finally  came  "  the  immortal  exciseman,"  and  what  he  made 
of  it,  even  an  Englishman  may  be  supposed  to  know.  So  that, 
on  the  whole,  when  the  drawbacks  and  the  advantages  of  the 

1  Old-long-syne,  First  Part,  Watson,  part  iii.  p.  71. 

2  Tea-Table  Miscellany,  ed.  1762,  p.  49. 


EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY  POETRY       385 

tradition  are  weighed  against  one  another,  it  is  by  no  means 
clear  that  we  have  not  come  off  a  good  deal  better  than  we 
should  have  done  had  the  primitive  texts  descended  to  us  in  all 
their  purity,  and  the  Scots  poets  betaken  themselves  to  the 
discovery  of  new  modes  of  expression.1 

Watson  was  excellent,  so  far  as  he  went.  But  the  collections 
which  did  for  the  songs  of  Scotland  what  Tom  Durfey2  had 
done  for  those  of  England,  and  a  great  deal  more,  were  the 
work  of  Allan  Ramsay  (1686-1758),  a  native  of  Leadhills,  in 
Lanarkshire,  who  became  first  a  barber  and  periwig-maker  and 
afterwards  a  bookseller  in  Edinburgh.  The  contents  of  his 
Evergreen  (1724.)  are  chiefly  derived  from  the  Bannatyne  MS. 
(supra  p.  207),  and  consist  of  old  poems  like  Christis  Kirk  on  the 
Greeny  The  Thistle  and  the  Rose^  Robeno  and  Makyne,  and  so 
forth.  The  Tea-table  Miscellany  (1724-40), 3  on  the  other 
hand,  exhibits  the  lyrical  side  of  Scots  poetry,  and  with  all  its 
faults  is  a  most  meritorious  anthology.  "  Our  Scots  tunes,"  as 
Ramsay  not  unjustly  says,  "have  an  agreeable  gaiety  and 
natural  sweetness  that  make  them  acceptable  wherever  they 
are  known,  not  only  among  ourselves,  but  in  other  countries." 
Accordingly  he  set  himself,  with  the  assistance  of  certain 
"  ingenious  young  gentlemen,"  to  provide  sets  of  verses, 
modelled  more  or  less  closely  upon  those  handed  down  by 
tradition,  which  should  be  not  unworthy  of  the  airs  with 
which  they  were  to  be  conjoined.  The  "  ingenuity  "  of  the 
editor  and  his  subordinates  may  sometimes  have  been  mis- 
placed, and  their  zeal  may  have  outrun  discretion  ;  but  it 
cannot  be  doubted  that  Ramsay  has  preserved  much  for  us 

1  It  is  difficult,  nevertheless,  for  the  perplexed  commentator,  who  finds 
the  same  song  attributed  to  perhaps  half  a  dozen  different  authors,  to  avoid 
sharing  Burns's  "  heart-ache  "  at  the  anonymity  of  "  the  men  of  genius, 
for  such  they  certainly  were,  who  composed  our  fine  Scottish  lyrics  " 
(Burns  to  Thomson,  November  19,  1794,  Currie,  Works,  ed.  1800,  vol.  iv. 
P-  205). 

2  H7/  ami  Mirth  :  or,  Pills  to  Purge  Melancholy,  6  vols.,  1719-20. 

3  Reprinted,  2  vols.,  Glasgow,  1871. 

2  B 


386    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

that  might  otherwise  have  been  irrevocably  lost.  And  what 
is  particularly  noticeable  in  him  is  his  fearless  and  confident 
assertion  of  the  claims  of  the  national  muse.  Foreign  decora- 
tions and  accessories  are  to  be  avoided.  "  The  morning  rises 
as  she  does  in  the  Scottish  horizon.  We  are  not  carried  to 
Greece  or  Italy  for  a  shade,  a  stream,  or  a  breeze.  The  groves 
rise  in  our  valleys,  the  rivers  flow  from  our  own  fountains,  and 
the  winds  blow  upon  our  own  hills."1  This  is  the  very  spirit 
of  Burns. 

Ramsay  himself  was  the  chief  contributor  to  his  Miscellany, 
and  many  of  the  specimens  of  his  work  —  not  perhaps, 
always  the  best — won  great  popularity.  In  merit,  they  vary 
considerably.  Now  and  then  he  "  tunes  his  lyre  "  to  a  purely 
English  strain  ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  be  enthusiastic  over 

"  Ye  powers  !  was  Damon  then  so  blest 
To  fall  to  charming  Delia's  share  ?  " 

Some  of  the  most  acceptable  have  been  those  which  hit  off 
a  mean  between  poetical  English  and  broad  Scots.  But  he 
is  in  his  most  characteristic  and  felicitous  lyrical  vein  when 
writing  in  the  Doric.  The  success  of  Bessy  Bell  and  Mary 
Gray  (with  which  it  is  interesting  to  compare  Genty  Tlbby  and 
Sonsy  Nelly — a  different  treatment  of  the  same  theme),  of  This 

1  Preface  to  the  Evergreen.  It  may  be  convenient  here  to  enumerate 
the  principal  collections  of  Scots  songs  and  ballads  posterior  in  date 
to  Ramsay's,  i.  W.  Thomson,  Orpheus  Calcdontim,  London,  1725,  2nd  ed. 
1733  (pilfered  in  great  part  from  Ramsay).  2.  David  Herd,  Ancient  and 
Modern  Scottish  Songs,  Edin.,  1769,  2nd  ed.  1776,  rep.  Glasgow,  1869. 
3.  Hailes,  Ancient  Scottish  Poems,  Edin.,  1770.  4.  John  Pinkerton, 
Select  Scottish  Ballads,  2  vols.,  1783  ;  Scottish  Poems,  1792.  5.  Johnson, 
Musical  Museum,  Edin.,  1787-1803,  ed.  Stenhouse,  1839,  and  Laing,  1853. 
6.  Thomson,  Original  Scottish  Airs,  Edin.,  1793-1818.  7.  Ritson,  Scottish 
Songs,  2  vols.,  1794.  8.  Scott,  Minstrelsy  of  the  Scottish  Border,  3  vols., 
Kelso,  1802-3  ;  ed.  Henderson,  4  vols.,  Edin.,  1902.  9.  Jamieson,  Popular 
Ballads  and  Songs,  2  vols.,  Edin.,  1806.  10.  Motherwell,  Minstrelsy, 
Ancient  and  Modern,  Glasgow,  1827.  n.  Aytoun,  The  Ballads  of  Scot- 
land, 2  vols.,  Edin.,  1858.  12.  Logan,  A  Pedlar's  Pack  of  Ballads  and 
Songs,  Edin.,  1859.  13.  Professor  Child's  The  English  and  Scottish 
Popular  Ballads,  5  vols.,  Boston,  U.S.A.,  1882-1898. 


EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY  POETRY       387 

is  no  my  am  house^  of  The  Lass  of  Patie 's  Mlll^  and  of  For  the 
sake  of  somebody  is  not  surprising  or  undeserved.  As  a  favour- 
able illustration  of  his  capabilities,  I  submit  three  stanzas 
of  The  Young  Laird  and  Edinburgh  Katy^  merely  premising  that 
here,  as  in  the  rest  of  Ramsay's  lyrical  triumphs,  it  is  impossible 
to  state  precisely  how  much  is  his  and  how  much  the  work 
of  some  vates  ignotus. 

"  Now  wat  ye  wha  I  met  yestreen, 

Coming  down  the  street,  my  jo  ? 
My  mistress,  in  her  tartan  screen, 

Fou'  bonny,  braw,  and  sweet,  my  jo. 
My  dear  (quoth  I)  thanks  to  the  night, 

That  never  wished  a  lover  ill, 
Since  ye're  out  of  your  mother's  sight, 

Let's  tak'  a  walk  up  to  the  hill. 

O  Katy  !  Wiltu  gang  wi'  me, 

And  leave  the  dinsome  town  a  while  ? 
The  blossom's  sprouting  frae  the  tree, 

And  a'  the  simmer's  gaun  to  smile  ; 
The  mavis,  nightingale,  and  lark, 

The  bleating  lambs  and  whistling  hind, 
In  ilka  dale,  green,  shaw,  and  park, 

Will  nourish  health  and  glad  ye'r  mind. 

Soon  as  the  clear  goodman  of  day 

Does  bend  his  morning  draught  of  dew, 
We'll  gae  to  some  burnside  and  play 

And  gather  flowers  to  busk  ye'r  brow  ; 
We'll  pu'  the  daisies  on  the  green, 

The  luckan  gowans  frae  the  bog  ; 
Between  hands  now  and  then  we'll  lean, 

And  sport  upo'  the  velvet  fog." 

There  is  here  true,  if  not  very  profound,  feeling  ;  and  we  are 
conscious  of  the  presence  of  that  simple,  yet  resolute,  deter- 
mination to  extract  from  life  every  drop  of  pleasure  it  can 
afford  which  is  so  persistent  a  note  in  Scottish  poetry,  and 
which  Ramsay  himself  so  frankly  inculcates  in  the  following 
lines  : — 


388     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

"  Be  sure  ye  dinna  quit  the  grip 

Of  ilka  joy,  when  ye  are  young  ; 
Before  auld  age  your  vitals  nip, 
And  lay  ye  twa  fold  o'er  a  rung." 

It  is  the  philosophy  of  Burns,  except  in  his  hours  of  remorse. 

The  volume  of  Allan  Ramsay's  original  poetry,1  apart  from 
song-writing,  is  considerable,  and  we  may  say  of  him,  as  he 
says  of  John  Cowper,  that 

"He  was  right  nacky  in  his  way, 
And  eydent  baith  be  night  and  day." 

His  English  poems,  which  include  a  number  of  so-called  odes 
and  elegies,  are  of  little  interest  and  significance,  when  they 
are  not  positively  bad.  Health  and  The  Morning  Interview, 
both  in  rhymed  heroics,  are  the  result  of  injudicious  "emula- 
tion "  of  Pope,  and  little  instruction  or  amusement  can  be 
derived  from  Tartana  ;  or  the  Plaid,  in  which  he  implores  the 
Caledonian  beauties  "  who  have  long  been  both  the  muse  and 
subject  of  [his]  song,"  to  assist  their  bard, 

"  who,  in  harmonious  lays 
Designs  the  glory  of  your  plaid  to  raise." 

Much  better  are  his  Fables  (1722-30),  in  Scots  octosyllabics, 
though  he  never  attains  the  freedom  and  lightness  of  touch 
that  distinguish  the 

"  Dear  lad,  wha  linkan  o'er  the  lee, 
Sang  Blowsalind  and  Bowzybee."  2 

In  the  "  familiar  epistles "  which  passed  between  him  and 

1  There  is  no  really  good  modern  edition  of  Ramsay,  the  best  and  most 
convenient  being,  perhaps,  that  in  3  vols.  (London  :  1851),  which  contains 
the  Memoir  by  Chalmers  and  the  Essay  by  Lord  Woodhouselee.     There 
is  a  reprint  in  2  vols.,  Paisley,  1877. 

2  To  Mr.  Gay. 


EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY  POETRY       389 

Hamilton  of  Gilbertfield  in  the  Habbie  Simson  metre  he  not 
only  gives  his  talents  fairer  play,  but  provides  a  model  of 
which  Burns  was  not  slow  to  avail  himself  to  admirable 
purpose.  Two  poems  of  heavier  calibre  and  more  ambitious 
design  would  of  themselves  have  marked  out  Ramsay  from 
the  general  run  of  Scottish  "bards."  The  brace  of  cantos 
which  he  added  to  Chrlstis  Kirk  on  the  Green  (1716)  are 
characteristic  of  one  aspect  of  the  age  and  of  the  race — grimy, 
squalid,  and  coarse  ;  full  of  what  is  known  as  "realism,"  but 
lacking  that  touch  of  genius  which  a  Burns  might  have 
supplied,  and  in  whose  absence  the  spirit  of  gaiety  has 
evaporated,  and  mirth  has  sunk  into  gross  and  unredeemed 
buffoonery.  The  Gentle  Shepherd  (1725),  which  has  generally 
been  regarded  as  Ramsay's  masterpiece,  is  much  pleasanter 
reading  than  the  Christis  Kirk  cantos,  though  it  is  difficult  to 
classify.  The  work  is,  in  truth,  a  curious  blend  of  the  mock- 
pastoral  of  Gay  with  the  realistic-pastoral,  if  we  may  call  it  so, 
of  Crabbe.  Anomalous  though  the  species  be,  the  experiment 
is  in  the  main  successful.  The  mild  burlesque  of  the  conven- 
tional idyll  with  its  Damons  and  Phyllises  that  runs  through 
the  poem  mingles  very  happily  with  the  pictures  of  Scottish 
peasant  life,  which,  if  some  of  its  harsher  features  have  been 
eliminated  from  the  representation,  is  depicted  with  faithfulness 
and  sympathy. 

But  to  many  judges  it  must  always  seem  that  the  very 
cream  of  Ramsay's  work  is  to  be  found  in  his  vernacular 
pieces,  on  some  topic  of  purely  local  or  personal  interest,  which 
the  genius  of  the  author  has  so  handled  as  to  raise  it  out  of  the 
parochial  and  particular  into  the  region  of  the  artistic  and 
universal.  When  treating  such  themes  Ramsay's  metre  is  that 
of  Habbie  Simson,  except  in  the  cases  in  which  he  employs 
that  of  The  Cherry  and  the  Slae.  But  he  handles  both  with 
equal  firmness  and  dexterity.  Here  are  a  couple  of  stanzas 
from  The  Poefs  Wish,  in  which  stands  revealed  a  "  gausie " 
shopkeeping  Scots  Horace,  but  a  Horace,  notwithstanding  : — 


390    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

"  Whaever  by  his  canny  fate 
Is  master  of  a  good  estate, 

That  can  ilk  thing  afford, 
Let  him  enjoy't  withouten  care, 
And  with  the  wale  of  curious  fare 

Cover  his  ample  board. 
Much  dawted  by  the  gods  is  he 

Wha  to  the  Indian  plain 
Successfu'  ploughs  the  wally  sea, 
And  safe  returns  again, 
With  riches,  that  hitches 

Him  high  aboon  the  rest 
Of  sma'  fowk,  and  a'  fowk, 
That  are  with  poortith  prest. 

For  me,  I  can  be  well  content 
To  eat  my  bannock  on  the  bent, 

And  kitchen't  wi'  fresh  air  ; 
Of  lang-kail  I  can  make  a  feast, 
And  cantily  haud  up  my  crest, 

And  laugh  at  dishes  rare. 
Nought  frae  Apollo  I  demand, 

But  through  a  lengthened  life, 
My  outer  fabric  firm  may  stand, 
And  saul  clear  without  strife. 
May  he  then,  but  gie  then, 

Those  blessings  for  my  skair  ; 
I'll  fairly  and  squarely 
Quit  a'  and  seek  nae  mair." 

In  the  same  measure  are  the  humorous  Address  to  the  Town 
Council  of  Edinburgh^  praying  them  to  suppress  the  piracy  of 
the  author's  works  by  the  street  ballad-vendors,  and  The  Vision^ 
a  poem  in  a  loftier  strain,  which  he  in  vain  endeavoured  to 
palm  off  as  a  genuine  antique  in  the  Evergreen. 

In  the  less  complicated  and  shorter  stanza  to  which  I 
have  referred  we  have  a  quartette  of  Elegies ;  on  Maggy 
Johnstoun,  who  kept  an  alehouse  at  Bruntsfield  links,  on 
Lucky  Wood,  who  kept  a  tavern  in  the  Canongate,  on  Patie 
Birnigj  "  the  famous  fiddler  of  Kinghorn,"  and  on  John 
Cowper,  the  Kirk-Treasurer's  man  (as  who  should  say,  the 


EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY  POETRY       391 

Proctor's  bulldog),  to  whom  were  entrusted  the  duties  of 
agent  de  mceurs  in  Edinburgh.  All  of  these,  in  their  way, 
are  little  masterpieces,  and  nothing  could  surpass  in  their 
own  department  the  glimpses  of  "  low  life "  which  they 
afford,  or  the  mordant  and  sardonic  flavouring  which  is  so 
skilfully  thrown  in  from  time  to  time,  and  in  which  John 
Cowper  pre-eminently  excels.  Unfortunately,  quotation  from 
that  particular  elegy  is  practically  impossible,  and  we  must 
content  ourselves  with  a  fragment  from  Maggy  Johnstoun  : — 

"  When  we  were  wearied  at  the  gowff 
Then  Maggy  Johnstoun's  was  our  howff  ; 
Now  a'  our  gamesters  may  sit  dowff, 

WT  hearts  like  lead  ; 
Death  wi'  his  rung  rax'd  her  a  yowff, 

And  sae  she  died. 

Maun  we  be  forced  thy  skill  to  tine, 
For  which  we  will  right  sair  repine  ? 
Or  hast  thou  left  to  bairns  of  thine 

The  pawky  knack 
Of  brewing  ale  almaist  like  wine, 

That  gar'd  us  crack  ? 

Sae  brawly  did  a  pease-scon  toast 
Biz  i'  the  queff,  and  flie  the  frost  ; 
There  we  got  fou  wi'  little  cost, 

And  muckle  speed  : 
Now,  wae  worth  death  !  our  sport's  a'  lost, 

Since  Maggy's  dead." 

In  the  Last  Speech  of  a  Wretched  Miser  the  grimness  of  tone 
is  strongly  marked,  though  the  piece  cannot  be  ranked  along 
with  such  a  triumph  of  art  as  the  scene  of  the  elder  Dumbie- 
dykes'  death  in  the  Heart  of  Midlothian.  The  following 
verses,  however,  show  power  of  no  ordinary  kind  : — 

"  O  gear  !  I  held  ye  lang  thegither  ; 
For  you  I  starved  my  guid  auld  mither, 
And  to  Virginia  sauld  my  brither, 

And  crush'd  my  wife  ; 
But  now  I'm  gawn,  I  kenna  whither, 

To  leave  my  life  ! 


392     LITERARY  HISTORY   OF  SCOTLAND 

My  life  !  my  god  !  my  spirit  yearns, 
Not  on  my  kindred,  wife,  or  bairns, — 
Sic  are  but  very  laigh  concerns 

.Compar'd  with  thee  ; 
When  now  this  mortal  rottle  warns 

Me  I  maun  die. 

It  to  my  heart  gaes  like  a  gun, 
To  see  my  kin,  and  graceless  son, 
Like  rooks,  already  are  begun 

To  thumb  my  gear, 
And  cash  that  hasna  seen  the  sun 

This  fifty  year." 

These  must  suffice,  for  we  shall  have  to  be  satisfied  with  the 
mere  mention  of  Lucky  Spence's  Last  Advice,  which  marks  the 
high-tide  of  Allan  Ramsay's  genius.  The  old  Scots  world  of 
license,  which  the  Church  so  zealously  sought  to  crush,  and 
in  reality  helped  to  sustain,  by  its  too  rigorous  discipline,  is 
nowhere  mirrored  with  so  punctual  a  fidelity  to  fact  as  in 
this  sordid  and  gloomy,  but  wonderful,  essay  in  dramatic 
satire. 

Ramsay's  attitude  to  life  is  essentially  that  of  the  prosperous 
Scots  merchant  with  a  strong  taste  for  letters.  His  love  of 
good  fare  and  good  drink  does  not  quench  his  liking  for  the 
pleasures  of  the  mind,  and,  though  for  the  most  part  he  leaves 
delicacy  and  refinement  of  feeling  to  others,  his  sense  of 
humour  is  strong,  he  is  no  foolish  optimist,  and  his  view  of 
what  he  sees  around  him  is  essentially  that  of  a  sane  and 
healthy  man.  In  his  hostility  to  the  puritanical  faction  in 
the  Church — an  hostility  always  implicit,  and  at  times  sur- 
prisingly frank  in  expression — he  never  varies,  and,  as  in  his 
deviations  from  the  straight  and  narrow  path  of  conduct  he 
wandered  less  far  than  Burns,  the  less  his  need  to  indulge  in 
short-lived  paroxysms  of  repentance.  We  may  regard  him  in 
his  character  as  a  type  of  the  pleasure-loving  Scot,  who  knows 
how  to  keep  within  bounds,  and  in  his  art  as  a  poet  who 
reached  a  high  level  of  eminence  himself,  and  served  the 


EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY  POETRY       393 

literature  of  his  country  even  better  by  preparing  the  waste 
places  for  the  approaching  arrival  of  a  master. 

The  anti-ecclesiastical  bias,  of  which  Ramsay  had  no 
monopoly,  comes  out  strongly  in  a  Collection  of  Scots  Poems,* 
bearing  to  be  by  "the  late  Mr.  Alexander  Pennecuik  and 
others."  Of  Pennecuik  we  know  little  more  than  that  he  was 
a  contemporary  and  rival  of  Ramsay's,  and  that  he  died  in  1730. 
Rome's  Legacy  to  the  Church  of  Scotland,  an  avowed  "  satyr  "  on 
the  stool  of  repentance  in  rhymed  heroics,  is  intensely  bitter 
in  feeling,  though  it  must  yield  in  merit  to  the  dialogue  in  the 
eternal  Habbie  Simson  measure  between  the  Kirk-treasurer  and 
Meg.  In  the  same  metre  we  have  a  spirited  Elegy  on  Robert 
Forbes,  another  John  Cowper,  two  stanzas  from  which  will 
show  how  closely  the  author  clung  to  the  established  con- 
vention : — 

"  Limmers  and  lairds  he'll  nae  mair  chase, 
Nae  mair  we'll  see  his  pawky  face 
Keek  thro'  close-heads,  to  catch  a  brace 

Of  waping  morts, 
Play  bogle-bo,  a  bonny  chase 

About  the  ports. 

We  lov'd  to  see  his  Judas  face 
Repeating  preachings,  saying  grace, 
Unto  the  tune  of  Chevy  Chase 

Shaking  his  head ; 
Wha  will  he  get  to  fill  his  place  ? 

For  now  he's  dead." 

Pennecuik  has  also  a  tolerable  sketch  of  a  domestic  interior  on 
a  winter's  night,  which  describes  how — 

"  My  lucky  dad,  an  honest  Whig, 
Was  telling  tales  of  Bothwell  Brig  ; 
He  could  not -miss  to  mind  th'  attempt 
For  he  was  sitting  peeling  hemp  ; 


Edin.,  1756  ;  rep,  Glasgow,  1787. 


394    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

My  aunt,  wha  none  dare  say  has  no  grace, 
Was  reading  on  the  Pilgrim's  Progress  ; 
The  meikle  tasker,  Davie  Dallas, 
Was  telling  blads  of  William  Wallace  ; 
My  mother  bade  her  second  son  say 
What  he'd  by  heart  of  Davie  Lindsay"  ;  ' 

and  so  forth  :  a  passage  not  without  interest  as  indicating 
the  attachment  of  the  Scottish  lower  orders,  even  when 
imbued  with  the  covenanting  tradition,  to  the  literature  of 
their  country.  But  if  The  Merry  Wives  of  Musselburgh's 
Welcome  tc  Meg  Dickson  be  really  Pennecuik's,  all  that  can 
be  said  is  that  for  once  his  lips  were  touched  by  the  genuine 
flame.  As  a  specimen  of  the  kind  which  we  may  call  the 
burlesque-supernatural  it  has  no  equal  in  Scots  verse  between 
Dun  bar's  Dance  and  Tarn  o  Shanter^  with  the  precise  tone 
and  spirit  of  which  its  own  are  identical.  Burns's  masterpiece 
has  the  great  advantage  of  being  written  in  a  more  rapid  and  flow- 
ing measure,  and  the  execution  of  the  two  pieces  cannot  for  one 
moment  be  compared.  But  the  Merry  Wives  has  caught  the 
right  note  of  boisterous  mirth  tempered  with  terror,  and  we 
can  imagine  that — 

"  At  night  when  souters  leave  their  lingles, 
And  bairns  come  laden  hame  with  singles, 
And  auld  wives  kindle  up  their  ingles 
To  last  till  ten  "— 

the  poem  was  assured  of  an  attentive  and  delighted  audience. 
As  for  the  poems  of  the  other  Alexander  Pennecuik,  of  New 
Hall  and  Romanno  ( 1652-1 722),2  they  are  of  no  great  merit, 
and  therefore  by  us  are  negligeable. 

We  must  glance  rapidly  at  the  minor  vernacular  poets  of 

1  From  Merry  Tales  for  the  long  nights  of  winter,  an  otherwise  vulgar 
and  worthless  piece,  in  Streams  from  Helicon,  Edin.,  1721. 

2  Works,  with  memoir,  Leith,  1815.    See  also  A  Collection  of  curious  Scots 
Poems,  Edin.,  1762. 


EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY  POETRY       395 

the  century  before  passing  on  to  Fergusson  and  Burns.  Some 
of  them  were  among  the  "  ingenious  young  gentlemen  "  who 
assisted  Allan  Ramsay,  and  not  the  least  notable  of  these,  though 
he  had  ceased  to  be  "  young,"  was  William  Hamilton  of 
Gilbertfield  (1665  ?-i75i),  the  author  of  Willie  was  a  Wan- 
ton Wag,  and  of  The  last  dying  words  of  Bonnie  Heck,  which 
appeared  originally  in  Watson,  and  was  loudly  applauded  at 
a  later  date  for  its  fluency  and  finish  by  Ramsay.  I  forbear 
to  trouble  the  reader,  who  has  already  had  a  good  deal  of 
the  Habble  Simson  stanza  and  will  shortly  have  more,  with  any 
extract  from  a  poem  which  is  of  no  great  intrinsic  excellence, 
but  derives  its  chief  importance  from  being  a  link  in  the  order 
of  succession  in  Scots  poetry.  Hamilton  also  deserved  well 
of  his  country  by  publishing  in  1722  an  edition  (though 
far  from  a  good  one)  of  Blind  Harry's  Wallace.  His 
namesake,  William  Hamilton  of  Bangour  (i  704-54) x  is 
best  remembered,  not  by  his  Contemplation,  or  the  triumph  of 
love,  but  by  his  exquisite  Busk  ye,  busk  ye,  my  bonny  bonny  bride. 
Robert  Crawford  (d.  1733)  contributed  to  the  Tea-Table 
Miscellany  a  well-known,  but  somewhat  tame,  lyric,  The 
Bush  aboon  Traquair,  and  George  Halket  (d.  1756),  the 
schoolmaster  of  Rathen  in  Aberdeenshire,  is  alleged  by  some 
to  have  been  the  author  of  the  plaintive  Logie  o1  Buchan. 
Another  north-countryman,  Alexander  Geddes  (1737-1802), 
who  was  a  Roman  Catholic  priest  with  a  marked  tendency 
to  scepticism,  produced  the  Jacobite  lyric  of  Lewie  Gordon,  and 
(probably)  that  monument  of  Aberdonian  facetiousness,  The 
Wee  Wifeikie,  besides  reviving  the  tradition  of  macaronic  verse. 
Like  most  Jacobite  poetry,  Lewie  Gordon  was  composed  when 
the  hopes  of  the  Pretender's  party  had  been  extinguished  by 
the  failure  of  the  enterprise  of  '45.  Practically  the  only  piece 
of  real  value  which  is  contemporary  with  that  attempt  is 
Hey,  Johnnie  Cope,  a  spirited  song  in  the  broadside  manner 
by  Adam  Skirving  (1719-1803),  an  East  Lothian  farmer. 
1  Poems  on  several  occasions,  1749. 


396    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Here,  as  in  other  instances,  it  is  fair  to  own  that  the  words 
derive  substantial  assistance  from  an  inimitable  tune. 

Of  somewhat  greater  importance  than  most  of  those  just 
mentioned  was  Alexander  Ross  (1699-1784),  a  native  of 
Aberdeenshire,  who  for  many  years  was  parish  schoolmaster  of 
Lochlee,  in  the  adjacent  county  of  Forfar.  It  was  predicted 
by  one  of  Ross's  admirers  that — 

"  ilka  Mearns  and  Angus  bairn 
Thy  tales  and  songs  by  heart  shall  learn," 

and  the  prophecy  was  fulfilled — at  least  as  regards  Helenore, 
or  the  Fortunate  Shepherdess  (1778). J  For  many  years  this 
pastoral,  the  debt  of  which  to  Allan  Ramsay  is  palpable 
enough,  was  a  prime  favourite  in  every  cottage  in  the 
braes  of  Angus,  under  the  name  of  "  Lindy  and  Nory."  In 
so  far,  however,  as  Ross's  fame  is  national  rather  than  provin- 
cial, it  rests  upon  two  or  three  of  his  songs,  which  have 
immense  spirit  and  vigour.  We  subjoin  a  specimen  from  The 
Rock  and  the  Wee  Pickle  7W>,  and  from  the  better  known 
Wood  an  Married  an'  A\ 

"  Formow  when  I  mind  me  I  met  Maggy  Grim, 
This  morning  just  at  the  beginning  o't, 
She  was  never  ca'd  chancy,  but  canny  and  slim, 
And  sae  it  has  fared  of  my  spinning  o't. 
But  if  my  new  rock  was  anes  cutted  and  dry 
I'll  all  Maggie's  cann  and  her  cantrips  defy, 
And,  but  any  sussie,  the  spinning  I'll  try, 
And  ye  shall  all  hear  of  the  spinning  o't. 

O,  no'  Tibby,  her  dother,  tak'  tent  fat  ye  say, 
The  never  a  rag  we'll  be  seeking  o't, 
Gin  ye  anes  begin,  ye'll  tarveal's  night  and  day 
Sae  'tis  vain  ony  mair  to  be  speaking  o't. 


Ed.  Longmuir,  Edin.,  1866.     This  edition  also  contains  Ross's  songs. 


EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY  POETRY       397 

Since  lammas  I'm  now  gaing  thirty  and  twa 
And  never  a  dud  sark  had  I  yet  great  or  sma'  ; 
And  what  waur  am  I  ?     I'm  as  warm  and  as  braw 
As  thrummy-tailed  Meg  that's  a  spinner  o't."  ' 

"  The  girse  had  na  freedom  of  growing 

As  lang  as  she  wasna  awa', 
Nor  in  the  town  could  there  be  stowing 

For  wooers  that  wanted  to  ca'. 
For  drinking  and  dancing  and  brulyies, 

And  boxing  and  shaking  of  fa's, 
The  town  was  for  ever  in  tulyies  ; 

But  now  the  lassie's  awa. 

But  had  they  but  ken'd  her  as  I  did, 

Their  errand  it  wad  hae  been  sma' ; 
She  neither  kent  spinning  nor  carding, 

Nor  brewing  nor  baking  ava'. 
But  wooers  ran  a'  mad  upon  her, 

Because  she  was  bonny  and  braw, 
And  sae  I  dread  will  be  seen  on  her, 

When  she's  by  hand  and  awa'."  2 

The  1804  edition  of  Ross's  poems  also  contains  a  poem  by 
Francis  Douglas,  named  Rural  Love^  in  octosyllabic  metre,  and 
The  Farmer's  Ha\  by  Dr.  Charles  Keith,  an  excellent  transcript 
of  one  aspect  of  rural  life,  as  the  vivid  picture  of  John  the 
hired-man's  return  from  the  smithy  testifies  : — 

"  Of  John's  return  spak  ilka  nook, 
They  aft  gaed  to  the  door  to  look, 
For  they  were  on  the  tenter-hook 

For  Smithy  chat ; 
And  now,  I  trow,  like  printed  book 

He  gies  them  that." 

But  scarce  any  of  the  minor  versifiers  had  the  race  and 
"smeddum"  of  John  Skinner  (1721-1807),  3  a  clergyman  in 

1  The  Rock  and  the  Wee  Pickle  Tow.    Ed.  1778,  p.  151. 
a  Woo'd  an'  Married  an'  A'  in  Hclenorc,  ed.  1866,  p.  294. 
3  Songs  and   Poems,  ed.  Reid,  Peterhead,  1859  ;   Life  and  Times,    by 
Walker,  1883. 


398     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

orders  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  who  wrote  an 
Ecclesiastical  History  of  Scotland  (1788)  in  prose,  and 
enlivened  his  family  and  neighbours  by  numerous  produc- 
tions in  a  lighter  vein.  His  Ewie  w'l  the  Crookit  Horn  has 
always  enjoyed  a  high  reputation,  and  as  for  Tullochgorum^  of 
which  a  couple  of  verses  are  here  given,  has  not  Burns 
pronounced  it  to  be  "  the  best  Scotch  song  Scotland  ever 
saw  "  ? 

"  O,  Tullochgorum's  my  delight, 

It  gars  us  a'  in  ane  unite, 

And  any  sumph  that  keeps  up  spite, 
In  conscience  I  abhor  him. 

For  blythe  and  cheery  we's  be  a', 

Blythe  and  cheery,  blythe  and  cheery, 

Blythe  and  cheery  we's  be  a' 
And  mak'  a  happy  quorum. 

For  blythe  and  cheery  we's  be  a', 

As  lang  as  we  hae  breath  to  draw, 

And  dance  till  we  be  like  to  fa' 
The  reel  of  Tullochgorum. 

There  needs  na'  be  sae  great  a  phrase, 
Wi  dringing  dull  Italian  lays, 
I  wadna  gie  our  ain  strathspeys 

For  half  a  hundred  score  o'  'em. 
They're  dowff  and  dowie  at  the  best, 
Dowff  and  dowie,  dowff  and  dowie, 
They're  dowff  and  dowie  at  the  best, 

Wi  a'  their  variorum. 
They're  dowff  and  dowie  at  the  best, 
Their  allegros  and  all  the  rest, 
They  canna  please  a  Scottish  taste, 

Compar'd  wi'  Tullochgorum." 

Poetical  composition,  it  should  be  added,  was  by  no  means 
confined  to  the  male  sex,  and  many  women,  from  Earls' 
daughters  to  alehouse  keepers,  it  is  said,  engaged  in  the 
pastime.1  By  far  the  most  distinguished  of  our  Scottish 

1  There  appears,  however,  to  be  no  solid  ground  for  the  ascription  of 
Co,'  the  yowes  to  the  Knowes,  to  Isabel  Pagan,  a  tavern-keeper  near  Muir- 
kirk. 


EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY  POETRY       399 

Sapphos  of  the  eighteenth  century,  Lady  Wardlaw  to  wit,  we 
have  already  mentioned.  Her  senior  by  twelve  years,  Lady 
Grizel  Baillie  (1665-1746),  by  birth  a  Hume  of  Marchmont, 
was  responsible  for  the  pathetic  lyric,  Werena  my  heart  licht  I 
wad  dee;  Jane  Elliot  (1727-1805),  a  daughter  of  Sir  Gilbert 
Elliot,  afterwards  Lord  Minto,  produced  one  version  of  The 
Flowers  of  the  Forest  in  1756,  and  Mrs.  Cockburn  (1712?- 
94),  Sir  Walter  Scott's  kinswoman  and  friend,  another,  nine 
years  later  ;  while  in  the  Auld  Robin  Gray  of  Lady  Anne 
Barnard  (1750-1825),  a  daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Balcarres, 
we  have  what  is  probably  the  most  popular  (Burns's  work 
apart)  of  the  sentimental  ditties  with  which  Scots  poetry 
abounds.1  Joanna  Baillie  (1762-1851),  who  has  been 
already  mentioned  in  another  connection,  contributed  to  the 
common  stock  The  Weary  Pund  of  Tow^  Tarn  o  the  Lin,  and 
Saw  ye  Johnny  Comin\  all  excellent,  and  distinguished  by  a 
strong  sense  of  humour.  Lastly,  though  we  depart  a  little 
from  strict  chronological  order,  it  may  be  convenient  here  to 
mention  Carolina  Oliphant,  Lady  Nairne  (1766-1845)2  one 
of  the  most  prolific  and  successful  of  Scottish  songstresses. 
To  her  we  owe  The  Land  o  the  Leal,  the  precise  locality  of 
which  territory  has  been  the  occasion  of  so  much  innocent 
and  ludicrous  misunderstanding  to  the  Southron.  She,  too, 
claims  the  Laird  of  Cockpen^  an  essay  in  a  very  different  strain, 
which  it  is  almost  impossible  to  overpraise,  as  well  as  Caller 
Herrln\  an  extremely  nimble  and  tripping  piece  of  versification, 

1  Lady  Anne  and  her  sister  muses  followed  the  orthodox  or  Scottish 
mode  of  taking  some  rude,  fragmentary,  and  not  over-decent  old  Scots 
song  or  ballad,  cleansing  it  of  its  impurities,  making  it  coherent,  arraying 
it  in   decent  apparel,  and   rendering  it  fit  for  decent  society.     In  some 
cases  the  result  savoured  of  emasculation.     In  others,  and  perhaps  the 
majority,  the  lyric  was  all  the  better  for  the  process.     The  very  last  iof 
these  poetesses  was  probably  Lady  John  Scott  (1810-1900),  a  Spottiswoode 
by  birth,  who  is  believed  to  be  responsible  for  the  current  version  of  Annie 
Laurie. 

2  Life  and  Songs,  ed.  Rogers,  1869.     G.  Henderson,  Lady  Nairne  and 
her  Songs,  Paisley,  1900, 


400    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

the  tune  of  which  has  suggested  many  hideous  variations  to 
composers  who  make  such  undertakings  their  business.  To 
Lady  Nairne,  also,  belong  The  Auld  House^  John  TW,  besides 
Who'll  be  King  but  Charlie  .?,  IV ill  ye  no  come  back  again  .?,  and 
many  other  lyrics  in  which  belated  loyalty  to  the  house  of 
Stuart  found  not  unworthy  or  unpleasing,  though  at  times 
unconvincing  enough,  expression.  A  verse  or  two  from  the 
last-named  song  may  fitly  conclude  what  we  have  to  say  on 
the  lesser  Scots  poets  of  the  age  which  extends,  roughly 
speaking,  from  the  manhood  of  Allan  Ramsay  to  the  death 
of  Burns. 

"  Bonnie  Charlie's  now  awa' 

Safely  owre  the  friendly  main  ; 
Mony  a  heart  will  break  in  twa, 
Should  he  ne'er  come  back  again. 

Will  ye  no  come  back  again  ? 
Will  ye  no  come  back  again  ? 
Better  lo'ed  ye  canna  be, 
Will  ye  no  come  back  again  ? 

English  bribes  were  a'  in  vain, 

An'  e'en  tho'  puirer  we  may  be, 
Siller  canna  buy  the  heart 

That  aye  beats  for  thine  and  thee. 

Will  ye  no,  &c. 

Sweet's  the  laverock's  note  and  lang, 

Lilting  wildly  up  the  glen  ; 
But  aye  to  me  he  sings  ae  sang — 

Will  ye  no  come  back  again  ? 

Will  ye  no,  &c." 

The  bards  of  Caledonia,  to  do  them  justice,  have  never  been 
slow  to  discuss  the  origins  of  their  art,  or  to  acknowledge  the 
extent  of  their  obligations  to  their  predecessors.  Not  one  of 
the  fraternity  was  more  candid  in  this  respect  than  Burns,  who 
indicates  his  poetical  models  in  the  poem  addressed  To  William 
Simpson  of  Ochiltree  (1785).  After  naming  Ramsay  and 


EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY  POETRY       401 

Gilbertfield  he  mentions  "Fergusson,  the  writer  chiel,  a 
deathless  name,"  and  then  devotes  the  following  verse  to 
the  memory  of  that  unfortunate  victim  of  ill-health  and  hard 
living  : — 

"  O  Fergusson  !     Thy  glorious  parts 
111  suited  law's  dry,  musty  arts  ! 
My  curse  upon  your  whunstane  hearts, 

Ye  En'brugh  gentry  ! 
The  tythe  of  what  ye  waste  at  cartes 

Wad  stow'd  his  pantry." 

Robert  Fergusson  (I75O-54),1  in  truth,  stands  in  the 
direct  line  of  succession  between  Ramsay  and  Burns.  Had 
he  lived  longer,  it  seems  not  extravagant  to  suppose  that  he 
might  have  accomplished  something  inferior  only  to  the  very 
best  of  what  Burns  has  left  us,  and,  short  though  his  career 
was,  we  can  at  least  say  of  him  that  he  helped  with  Ramsay 
to  furbish  up  and  re-fashion  the  instrument  with  which  Burns 
was  to  achieve  such  astonishing  effects. 

Fergusson's  English  verse,  it  need  scarce  be  said,  is  poor 
and  unimportant.  In  the  vernacular  his  metier  was  the 
descriptive  satire  as  practised  by  Ramsay,  and  if  Fergusson's 
workmanship  be  a  shade  smoother  and  more  finished  than 
Allan's,  they  approach  their  themes  in  much  the  same  spirit 
and  from  much  the  same  point  of  view.  We  have  the 
boisterous  gaiety,  from  which  true  mirth  seems  sometimes 
to  be  absent,  the  sardonic  laugh,  the  biting  irony  ;  and  though 
Fergusson  made  shipwreck  of  his  life  and  Ramsay  did  not,  it 
cannot  be  maintained  without  undue  refinement  that  the 
habitual  mood  of  the  younger  man  as  expressed  in  his 
work,  is  much,  if  at  all,  more  reckless  than  that  of  the 
elder.  In  the  case  of  one  poem,  however,  our  proposition 
must  be  qualified.  Braid  Claith,  of  which  the  theme 
may  be  summarised  as  "  to  him  that  hath,"  displays  a 

1  Works  (with  a  biographical  sketch),  Edin.,  1807.  There  is  a  con- 
venient little  ed.  of  his  Scots  Poems,  Edin.,  1898. 

2C 


402     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

temper  to  which  the  more  cautious  and  prosperous 
Ramsay  rarely  if  ever  gives  expression.  Nor  can  we  fail  to 
notice  that  Fergusson  nourishes  a  violent  animosity  against 
those  representatives  of  law  and  order,  the  City  Guard,1  a 
feeling  in  which  Ramsay  does  not  appear  to  have  participated. 
The  Ode  to  the  Gowdspink  is  fresh  and  sincere  :  qualities 
none  too  common  in  an  age  when  even  in  the  vernacular  the 
poet  was  apt  to  think  himself  bound  to  sing  the  praises  of  nature 
by  rule  and  measure.  But  the  Gowdspink  and  the  Farmer's 
Ingle  notwithstanding,  Fergusson  is  essentially  the  poet  of  the 
town,  and  that  town  Edinburgh.  Leith  Races,  Caller  Water, 
Hallowfairy  The  Daft  Days,  the  Address  to  the  Tron-Kirk  Bell, 
The  Mutual  Complaint  of  the  Plainstanes  and  Causeway^  and  Auld 
Reikie  are  fundamentally  urban.2  They  waft  to  our  nostrils  a 
whiff  from  the  wynds  and  closes,  a  blast  from  the  taverns  and 
merry  meetings,  of  an  old,  unsavoury,  and  battered  but  fasci- 
nating capital.  Its  whole  life  is  described  with  some  of  Swift's 
ease  and  fluency  (and  some  also  of  Swift's  particularity  in 
matters  where  detail  is  best  avoided)  in  his  Auld  Reikie^  of 
which  the  following  lines  may  serve  as  a  sample  : — 

"  Now  Morn,  wi'  bonny  purple  smiles, 
Kisses  the  air-cock  o'  St.  Giles  ; 
Rakin  their  een,  the  servant  lasses 
Early  begin  their  lies  and  clashes. 


1  "  And  thou,  great  god  of  Aquavitae  I 
Wha  sways  the  empire  o'  this  city  : — 
Whan  fou,  we're  sometimes  capernoity  : — 

Be  thou  prepared 

To  hedge  us  frae  that  black  banditti, 
The  City  Guard." 
From  The  Daft  Days,  Poems,  ed.  1807,  p.  236. 

2  The  Elegy  on  John  Hogg,  porter  at  St.  Andrews  University,  is,  of 
course,  Habbic  Simson  once  more  ;  but  good  Habbie  Simson,  beyond 
doubt. 


EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY  POETRY      403 

Ilk  tells  her  friend  o'  saddest  distress, 
That  still  she  bruiks  frae  scoulin'  mistress  ; 
And  wi'  her  Jo  in  turnpike  stair, 
She'd  rather  snuff  the  stinkin'  air, 
As  be  subjected  to  her  tongue, 
Whan  justly- censured  in  the  wrong. 

Now  stairhead  critics,  senseless  fools  ! 
Censure  their  aim  and  pride  their  rules, 
In  Luckenbooths,  wi'  glowrin'  eye, 
Their  neebours'  sma'est  faults  descry. 
If  ony  loun  shou'd  dander  there, 
O'  awkward  gait  and  foreign  air, 
They  trace  his  steps  till  they  can  tell 
His  pedigree  as  weel's  himsel'. 
When  Phoebus  blinks  wi'  warmer  ray 
And  schools  at  noonday  get  the  play, 
Then  bus' ness,  weighty  bus'ness  comes  ; 
The  trader  glow'rs  ;  he  doubts,  he  hums  ; 
The  lawyers  eke  to  cross  repair, 
Their  wigs  to  shaw,  and  toss  an  air  ; 
While  busy  agent  closely  plies, 
And  a'  his  kittle  cases  tries."  * 

It  would  possibly  be  rash  to  predicate  of  any  of  Fergusson's 
poems  that  they  might  be  mistaken  for  the  work  of  Burns. 
Here  and  there  are  to  be  discovered  flaws  in  the  technique, 
otiose  epithets,  harsh  inversions,  tame  expressions,  from  which 
Burns  at  his  best  is  wholly  free.  But  if  any  pieces  of 
Fergusson's  could  pass  for  Burns's,  they  would  be,  perhaps, 
Caller  Water,  which  was  plainly  the  model  of  Scotch  Drink, 
and  Hallowfair,  to  which  also*the  indebtedness  of  the  younger 
poet  is  considerable.  Here  are  three  spirited  stanzas  from 
what,  upon  the  whole,  is  Fergusson's  most  successful  perform- 
ance : — 

"  Here  chapmen  billies  tak'  their  stand, 

An'  shaw  their  bonny  wallies  ; 
Wow  !  but  they  lie  fu'  gleg  aff  hand 
To  trick  the  silly  fallows  : 


From  Auld  Reikic.     Poems,  lit  sup.  p.  340. 


404    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Heh,  sirs  !  what  cairds  and  tinklers  come, 

And  ne'er-do-weel  horse-coupers, 
And  spae-wives,  fenzying  to  be  dumb, 

Wi'  a'  siclike  landloupers, 

To  thrive  that  day  ! 

Here  Sawney  cries,  frae  Aberdeen, 

'  Come  ye  to  me  fa  need  ; 
The  brawest  shanks  that  e'er  were  seen 

I'll  sell  ye  cheap  an'  guid  ; 
I  wyt  they  are  as  protty  hose 

As  come  frae  weyr  or  leem  : 
Here,  tak  a  rug  an'  shaw's  your  pose  ; 

Forseeth,  my  ain's  but  teem 
And  light  this  day.' 

Ye  wives,  as  ye  gang  through  the  fair, 

O  mak  your  bargains  hooly  ! 
O'  a'  thir  wylie  loons  beware, 

Or  fegs  !  they  will  ye  spiulzie. 
For,  fairn-year,  Meg  Thomson  got, 

Frae  thir  mischievous  villains, 
A  scaw'd  bit  o'  a  penny  note, 

That  lost  a  score  o'  shillins 
To  her  that  day."  ' 

But  it  is  time  to  clear  the  decks  for  action,  and  to  lay  our- 
selves alongside  of  perhaps  the  most  interesting  and  certainly 
the  most  perilous  of  all  the  topics  which  Scottish  literature 
suggests — the  poetry  of  Burns. 

Robert  Burns  2  was  born  in  1759,  at  Alloway,  near  Ayr,  to 

1  From  Hallow/air.    Poems,  ut  supt  p.  254. 

2  The  bibliography  of  Burns  is  immense,  and  here  we  can  but  attempt 
to  indicate  the  outstanding  editions  and  monographs.     By  far  the  best 
edition    of    Burns's   poetry — best  as  regards    print,   text,   arrangement, 
apparatus   criticus,   commentary,    everything — is  that  of  W.  E.  Henley 
and  T.  F.   Henderson,  known  as  the  Centenary  edition,  4  vols.,  Edin., 
1896-97.     This  contains  Mr.  Henley's  celebrated  Essay.     The  best  edition 
in   one   volume   is   probably   that   in  the  Globe  series,  ed.  Smith,   1865. 
For   the   rest,  those    editions   are    least  satisfactory  in    which  poetry  is 
mixed  up  with  biography,  correspondence,  and  comment,  in  one  con- 
fusing and  inextricable  mass.     Of  selections  there  is  no  dearth.     As  good 
as  a  better  is  that  with  introduction  by  A.  Lang,  1896.     Of  biographies, 


BURNS  405 

William  Burns,  or  Burness,  a  man  of  Kincardineshire  origin, 
who  was  never  rich  in  this  world's  gear,  but  was  distinguished 
by  an  unusual  measure  of  the  uprightness  and  intelligence 
which  have  always  been  regarded  as  the  most  precious 
inheritance  of  the  Scots  peasantry.  Originally  a  gardener  by 
occupation,  William  Burness  took  the  small  farm  of  Mount 
Oliphant  in  1766,  whence  he  moved  to  Lochlie,  in  the  parish 
of  Tarbolton,  in  1777.  There  he  died  in  1784,  after  a  life  of 
arduous  and  unremitting  toil.  Robert's  education,  as  may  be 
supposed,  was  punctually  attended  to,  and  his  father  was  not 
slow  to  make  those  sacrifices  on  behalf  of  his  family,  the 
willingness  to  undergo  which  is  the  best  proof  of  the  value  in 
which  education  is  really  held  among  any  people.  Robert 
supplemented  the  labours  of  his  instructor  by  devouring  every 
book  he  came  across  ;  and  it  seems  by  no  means  extravagant 
to  conjecture  that  when  he  reached  the  period  of  adolescence 
he  was  a  great  deal  better  read  (the  ancient  classics,  perhaps, 

the  best  is  that  by  J.  G.  Lockhart,  Edin.,  1828  ;  new  ed.  by  Ingram,  1890. 
Lockhart  puts  the  case  for  Burns  as  handsomely  and  as  adroitly  as  it  is 
possible  to  do.  Principal  Shairp's  Burns  (E.M.L.),  1879,  is  a  good 
illustration  of  how  Burns  criticism  ought  not  to  be  written.  It  is  almost 
as  wrong-headed  and  well-meaning  as  Mutton's  Scott  in  the  same  series. 
Mr.  Stevenson's  essay  on  Some  Aspects  of  Robert  Burns,  in  his  Familiar 
Studies  of  Men  and  Books  (originally  published  in  the  Cornhill  Magazine, 
October,  1879),  supplies  a  salutary  corrective.  The  hundredth  anniver- 
sary of  the  bard's  death  produced  an  enormous  crop  of  fugitive  literature 
on  the  familiar  subject,  but  nothing,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  of  more  than 
purely  ephemeral  interest  or  consequence,  with  the  possible  exception  of 
a  poem  in  the  six-line  stave,  entitled  Robin  Redivivus,  in  Blackwood's 
Magazine,  July,  1896.  The  opinions  of  the  "common  Burnsite  "  can 
generally  be  gleaned  from  a  perusal  of  any  Scots  daily  paper  on  the  26th  of 
January  in  each  recurring  year.  As  for  foreign  books  on  Burns,  consult 
inter  alia  Angellier,  Robert  Burns,  2  vols.,  Paris,  1893.  The  poems  have 
been  translated  into  French,  German,  Italian,  and,  it  is  believed,  by  an 
enterprising  citizen  of  Boston,  U.S.A.,  into  "English."  For  further  infor- 
mation consult  the  Bibliography  of  Robert  Burns,  Kilmarnock,  1881  ;  the 
bibliography  appended  to  a  characteristic  monograph  by  the  late  Mr. 
Blackie  on  Burns,  1888  ;  and  the  supplementary  bibliographies  to  be  found 
in  the  Burns  Chronicle,  Kilmarnock,  from  ,1892  onwards,  otherwise  a 
publication  not  very  easy  to  take  seriously. 


406     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

apart)  and  a   great  deal  better  educated  generally  than  Lord 
Byron  at  the  same  time  of  life. 

He  had  naturally  been  bred  to  the  plough,  and  an  abortive 
attempt  to  set  up  as  a  flax-dresser  at  Irvine,  in  1781,  did  not 
long  withdraw  him  from  the  stilts.  After  his  father's  death,  he 
entered  with  his  brother  Gilbert  upon  the  tenancy  of  the  farm 
of  Mossgiel,  in  the  parish  of  Mauchline.  But  the  enterprise 
did  not  prosper  greatly,  and,  moreover,  in  the  course  of  a 
couple  of  years,  Burns  had,  as  the  saying  goes,  made  the 
countryside  too  hot  to  hold  him  by  a  series  of  notorious 
amours  which  we  may  be  dispensed  from  even  attempting  to 
enumerate.  He  was  on  the  point  of  sailing  to  the  West 
Indies  in  1786,  when  his  steps  were  suddenly  diverted 
from  the  quay  at  Greenock  to  the  Scottish  capital.  At  the 
end  of  July  in  that  year  there  had  issued  from  the  press  at 
Kilmarnock  a  small  volume  of  Poemsy  chiefly  in  the  Scottish 
Dialect^  which  had  been  received  by  the  public,  not  only  in 
the  South-west  of  Scotland  but  also  in  Edinburgh,  with 
enthusiastic  approbation.  Blind  Dr.  Blacklock  had  written 
of  the  work  to  Dr.  Lawrie,  the  minister  of  Loudoun,  in  a 
strain  of  high  commendation  and  encouragement.  The  sight 
of  this  letter  at  once  altered  the  new  poet's  resolution,  which, 
perhaps,  had  never  been  very  staunch,  and  made  Edinburgh 
his  destination  instead  of  Jamaica.  He  reached  it  on  the  28th 
of  November,  1786. 

The  story  of  Burns's  season  in  the  capital,  of  how  he  was 
welcomed  by  all  that  was  most  distinguished  in  rank,  or 
literature,  or  fashion,  of  how  Scott  met  him  at  Adam  Fer- 
guson's, of  how  he  held  high  revel,  not  alas  !  with  his  peers, 
but  with  Crochallan  Fencibles  and  the  St.  Andrew's  Lodge  of 
Freemasons — has  been  too  often  told  to  need  repetition  here. 
That  Burns  sustained  the  trying  process  of  being  "lionised" 
with  much  greater  coolness  and  composure  than  most  men 
in  his  circumstances  would  have  been  able  to  do,  is  a  truism. 
He  carried  himself  in  the  best  company  which  Edinburgh  had 


BURNS  407 

to  afford  with  a  manly  independence,  and  a  natural  good 
breeding,  which  none  has  ever  ventured  to  impugn,  and  which 
was  only  qualified  by  the  tendency  unduly  to  assert  his  own 
dignity  when  he  conceived  himself  in  any  way  slighted.1  But 
he  had  none  of  the  devouring  self-consciousness  which  was  apt 
to  betray  Hogg  into  inexcusable  familiarities,  and  even  in  the 
moments  when  his  better  self  was  practically  effaced  he  would 
have  been  incapable  of  such  an  outrage  as  the  pages  in  which 
the  Shepherd  sought  to  defame  his  departed  friend  and  patron, 
Scott.  From  the  Duchess  of  Gordon,  from  Robertson,  from 
Blair,  from  Mackenzie,  Burns  received  nothing  but  kindness. 
What  demoralised  him  was,  not  their  attention,  but,  the  flattery 
of  the  fifth-rate  people  who  were  glad  to  bask  in  the 
countenance  of  "Caledonia's  bard,"  and  to  get  drunk  in  his 
company.  In  literature  as  on  the  turf,  and  indeed  in  most 
other  walks  of  life,  it  is  the  hangers-on  who  are  hateful,  and 
who  do  the  mischief;  and  the  type  of  man  who  gave  Burns 
an  irresistible  impetus  down  the  primrose  way  is  excellently 
represented  by  a  ruffian  like  William  Nicol.  Close  association 
with  creatures  of  this  description,  and  "superfluous  ban- 
quetings  "  in  their  society,  might  well  ruin  a  character  less 
easy-going  and  less  "  formed  for  pleasure  "  than  that  of  Burns. 
Meanwhile,  he  had  furnished  himself  with  a  more  or  less 
handsome  supply  of  money  by  means  of  a  new  edition  of 
his  poems,  published  in  Edinburgh,  by  Creech,  in  1787, 
with  considerable  additions.  This  edition  was  reproduced  in 
London  in  the  same  year,  and  a  still  further  enlarged  edition 
was  issued  by  Creech  in  1793. 

Of  the  Sylvander  and  Clarinda  episode,  which  began  upon 
Burns's  return  to  Edinburgh,  in  December,  1787,  the  less  said 
the  better.  The  flirtation  is  one  of  the  silliest  and  most 
affected  in  the  whole  record  of  such  affairs,  and,  as  Scott 

1  Scott,  Review  of  Cromek's  Rcliqncs,  Misc.  Prose  Works,  vol.  xvii. 
pp.  252,  et  scq.  This  brief  review  is,  it  need  scarcely  be  said,  one  of  the 
very  best  things  ever  written  about  Burns. 


408    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

remarks  with  his  plain  good  sense,  the  name  of  Sylvander  is 
"  sufficient  of  itself  to  damn  a  whole  file  of  love-letters."  r 
In  the  following  spring  Burns  performed  the  most  sensible  act 
attributed  to  him  in  his  dealings  with  women  ;  that  is  to  say, 
he  married  Jean  Armour,  who  had  already  borne  him  several 
children,  and  who  made  him  an  excellent  and  loyal  wife.  In 
the  same  year  (1788)  he  took  the  farm  of  Ellisland,  in  Dum- 
friesshire, and  in  1789  his  means  of  livelihood  were  increased 
by  his  appointment  to  the  post  of  an  exciseman.  The  farming 
speculation  had  to  be  abandoned  in  1791,  and  the  poet  then 
moved  with  his  wife  and  family  into  the  town  of  Dumfries. 
His  muse  had  not  been  idle  since  he  left  Edinburgh.  He 
contributed  largely  to  Johnson's  Musical  Museum,  which  began 
to  appear  in  1787,  and  indeed  he  became  almost  the  editor 
of  that  collection.  He  also  assisted  George  Thomson  in  com- 
piling his  Original  Scottish  Airs  (1793-1818),  declining  abso- 
lutely to  accept  of  any  pecuniary  gratification  for  his  labours. 
Almost  all  his  most  characteristic  lyrical  work  appeared  in  one 
or  other  of  these  publications.  But  his  impaired  constitution 
was  unable  long  to  withstand  the  trials  to  which  life  in  Dum- 
fries, with  all  that  life  involved,  subjected  it.  Death  put  a 
final  period  to  his  sufferings  and  struggles  in  1796. 

Burns's  personality  was  so  masterful  and  striking  that  we 
cannot  be  surprised  when  we  find  that  criticism  of  his  life  and 
criticism  of  his  works  have  been  intermingled  in  an  unusually 
pernicious  degree.  Professed  admirers  of  his  compositions  have 
thought  it  necessary  to  tone  down  incontrovertible  facts,  and 
even  to  play  upon  the  greediness  of  the  public  for  a  soul- 
satisfying  myth,2  in  order  that  the  bard  may  be  represented  as 
a  model  member  of  the  community.  On  the  other  hand, 
those  who  resent  his  attitude  to  the  Calvinistic  section  of  the 
Church,  against  which  he  waged  bitter  war,  are  disposed  to 

1  Misc.  Prose  Works,  ut  sup.,  p.  264. 

2  The  Mary  Campbell  fable  has  been  demolished  once  for  all  by  Mr. 
Henley.    But  Resurgam  is  inscribed  on  the  tombstone  of  all  such  tales. 


BURNS  409 

ignore  his  very  best  performances,  and,  with  minds  fixed  on 
Thou  lingering  Star,  or  The  Cottar's  Saturday  Night,  to  breathe 
the  pious  wish,  O  si  sic  omnia  !  National  partiality,  moreover, 
has  been  a  complicating  element  in  Burns  criticism  to  an 
extent  incredible  to  those  who  are  unacquainted  with  the 
collective  vanity  which  animates  the  more  impulsive  section 
of  the  nation.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  much  inform- 
ation about  the  poet,  amassed  by  an  indefatigable,  though  by 
no  means  discriminating,  inquirer  in  a  past  generation,  was 
withheld  by  him  from  the  world  for  fear  of  incurring  popular 
obloquy.  It  is  a  mere  fact  that  Mr.  Stevenson's  Essay  on 
Burns  was  rejected  by  the  cautious  editor  of  the  Encyclopaedia 
Britannica  because  it  ran  counter  to  Scottish  tradition,1  and 
the  circumstance  that  the  epithet  which  instinctively  occurs  to 
a  commentator  as  applicable  to  that  admirable  sketch  is  "coura- 
geous," shows  how  deep  a  hold  prejudice  is  believed  to  have 
taken  of  the  critical  sense  of  the  public.  Lastly,  so  long  as 
Burns  Clubs  continue  to  exist  for  the  purpose  of  mingling 
oratorical  flourishes  with  what  is  politely  called  "  conviviality," 
so  long  will  there  never  be  wanting  a  yearly  supply  of  assiduous 
if  unconscious  efforts  to  darken  counsel  and  to  obscure  the 
truth.  Inasmuch  as  these  highly  popular  institutions  as  yet 
exhibit  no  symptoms  of  decay,  it  seems  incumbent  upon  the 
critic  to  endeavour  as  far  as  possible  to  divest  himself  of  all 
prepossessions,  national  or  otherwise,  and  to  approach  the  con- 
sideration of  the  poet's  character  and  works  with  an  open  mind. 
First,  then,  and  that  briefly,  of  Burns's  character.  No  man 
of  sense,  who  realises  that  the  life  of  all  men  must  needs  be  a  more 
or  less  faithful  illustration  of  the  confession,  Video  meliora  proboque^ 
deteriora  sequor,  will  be  disposed  to  judge  him  with  a  rigorous 
severity.  It  is  only  the  pedant,  or  the  prig,  or  the  sentimental- 
ist, who  will  desiderate  in  Burns  that  uniform  consistency 
of  thought  or  feeling  to  which  no  human  being  was  ever 

1  Balfour,  Life  of  Stevenson,  vol.  i.  p.  141. 


410    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

privileged  to  attain,  or  who  will  attempt  to  draw  out  a  reasoned 
and  systematised  scheme  of  his  theological  and  ethical  views. 
Like  the  vast  majority  of  his  fellow  creatures,  he  was  a  being 
of  impulse  and  of  moods  ;  and  none  save  the  veriest  greenhorn 
will  be  astonished  to  think  that  the  Epistle  to  John  Rankine 
proceeded  from  the  same  pen  as  the  Epistle  to  a  Young  Friend, 
or  will  trouble  to  inquire  whether  the  bard  of  the  Reply 
to  a  Trimming  Epistle  or  the  bard  of  Highland  Mary  is  "  the 
true  Burns."  Both  bards  are  the  true  Burns.  That  he 
possessed  many  generous  and  engaging  qualities  is  as  certain  as 
that  their  virtue  was  seriously  impaired  by  not  a  few  obvious 
defects.  It  may  be  doubted,  however,  whether  the  legacy  of 
his  example  has,  upon  the  whole,  been  beneficial  to  the  mass 
of  his  countrymen.  A  pessimist  might  be  forgiven  for  holding 
that  he  has  confirmed  them  in  some  of  their  darling  vices. 
Too  often  have  his  shortcomings  been  pleaded,  expressly  or  by 
implication,  as  a  justification  for  those  of  men  who  were  never 
exposed  to  one  tenth  part  of  his  temptations  ! 

But  the  cardinal  flaw  in  his  character  was  unquestionably 
his  want  of  chivalrous  feeling  where  women  are  concerned. 
To  impute  this  to  his  being  a  peasant  is  to  give  an  explanation 
neither  flattering  to  the  Scottish  commonalty,  nor,  I  venture 
to  think,  altogether  satisfactory.  That  he  could,  in  the 
exercise  of  his  art,  assume  the  tone  and  spirit  of  chivalry  and 
romance  to  perfection,  we  have  ample  demonstration  in  such  in- 
comparable pieces  as  Bonnie  Lesley,  Go  fetch  to  me  a  pint  o  wine, 
and  It  was  a  for  our  Rightfu  King.  Yet  in  his  letters  he 
reveals  a  state  of  mind  with  regard  to  the  relations  of  the  sexes 
which  to  call  ungentlemanly  were,  indeed,  grotesque  as  well  as 
inept,  but  for  which  the  epithet  "inhuman"  would  not  be  much 
too  severe.  He  was,  indeed,  fated  to  supply  in  his  own  person 
a  signal  instance  of  that  petrifaction  of  feeling  which,  himself  has 
assured  us,  is  the  result  of  "tempting  th'  illicit  rove."  In  other 
matters  he  is  sincere,  genuine,  bon  enfant ;  here  he  is  a  con- 
sistent and  incurable  poseur.  We  waive  a  certain  intolerable 


BURNS  411 

and  unquotable  letter  to  Ainslie.  We  rest  the  proposition 
upon  many  passages  in  his  correspondence  in  which  the  language 
is  well  within  the  bounds  of  decorum,  but  whose  total  effect  is 
the  very  opposite  of  pleasant.  Something,  no  doubt,  must  be 
allowed  for  the  vicious  taste  of  his  age— the  age  of  the  dawning 
of  romance — to  which  "sensibility"  was  all  in  all.  The  trail 
of  Rousseau  smeared  many  a  page  even  in  the  country  of 
David  Hume.  Nevertheless,  Burns  took  up  the  fashion  of  the 
day  with  much  too  great  a  gusto  to  permit  us  to  absolve  him 
from  complicity  in  its  offence.  He  is  almost  hateful  when 
he  begins  to  talk  in  his  knowing  and  jocose  way  about  "  a  cer- 
tain delicious  passion  "  in  which  he  had  been  "  initiated  "  at 
the  age  of  fifteen  ;  and  when  his  gallantry  begins  to  find 
expression  in  doubtful  French,  he  is  unendurable.  No  ; 
the  spectacle  of  the  "  old  hawk  "  "  on  the  pounce,"  of  the 
veteran  "  battering  himself  into  a  warm  affection  "  for  some 
luckless  or  worthless  girl,  is  the  reverse  of  agreeable  ;  and 
referring  the  reader  on  this  head  to  Mr.  Stevenson's  Essay,  we 
gladly  turn  from  the  discussion  of  Burns's  character  to  the 
discussion  of  his  work. 

The  first  and  most  essential  point  to  bear  in  mind  is  one 
which  has  been  mentioned  already,  but  which  can  scarce 
be  too  strongly  emphasised.  It  is,  that  Burns  marks  the  close, 
not  the  beginning,  of  a  dynasty  of  poets.  He  was,  not  the 
founder  of  a  school,  "but,  its  most  finished  and  its  final  product. 
In  him  the  vernacular  poetry  of  Scotland  reached  its  highest 
consummation  ;  through  his  instrumentality  it  ceased  to  be 
merely  the  poetry  of  a  small  and  remote  nation,  and  was  elevated 
for  a  short  space  to  the  level  of  the  great  poetry  of  the  world ; 
and  with  his  death  (certain  symptoms  of  posthumous  vitality 
notwithstanding)  it  died.  Burns  himself,  as  has  been  remarked, 
was  under  no  delusion  as  to  the  debt  he  owed  to  his  literary 
ancestors,  for  Burns  was  never  a  "  common  Burnsite."  While 
disclaiming  "servile  imitation"1  he  admits,  in  the  preface 

1  How  expert  he  could  be  in  careful  imitation  for  the  sake  of  parody  we 


412     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

to  the  Kilmarnock  edition,  that  he  has  "  often  had  his  eye  " 
on  Ramsay  and  Fergusson,  "with  a  view  to  kindle  at  their 
flame."  It  is  hardly  an  exaggeration  to  assert  that  of  almost 
every  one  of  his  poetical  pieces  the  form  and  mode  of 
treatment  can  be  directly  traced,  not  merely  to  the  general 
tone  and  convention  of  Scots  poetry,  but  to  a  specific 
exemplar  from  the  pen  of  some  named  or  nameless  prede- 
cessor.1 That  the  same  is  emphatically  true  of  his  lyrics  has 
been  ascertained  beyond  all  dubiety  by  the  industry  of  Messrs. 
Henley  and  Henderson,  largely  through  the  aid  of  the  Herd 
manuscripts.2 

A  model  then,  of  some  sort,  Burns  behoved  to  have  ;  but  all 
models  were  not  equally  propitious  to  the  play  of  his  genius. 
Of  English  models,  except  those  of  the  broadside  or  the  bac- 
chanalian variety,  he  could  make  little  or  nothing,  and  this 
is  especially  true  of  English  eighteenth-century  models  which 
exercised  a  peculiarly  sinister  influence  on  his  muse.  He 
handled  the  rhymed  heroic,  for  example,  with  less  freedom  and 
success  even  than  Ramsay,  as  the  Brigs  of  Ayr  and  the  Epistle 
to  Robert  Graham  of  Fintry,  Esq.^  testify.  The  Cottar's  Satur- 
day Night  (designed,  apparently,  to  show  what  Robert  Aiken, 
Esq.,  "  in  a  cottage  would  have  been  ")  never  quite  throws  off 

may  conjecture  from  The  Five  Carlins,  where  the  old  -  ballad  manner 
is  most  happily  reproduced. 

1  As  thus  :  The  Epistles  to  Lapraik,  Smith,  Rankine,  and  Simpson  derive 
from  the  poetical  correspondence  between  Ramsay  and  Gilbertfield  ;   the 
Elegies  on   Poor  Mailie,  Tarn   Samson,  and   Matthew   Henderson   from 
Habbic  Simson ;    The  Holy  Fair,  The  Ordination,  and  Hallowe'en  from 
Fergusson's  Lcith  Races  and  Hallow  Fair;  The  Twa  Dogs  from  Fergusson's 
Plainstancs  and  Causeway,  which  also  suggested  77/6'  Brigs  of  Ayr;  Holy 
Willie's  Prayer  from  Ramsay's  Lucky  Spencc  and  Miser;    and  so  forth. 
What  is  the  Jolly  Beggars  but  the  very  quintessence  of  all  mumping  and 
gangrel  rhyming  from  The  Gaberlunzie  Man,  and  Clout  the  Caldron,  and 
Beaumont  and  Fletcher  downwards  ?     For  the  Songs,  see  the  notes  in 
Henley  and  Henderson  passim,  especially  vol.  iii. 

2  I  understand  that  a  work  based  upon  a  searching  examination  of  the 
literary  remains  of  David  Herd  is  being  prepared  by  Dr.  Hans  Hecht  of 
Balliol  College,  Oxford,  and  the  University  of  Berlin. 


BURNS  413 

the  bondage  of  Shenstone,  though  in  one  or  two  passages  the 
fetters  are  strained  to  bursting,  and  the  piece  bids  fair  to  be  first 
rate.  Of  the  ostensibly  English  poems  and  songs,  such  as  Thou 
ling  ring  Star,  or  Clarinda,  Mistress  of  my  Soul,  we  can  say  no 
more  than  that  the  world  might  have  dispensed  with  them  only 
less  easily  than  with  such  a  stilted  English  lyric,  masquerading 
in  Scots  of  a  sort,  as  Scots  who  ha*e.  Mr.  Henley  is  probably 
not  far  out  when  he  pronounces  his  most  successful  English 
performance  to  be  The  gloomy  night  is  gathering  fast.  On  the 
other  hand,  in  The  Whistle  and  more  especially  in  portions  of 
The  Jolly  Beggars,  the  poet  displays  a  command  of  the  rapid, 
uproarious,  anapaestic  measure,  so  popular  in  England,  for  which 
a  dismal  failure  like  No  Churchman  am  I  had  scarcely  pre- 
pared us. 

The  models  which  best  served  Burns's  turn  for  poetry  other 
than  what  is  lyrical,  were  the  old  favourites  of  the  Scots  ver- 
nacular muse  with  their  distinctive  cadences  and  measures. 
We  have  the  octave  with  three  rhymes  in  Mary  Morison  and 
The  Lament,  though  in  the  latter  the  vocabulary  and  idiom  are 
English,  or,  at  all  events,  not  Scots,  and  the  total  effect  is  con- 
sequently something  artificial.  The  easier  octave  with  four 
rhymes  is  well  exemplified  in  the  Address  to  the  Unco  Guld  and 
the  Epistle  to  a  Young  Friend.  We  have  the  elaborate,  ambitious, 
and  spirited  metre  of  The  Cherry  and  the  Slae  in  The  Epistle 
to  Davie,  which  is  inferior  to  Ramsay's  1)ision,  and  (employed 
to  infinitely  better  purpose)  in  some  portions  of  the  recitativo 
in  The  Jolly  Beggars.  We  have  the  modernised  form  of  the 
Christis  Kirk  stanza,  with  its  characteristic  "  bob-wheel," 
in  such  admirable  descriptive  pieces  as  The  Holy  Fair,  The 
Ordination,  and  Hallowe'en.  We  have  fresh,  fluent,  and 
eminently  vigorous  octosyllabics  in  The  Twa  Dogs,  The 
Death  and  Dying  IVords  of  poor  Mailie,  and  Tarn  o  Shanter. 
And,  lastly,  we  have  the  six-line  stave  with  two  rhymes, 
associated  with  Habbie  Simson,  which  was  unquestionably 
Burns's  favourite  measure.  In  this  are  composed  most  of  his 


4H    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Epistles  to  and  elegies  upon  various  personages  — the  Address  to 
the  Deil,  The  Auld  Farmer's  New  Tear  morning  Salutation  to 
his  Auld  Mare  Maggie,  To  a  Louse,  Death  and  Dr.  Hornbook, 
the  Address  to  a  Haggis,  On  the  late  Captain  Grose's  peregrina- 
tions through  Scotland,  Holy  Willie's  Prayer — in  short  all  the 
pieces,  apart  from  the  lyrics,  Tarn  o"  Shanter,  and  The  Jolly 
Beggars,  which  would  probably  be  selected  by  nine  persons  out 
of  ten  as  most  patently  typical  of  Burns's  achievement  in  poetry. 
As  for  the  lyrics,  their  range  and  variety  of  rhythm  and 
measure  are  limited  only  by  those  of  the  airs  to  which  they 
had  to  be  accommodated. 

There  is  scarce  an  emotion  adapted  for  expression  in  lyrical 
poetry  which  is  not  represented  somewhere  or  other  among  the 
songs  of  Burns.  He  showered  his  compositions  as  the  fancy 
took  him  upon  his  correspondents — upon  Mrs.  Dunlop,  upon 
Johnson,  upon  Thomson,  as  the  case  might  be — with  all  the 
unconsciousness  of  their  comparative  merits  which  sometimes 
characterises  prolific  genius.  Now,  his  contribution  would  be 
some  frigid  poem  in  the  classical  vein,  without  a  hint  of  the 
"lyrical  cry ; "  now  it  would  be  some  exquisite  and  flawless  gem, 
compact  in  the  crucible  of  his  brain  from  the  fragments  of  some 
half-forgotten,  and  not  over-decent,  traditional  stave.  Thus  it  is 
that,  even  if  we  lay  aside  so  much  of  his  work  as  may  be 
set  down  for  best  and  second-best,  contenting  ourselves  with 
the  very  best  only,  the  volume  of  his  lyrical  production  is  as 
remarkable  in  bulk  as  it  is  extensive  in  scope.  If  we  attempt  » 
a  rough  classification  of  the  moods  which  here  find  utterance, 
we  shall  find  that  there  are  the  two  Burnses  :  Burns  qui  pleure, 
and  Burns  qui  rit,  though  perhaps  the  one  is  never  far  apart 
from  the  other.  The  unaffected,  yet  artful,  tenderness  of 
lyrics  like  Ye  Banks  and  Braes,  and  My  Luve  is  like  a  red,  red 
rose,  can  never  fail  to  captivate;  the  noble  melancholy  of 
Go  fetch  to  me  a  pint  of  wine,  or  It  was  a"1  for  our  rightfu  King ; 
must  needs  ever  "  echo  in  the  heart  and  be  present  in  the 
memory." 


BURNS  415 

"  Now  a'  is  done  that  men  can  do, 

And  a'  is  done  in  vain, 
My  Love  and  Native  Land  fareweel 
For  I  maun  cross  the  main, 

My  dear — 
For  I  maun  cross  the  main. 

He  turned  him  right  and  round  about 

Upon  the  Irish  shore, 
And  gae  his  bridle-reins  a  shake, 

With  adieu  for  evermore, 
My  dear — 

Adieu  for  evermore."  ' 

What  "amatory  lay"  was  ever  more  graceful  and  melodious 
than  Mary  Morison — so  manifestly  the  superior  of  her  High- 
land namesake  whether  in  earth  or  heaven  ? 

"  Yestreen,  when  to  the  trembling  string 

The  dance  gaed  thro'  the  lighted  ha', 
To  thee  my  fancy  took  its  wing, 

I  sat,  but  neither  heard  or  saw  ; 

Tho'  this  was  fair  and  that  was  braw, 
An'  yon  the  toast  of  a'  the  town, 

I  sigh'd  and  said  amang  them  a'  : — 
Ye  are  na  Mary  Morison  ! " 

Of  what  is  deservedly  the  most  famous  of  Burns's  lyrics  there 
is  little  to  be  said. 

"  Had  we  never  lov'd  sae  kindly, 
Had  we  never  lov'd  sae  blindly, 
Never  met — or  never  parted — 
We  had  ne'er  been  broken-hearted." 

The  world  of  those  competent  to  form  an  opinion  has  long 
been  unanimous  in  ranking  this    "superb  groan"    of  despair 

1  And  this  masterpiece  is  a  vamp  from  Unkind  Parents  and  Malley 
Stewart,  two  chap-book  ballads  !  See  Henley  and  Henderson,  iii.  p.  433. 
Scott  availed  himself  of  it,  unconsciously,  no  doubt,  in  Rokeby.  Every  one 
will  remember  the  admirable  use  to  which  Thackeray  puts  it  in  The 

Ncwcomes. 


416     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

with  the  choicest  work  of  Catullus.  Yet  it  may  be  allowable 
to  refer  to  it,  par  parenthese^  as  a  complete  refutation  of  the  idea 
that  the  success  of  a  poet's  exertions  depends  in  any  way  upon 
the  degree  in  which  he  himself  at  the  moment  of  composition 
experiences  the  emotions  to  which  he  gives  voice.  If  ever  any 
snatch  of  song  was  informed  with  "  sincerity,"  in  the  technical 
sense  of  the  word,  it  is  Ae  fond  kiss  and  then  we  sever.  If 
ever  any  love  affair  bore  all  the  marks  of  insincerity  and 
affectation  on  both  sides,  it  is  Burns's  flirtation  with  Mrs. 
M'Lehose,  the  close  of  which  inspired  those  verses  as  surely 
as  its  inception  inspired  the  sixteen  lines  of  ineptitude  which 
we  know  as  Glarinda^  mistress  of  my  soul.  Truly,  the  wind 
of  genius  bloweth  where  it  listeth,  and  whether,  to  use  a  phrase 
of  Burns's,  the  "  bosom  "  of  the  bard  is  "  strongly  interested  " 
or  not  in  what  he  writes  about,  appears  to  make  uncommonly 
little  difference  in  the  ultimate  result. 

It  is  not,  however,  one  may  trust,  presumptuous  to  indicate 
a  preference  for  the  Burns  qui  rit  before  his  more  gloomy 
brother,  or  to  find  an  even  higher  intensity  of  genius  in  the 
lyrics  in  which  life  is  viewed  in  a  more  cheerful  and  less 
despondent  aspect.  William  Nicol  was,  as  we  have  said,  a 
detestable  fellow,  but  assuredly  Willie  brewed  a  peck  of  maut 
is  the  prince  of  all  drinking  songs  of  its  type. 

"  It  is  the  moon,  I  ken  her  horn, 

That's  blinking  in  the  lift  sae  hie  : 
She  shines  sae  bright  to  wyle  us  hame, 
But,  by  my  sooth,  she'll  wait  a  wee  ! 

Chorus  : 
We  are  na  fou,  we're  nae  that  fou, 

But  just  a  drappie  in  our  e'e  ! 
The  cock  may  craw,  the  day  may  daw, 

And  aye  we'll  taste  the  barley-bree  !  " 

The  frame  of  mind  in  which  a  man  may  justly  be  said  to  be — 

"  glorious, 
O'er  all  the  ills  of  life  victorious," 


BURNS  417 

has  never  been  depicted  with  such  inimitable  precision  and 
spirit.  Many  and  beautiful,  if  sometimes  a  little  artificial 
and  exotic,  are  the  songs  which  the  collapse  of  the  Jacobite 
movement  called  into  being  ;  but  not  one  is  there  more 
manly,  more  redolent  of  the  Borders,  than  Kenmuris  on  and 
awe? . 

"  Here's  him  that's  far  awa',  Willie, 

Here's  him  that's  far  awa'  ! 
And  here's  the  flower  that  I  lo'e  best — 

The  rose  that's  like  the  snaw  !" 

Yet  it  is,  perhaps,  when  we  approach  what  he  might  have 
called  a  more  tender  theme  that  the  bard  excels  himself;  nor 
should  we  quarrel  with  any  one  who  chose  to  maintain  that 
his  most  glorious  triumphs  in  the  field  of  lyric  verse  are — not 
My  Nanie,  O  (infinitely  superior  as  it  is  to  Ramsay's  version 
with  its  abominable  "bagnio"),  nor  yet  Bonnie  Lesley,  which 
it  is  difficult  to  praise  too  highly,  but — Corn  Rigs  and  (in  a 
somewhat  different  vein)  Green  grow  the  rashes,  0.  Here 
is  the  whole  of  the  latter,  "  faked  "  from  Heaven  alone  knows 
what  fragments  of  ancient  sculduddery  : — 

Chorus  : 

"  Green  grow  the  rashes,  O  ; 
Green  grow  the  rashes,  O  ; 
The  sweetest  hours  that  e'er  I  spend, 
Are  spent  among  the  lasses,  O. 


There's  nought  but  care  on  ev'ry  han', 
In  every  hour  that  passes,  O  : 

What  signifies  the  life  o'  man, 
An'  'twere  na  for  the  lasses,  O  ? 

ii. 

The  war'ly  race  may  riches  chase, 
An'  riches  still  may  fly  them,  O  : 

An'  tho'  at  last  they  catch  them  fast, 
Their  hearts  can  ne'er  enjoy  them,  O. 
2D 


4i 8     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 


m. 


But  gic  me  a  cannie  hour  at  e'en, 
My  arms  about  my  dearie,  O, 

An'  war'ly  cares  an'  war'ly  men 
May  a'  gae  tapsalteerie,  O. 


IV. 


For  you  sae  douce  ye  sneer  at  this  ; 

Ye're  nought  but  senseless  asses,  O  ; 
The  wisest  man  the  warl'  e'er  saw, 

He  dearly  lov'd  the  lasses,  O. 

v. 

Auld  nature  swears,  the  lovely  dears 

Her  noblest  work  she  classes,  O  ; 
Her  'prentice  han'  she  try'd  on  man, 

An'  then  she  made  the  lasses,  O." 

And  here  is  the  last  stanza  of  Corn  Rigs  : — 

"  I  hae  been  blythe  with  comrades  dear  ; 

I  hae  been  merry  drinking  ; 
I  hae  been  joyfu'  gath'rin  gear  ; 

I  hae  been  happy  thinking. 
But  a'  the  pleasures  e'er  I  saw 

Tho'  three  times  doubl'd  fairly — 
That  happy  night  was  worth  them  a', 

Amang  the  rigs  o'  barley. 

Corn  rigs,  an'  barley  rigs, 
An'  corn  rigs  are  bonnic  ; 

I'll  ne'er  forget  that  happy  night 
Amang  the  rigs  wi'  Annie." 

In  both  these  songs — and  both,  it  must  be  remembered, 
were  the  work  of  years  prior  to  the  visit  to  Edinburgh  and 
the  Musical  Museum — we  have  Burns,  the  Scots  peasant,  and 
Burns,  the  inspired  song-writer,  in  their  most  characteristic 
moments  :  humour,  playfulness,  high  spirits  in  the  one,  passion 
plus  the  infinite  capacity  for  pleasure  in  the  other,  and  con- 
summate art  in  both,  combining  to  produce  a  whole,  the 


BURNS  419 

precise  equivalent  of  which  no  other   country  in  the  world 
can  show. 

For  vivid  narrative,  for  graphic  description,  for  insight  into 
character,  for  the  power  of  judging  men  at  a  glance,  for  wide 
sympathy  and  deep  penetration,  the  intense  concentration  of 
the  lyric  affords  little  or  no  scope.1  For  these  and  the  like 
excellences  we  must  turn  to  Burns's  other  poems,  nor  shall 
we  turn  in  vain.  Occasionally,  no  doubt,  he  displays  a  weak- 
ness for  what  may  be  called  petty  pathos — the  Mouse  and  the 
Daisy  are  two  instances  of  the  failing,  and  they  have,  of  course, 
entranced  the  hearts  of  that  less  intelligent  section  of  Burns 
amateurs^  who  would  be  much  shocked  to  hear  that  neither  of 
these  exercises  can  for  one  moment  compare  with  the  Louse. 
But  the  true  test  for  the  Mouse  and  the  Daisy  is  some  piece 
like  the  Death  of  Poor  Mailie ;  or  the  Elegy  on  that  most 
celebrated  of  ewes  ;  or,  perhaps  best  of  all,  the  Auld  Farmer  to 
his  Auld  Mare.  Every  one  of  these  three  pieces  is  wholly 
delightful  :  instinct  with  humour,  with  kindliness,  with 
humanity.  But  the  Mouse  and  the  Daisy  in  comparison  are 
instinct  with  nothing  save  a  feeble  and  even  sickly  senti- 
mentality. The  Salutation  expresses  what  thousands  of  men 
must  have  felt  in  a  vague  way  on  such  an  occasion  as  that 
postulated,  but  what  they  could  never  have  given  articulate 
expression  to  even  in  the  most  shambling  prose.  It  is  a 
striking  example  of  the  particular  raised  to  the  universal — of 
familiar  things  made  new.  But  neither  the  Mouse  nor  the 
Daisy  expresses  what  any  ploughman  ever  felt,  nor  even  what 
Burns  ever  felt.  All  that  they  express  is  what  a  ploughman 
might  have  desired  to  feel,  if,  living  in  the  last  quarter  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  he  had  aspired  to  live  up  to  the  character 
of  a  poet.  And  consequently  they  need  trouble  us  no  longer, 

1  The  Jolly  Beggars,  it  is  true,  where  many  such  qualities  are  to  be  met 
with  in  ample  profusion,  is  to  a  great  extent  lyrical  in  form.  But  it  is 
really  lyrical  drama,  a  very  different  affair  from  the  pure  lyric.  Similarly 
the  second  set  of  Duncan  Gray  is  what  may  be  called  lyrical  narrative. 


420    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

having  served  their  turn    as  convenient   foils    for    setting  oft 
the  beauties  of  better  poems  than  themselves. 

"  My  poor  toop-lamb,  my  son  an'  heir, 
O,  bid  him  breed  him  up  wi'  care  ! 
An'  if  he  live  to  be  a  beast, 
To  pit  some  havins  in  his  breast ! 
An'  warn  him — what  I  winna  name — 
To  stay  content  wi'  yowes  at  hame  ; 
An'  no  to  rin  an'  wear  his  cloots, 
Like  other  menseless,  graceless  brutes. 

An'  niest  my  yowie,  silly  thing  ; 
Gude  keep  thee  frae  a  tether  string  ! 
O,  may  thou  ne'er  forgather  up, 
Wi'  ony  blastit,  moorland  toop  ; 
But  ay  keep  mind  to  moop  an'  mell 
Wi'  sheep  o'  credit  like  thysel  ! 

An'  now,  my  bairns,  wi'  my  last  breath, 
I  lea'e  a  blessin'  wi  you  baith  : 
An'  when  you  think  upo'  your  mither, 
Mind  to  be  kind  to  ane  anither."  ' 

"  I  wat  she  was  a  sheep  o'  sense, 
An'  could  behave  hersel'  wi'  mense  : 
I'll  say't,  she  never  brak  a  fence 

Thro'  thievish  greed. 
Our  Bardie,  lanely,  keeps  the  spence, 

Sin  Mailie's  dead. 

Or,  if  he  wanders  up  the  howe, 

Her  livin'  image  in  her  yowe 

Comes  bleatin'  till  him,  owre  the  knowe, 

For  bits  o'  bread  ; 
An'  down  the  briny  pearlies  rowe 

For  Mailie  dead. 

She  was  nae  get  o'  moorlan  tips, 

Wi'  tawted  ket,  an'  hairy  hips  ; 

For  her  forbears  were  brought  in  ships 

Frae  'yont  the  Tweed  ; 
A  bonnier  fleesh  ne'er  crossed  the  clips 

Than  Mailie's  dead. 


From  The  Death  and  Dying  Words  of  Poor  Mailie. 


BURNS  421 

Wae  worth  the  man  wha  first  did  shape 
That  vile,  wanchancie  thing — a  rape  ! 
It  makes  guid  fellows  girn  an'  gape, 

Wi  chokin  dread  ; 
An'  Robin's  bonnet  wave  wi'  crape 

For  Mailie  dead."  x 

In  the  epigram  Burns  is  almost  invariably  trivial  and 
ineffective.  In  satire,  on  the  other  hand,  when  he  "  lets 
himself  go,"  he  is  terrible  and  overwhelming.  His  quarrel 
with  the  Kirk  was  a  bitter  one  ;  but  there  is  something  more 
than  ordinarily  pungent  and  envenomed  in  Holy  Willie's  Prayer. 
Never,  in  all  probability,  has  so  tremendous  an  invective 
against  Calvinism,  or  rather  anti-nomianism,  been  launched 
by  an  enemy  of  that  scheme  of  thought.  Here  are  a  few 
stanzas  : — 

"  I  bless  and  praise  Thy  matchless  might, 
When  thousands  Thou  hast  left  in  night, 
That  I  am  here  before  Thy  sight, 

For  gifts  an'  grace 
A  burning  and  a  shining  light 
To  a'  this  place. 

What  was  I,  or  my  generation, 

That  I  should  get  sic  exaltation. 

I,  wha  deserv'd  most  just  damnation 

For  broken  laws 
Sax  thousand  years  ere  my  creation 

Thro'  Adam's  cause  ! 

When  from  my  mither's  womb  I  fell, 
Thou  might  hae  plunged  me  deep  in  hell, 
To  gnash  my  gooms,  and  weep,  and  wail, 

In  burning  lakes, 
Whare  damned  devils  roar  and  yell, 

Chained  to  their  stakes. 


From  Poor  Muilic's  Elegy. 


422     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Yet  I  am  here,  a  chosen  sample, 

To  show  Thy  grace  is  great  and  ample  ; 

I'm  here  a  pillar  o'  Thy  temple, 

Strong  as  a  rock, 
A  guide,  a  buckler,  an  example 

To  a'  thy  flock  !  " 

Here  is  the  teaching  of  David  Hume  brought  down  from 
the  closet  "  into  the  street "  with  a  vengeance  !  Yet  perhaps 
Burns's  animus  against  the  ecclesiastical  tyranny  which  still 
prevailed  in  the  West  of  Scotland,  is  not  less  felicitous  in 
expression  when  it  finds  vent  in  the  species  of  sardonic  raillery 
of  which,  in  common  with  Ramsay  and  Fergusson,  he  pos- 
sessed a  fine  gift.  Descriptive  satire  is  unquestionably  a  genre 
in  which  he  excelled,  as  The  Holy  Fair  and  The  Ordination 
bear  witness,  and  the  revolt  against  the  theology  of  the  high- 
flyers is  no  less  thorough-going  when  it  finds  expression  in  the 
pleasant  jocosity  of  the  Address  to  the  Dei/,  than  when  it 
appears  stripped  of  all  disguise  in  the  panoply  of  war. 
When  the  perturbing  theological  element  is  eliminated,  his 
delineations  of  manners  and  his  judgments  on  men  are  equally 
remarkable.  Death  and  Dr.  Hornbook,  which  is  at  bottom 
nothing  but  a  fragment  of  parochial  satire,  is  so  transfigured 
by  his  genius  that  it  has  delighted  thousands  who  neither  knew 
nor  cared  that  its  victim  was  a  certain  John  Wilson,  school- 
master of  Tarbolton.  Hallowe'en  is  a  consummate  picture  of 
a  state  of  society  and  of  modes  of  thought  and  feeling  which 
the  "  march  of  progress "  has,  it  may  be,  rather  smothered 
than  destroyed  ;  but  probably  Burns's  wisest,  as  it  is  his  most 
kindly,  pronouncement  on  the  life  of  the  community  around 
him  is  The  Twa  Dogs.  In  what  excellent  keeping  is  this 
sketch  of  the  rural  festivities  incident  to  the  New  Year  !— 

"  That  merry  day  the  year  begins, 
They  bar  the  door  on  frosty  win's  ; 
The  nappy  reeks  wi'  mantling  ream, 
An'  sheds  a  heart-inspiring  steam  ; 


BURNS  423 

The  luntin'  pipe,  and  sneeshin'  mill, 
Are  handed  round  wi'  right  guid  will ; 
The  cantie  auld  folks  crackin  crouse, 
The  young  anes  rantin'  through  the  house, 
My  heart  has  been  sae  fain  to  see  them, 
That  I  for  joy  hae  barkit  wi'  them." 

Place  alongside  of  this  the  wonderfully  accurate  picture  of  the 
Scottish  landed  gentry  of  the  time  : — 

"  O  would  they  stay  aback  frae  courts, 
An'  please  themsels  wi'  countra  sports, 
It  wad  for  every  ane  be  better, 
The  laird,  the  tenant,  an'  the  cotter  ! 
For  they  frank,  rantin',  ramblin'  billies, 
Fient  haet  o'  them's  ill-hearted  fellows  : 
Except  for  breakin  o'  their  timmer, 
Or  speakin'  lightly  o'  their  limmer, 
Or  shootin'  of  a  hare  or  moor- cock, 
The  ne'er-a-bit  they're  ill  to  poor  folk." 

Such  a  passage  is  worth  a  hundred  of  the  full-dress  denun- 
ciations of  Luxury  (with  a  capital  L)  in  which  Burns  occasion- 
ally thought  it  his  duty  to  indulge,  or  of  those  vehement 
assertions  of  the  equality  of  the  peasant  and  the  laird,  to  which 
the  progress  of  the  French  Revolution  held  out  so  tempting 
an  inducement. 

It  remains  to  speak  of  what  will  probably  be  admitted  to  be 
Burns's  two  masterpieces,  and  in  dealing  with  acknowledged 
masterpieces  the  critic's  best  policy  is  to  be  brief.  Tarn  o*  Shanter 
is  perhaps  the  most  popular  of  all  the  poet's  writings,  apart 
from  those  in  the  sentimental  vein,  and  the  preference  awarded 
to  it  is  not  surprising.  Even  a  very  dull  man  can  hardly 
escape  taking  some  of  its  good  points,  and  though  we  may 
question  whether  an  Englishman  is  ever  able  to  extract  the 
very  last  drop  of  enjoyment  from  this,  or  from  any  other, 
piece  in  the  Scots  vernacular,  its  spirit  and  hilarity  are  so  con- 
tagious that  no  one  will  surely  refuse  to  be  made  merry. 
Subject  it  to  the  trying  ordeal  of  being  "  spouted  "  by  the 


424    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

common  village  reciter  (in  whose  repertory  it  always  finds  a 
prominent  place),  and  it  will  emerge  triumphant :  unspoilt 
even  by  his*  resolute  efforts  to  vulgarise  and  to  mar.  The 
drinking  at  the  tavern,  the  ride  home,  the  orgy  in  the  church, 
the  wild  pursuit,  the  ultimate  escape — each  scene,  each 
episode,  is  described  with  inexpressible  vividness  and  enthu- 
siasm ;  and  each  is  so  well  proportioned  and  adjusted  that 
the  artist's  supreme  success  lies  in  the  piece  as  a  whole  as 
much  as  in  any  one  of  its  constituent  parts.  For  this  reason 
it  has  been  thought  well  to  offer  here  no  excerpt,  not  even  the 
lines  which  lead  up  to  Tarn's  imprudent  exclamation  of 
applause.  Truly  Francis  Grose  never  did  a  better  day's  work 
than  when  he  engaged  Burns  to  write  this  "  pretty  tale,"  as  he 
calls  it,  for  his  Antiquities  of  Scotland  (1789-91). 

The  inherent  force  and  overpowering  spirit  of  The  Jolly 
Beggars  are  perhaps  sufficient  to  account  for  the  inferior 
popularity  of  that  "  cantata  "  as  compared  with  Tarn  o  Shanter. 
Had  Burns  swerved  for  one  moment  from  the  path  of  true 
craftsmanship,  had  he  relaxed  the  severity  of  the  artist  and 
emitted  the  smallest  whine  of  sentiment,  had  he  dowered  any 
one  of  his  marvellous  gallery  of  mendicants  and  mumpers  with 
those  virtues  which  draw  the  tear  to  the  eye  and  the  snuffle  to 
the  nose,  The  Jolly  TZeggars  might  have  stood  first  in  the 
hearts  of  its  author's  countrymen  as  securely  as  it  does  in  the 
estimation  of  those  best  qualified  to  form  an  opinion.  But 
Burns  was  loyal  to  his  artistic  instincts,  and  consequently 
the  rank  and  file  of  his  adorers,  while  paying  the  usual 
quota  of  lip-service,  are  puzzled,  and  do  not  quite  know 
what  to  make  of  a  piece  which  Scott  pronounced  to  be, 
"  for  humorous  description  and  nice  discrimination  of 
character,"  "inferior  to  no  poem  of  the  same  length  in  the 
whole  range  of  English  poetry."  r  The  collection  of  lyrics, 
each  assigned  to  an  appropriate  personage,  is  declared  by  the 
same  high  authority  to  be  unparalleled  in  the  English  lan- 
1  Misc.  Prose  Works,  vol.  xvii.  p.  243. 


BURNS  425 

guage.  To  expand  or  amplify  such  eulogy  were  impertinent. 
Yet  we  may  call  attention  to  the  extraordinary  crescendo 
movement  of  the  little  drama  as  one  of  its  most  striking 
characteristics.  From  a  splendid  start,  it  goes  on  getting 
better  and  better,  and  wilder  and  wilder,  until  at  length  it 
culminates  in  that  astonishing  finale  which  fairly  takes  the 
reader's  breath  away.  Here,  after  all,  it  is  impossible  to 
help  feeling,  is  the  mood  which  Burns  expresses  more 
adequately,  more  completely  than  any  other — the  spirit  of 
rebellion  against  "  law,  order,  discipline,"  the  reckless  self- 
assertion  of  the  natural  man  who  would  fain,  if  he  could,  be  a 
law  unto  himself,  that  violent  revolt  against  the  trammels  and 
conventions  of  society,  which  may  indeed  win  a  temporary 
success,  but  is  sure  in  the  long  run  to  be  extinguished  by  the 
indomitable  fact  that  man  is  a  "social"  animal.  It  is  this 
mood  that  underlies  the  spirited  piece  of  inverted  snobbery, 
known  as  A  tnans  a  man  for  a  that;  it  is  this  mood  that 
animates  M^Pherson's  Farewell,  with  its  glorious  refrain — 

"  Sae  rantingly,  sae  wantonly, 

Sae  dauntingly  gaed  he, 
He  play'd  a  spring,  and  danc'd  it  round 
Beneath  the  gallows-tree  "  ; 

it  is  this  mood  that  breaks  out  with  a  cry  of  fierce  defiance  in 
that  marvellous  glorification  of  illicit  love  : — 

"  O,  wha  my  babie-clouts  will  buy  ? 
O,  wha  will  tent  me  when  I  cry  ? 
Wha  will  kiss  me  where  I  lie  ? — 
The  rantin  dog,  the  daddie  o't  ! 

O,  wha  will  own  he  did  the  faut  ? 
O,  wha  will  buy  the  groanin  maut  ? 
O,  wha  will  tell  me  how  to  ca't  ? 
The  rantin  dog,  the  daddie  o't  !  " 

Finally,  it  is  this  mood   that  finds   its  crowning  and  eternal 


426    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

triumph    of    expression    in    the    conclusion    of    The    Jol/y 
•jars  : — 

"  So  sung  the  Bard,  and  Nansie's  wa's 
Shook  with  a  thunder  of  applause, 

Re-echoed  from  each  mouth  ! 
They  toom'd  their  pocks,  they  pawn'd  their  duds, 
They  scarcely  left  to  coor  their  fuds, 

To  quench  their  lowin  drouth. 
Then  owre  again  the  jovial  thrang 

The  Poet  did  request 
To  lowse  his  pack,  an'  wale  a  sang, 
A  ballad  o'  the  best : 
He  rising,  rejoicing 

Between  his  twa  Deborahs, 
Looks  round  him,  an'  found  them 
Impatient  for  the  chorus — 

Air. 


See  the  smoking  bowl  before  us  ! 

Mark  our  jovial,  ragged  ring  ! 
Round  and  round  take  up  the  chorus, 

And  in  raptures  let  us  sing  : 

Chorus. 

A  fig  for  those  by  law  protected  ! 

Liberty's  a  glorious  feast, 
Courts  for  cowards  were  erected, 

Churches  built  to  please  the  priest  ! 

ii. 

What  is  title,  what  is  treasure, 

What  is  reputation's  care  ? 
If  we  lead  a  life  of  pleasure, 

'Tis  no  matter  how  or  where. 

in. 

With  the  ready  trick  and  fable 
Round  we  wander  all  the  day. 

And  at  night  in  barn  or  stable 
Hug  our  doxies  on  the  hay. 


BURNS  427 


IV. 

Does  the  train-attended  carriage 

Thro'  the  country  lighter  rove  ? 
Does  the  sober  bed  of  marriage 

Witness  brighter  scenes  of  love  ? 

v. 

Life  is  all  a  variorum, 

We  regard  not  how  it  goes  ; 
Let  them  prate  about  decorum 

Who  have  character  to  lose. 

VI. 

Here's  to  budgets,  bags,  and  wallets  ! 

Here's  to  all  the  wandering  train  ! 
Here's  our  ragged  brats  and  callets  ! 

One  and  all,  cry  out,  Amen  ! 

Chorus. 

A  fig  for  those  by  law  protected  ! 

Liberty's  a  glorious  feast, 
Courts  for  cowards  were  erected, 

Churches  built  to  please  the  priest  !  "  ' 

Such,  then,  is  the  work  of  Burns,  after  whose  death,  as  has 
been  already  remarked,  the  vernacular  muse  of  Scotland  may 
also  be  said  to  have  fallen  into  a  decline.  Robert  Tannahill  2 
(1774—1810),  it  is  true,  whose  local  reputation  has  always 
outrun  his  deserts,  wrote  some  tolerable  songs,  like  jfessie  the 
Flower  of  Dunblane ;  Scott  turned  out  a  few  poetical  pieces  of 
rare  merit  in  the  Scots  tongue  ;  Hogg,  as  we  shall  see,  had  his 
periods  of  inspiration  ;  and  one  or  two  writers,  of  whom 
Bozzy's  son,  the  ill-fated  Sir  Alexander  Boswell  3  (1775-1822) 
may  serve  for  an  example,  occasionally  worked  the  traditional 

1  From  The  Jolly  Beggars.  2  Poems  and  Songs,  1815. 

3  His  Songs,  chiefly  in  the  Scottish  Dialect,  Edin.,  1803,  is  a  thin  octavo 
of  34  pages  or  so,  containing,  inter  alia,  that  truly  admirable  specimen  of 
Scots  pleasantry,  Jenny's  Bawbee.  Sir  Alexander  was  a  man  of  great 
ability,  and  had  a  private  printing-press  of  his  own  at  Auchinleck. 


428     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

humorous  vein  of  Scottish  song  with  happy  results.  But  though 
vigorous  attempts  have  been  made  to  galvanise  the  muse  into 
the  semblance  of  life,  it  is  plain  to  all  with  an  eye  to  see  or  an 
ear  to  hear  that  she  is  as  dead  as  dead  can  be  ;  and  it  seems  a 
tolerably  safe  prophecy  to  predict  that  no  fruit  worth  the 
trouble  of  picking  and  preserving  will  now  ever  be  yielded  by 
the  fertile  and  long-lived  national  tradition  of  poetry  which 
was  summed  up  and  perfected  in  Robert  Burns. 

APPENDIX. 

Though  the  matter  does  not  concern  us  directly  (for  the  works  we 
are  about  to  name  had  no  influence  upon  Burns,  and  less  perhaps  in 
Scotland  generally  than  anywhere  else)  it  would  be  unpardonable  to 
make  no  mention  of  what  was  undoubtedly  the  literary  event  of  the 
third  quarter  of  the  century  :  the  appearance  in  1760  of  Fragments  of 
Ancient  Poetry  collected  in   the  Highlands,  to  be  followed  in  due 
course  by  an  "  Epic  "  in  six  books  entitled  Fingal  (1762),  and  yet 
another   epic,   this  time   in   eight   books,   entitled    Tcmora    (1763). 
These  works  professed  to  be  translations  of  poems,  in  the  Gaelic 
tongue,  of  immemorial  antiquity,  and  the  medium  of  their  introduc- 
tion to  the  public  was  one  James  Macpherson  (1736-96)  a  native 
of   Badenoch,   who  deserted  schoolmastering  for  authorship,  and 
realised  a  handsome  fortune   not  only  by  his  versions  from   the 
Gaelic   but  also  by  certain  hackwork,  such  as  a  History   of  Great 
Britain  (1775),  for  which  alone  he  is  said  to  have  been  paid  ^3,000. 
The  Fragments  and  what  followed  them  made  an  immense  to-do 
in   the   world   of   letters.     Home,   Beattie,   Blair,  and,  at  the  first, 
Hume   (though  he  afterwards  turned  renegade)  were  enthusiastic 
admirers  of  those  relics  of  a  primitive  people.     Others,  who  were 
glad  to  have  a  fling  at  the  Scots  when  occasion  offered,  denounced 
Macpherson  as  a  forger  and  an  impostor.      The  controversy  raged 
hotly    for    many    years,   and    it    was   not    until    some   time   after 
Macpherson's  death   that  the  facts  in   regard   to   these    so-called 
Ossianic   poems  were  ascertained   in   the  elaborate  report  of  the 
Highland  Society  (1805).     The  safe  view  appears  to  be  that  there 
was  something  to  be  said  on  both  sides.     Macpherson  employed 
great  freedom  in  his  translations  or  adaptations,  and  nothing  exactly 
corresponding    to    his    English    paraphrases    ever   existed   in   the 
original.     On  the  other  hand,  there  was  undoubtedly  a  considerable 
fund  of  literary  tradition  among  the  Highlanders,  and  this  formed 


BURNS  429 

the  groundwork  of  Macpherson's  prose-poems.  Macpherson  was 
neither  a  very  reliable  nor  a  very  respectable  man,  and  the  best 
judges  (such  as  Campbell  in  his  Popular  Tales  of  the  West  Highlands) 
are  disposed  to  be  severe  on  him.  But  it  was  probably  worth  while 
to  brave  the  wrath  of  Johnson  in  life  and  the  coldness  of  posterity 
after  death  in  order  to  win  the  European  success  which  at  once 
became  his.  We  may  consider  Macpherson's  Ossian  high-flown  and 
pretentious  nonsense  if  we  please  (and  the  present  writer  finds  the 
stuff  practically  unreadable),  but  Macpherson  was  pars  magna  in 
the  genesis  of  the  romantic  movement  and  in  the  "  return  to 
nature,"  though  to  compare  him  with  Homer  is  flat  blasphemy. 
Also,  Macpherson  was  one  of  the  first  of  the  Celto-maniacs  :  the 
peculiar  persons  for  whom  all  the  good  points  in  the  British 
character,  all  the  noblest  achievements  in  British  history,  and  all 
the  glories  of  British  literature,  are  the  result  of  the  Celtic  strain  in 
our  blood.  This  contention  is  scarcely  plausible,  nor  is  it  readily 
susceptible  of  proof.  Yet  it  seems  likely  to  get  itself  repeated  at 
intervals  until  Doomsday.  There  is  a  convenient  edition  of  The 
Poems  of  Ossian,  ed.  Sharp,  Edin.,  1896 ;  and  Mr.  Bailey  Saunders's 
Life  and  Letters  of  James  Macpherson  (1894)  contains  all  the  informa- 
tion about  the  singular  creature  that  a  reasonable  man  can  desire 
to  have. 


CHAPTER     VIII 

SIR     WALTER     SCOTT 

THERE  are  three  names  in  Scottish  letters,  and  only  three, 
which,  upon  a  survey  of  the  literature  of  all  countries  and 
all  ages,  are  unquestionably  entitled  to  a  place  in  the  very 
front  rank.  The  names  are  those  of  Hume,  Burns,  and  Scott. 
With  the  two  former  we  have  dealt  already.  It  remains  to 
consider  the  third,  who,  if  comparison  between  the  three  were 
aught  but  inept,  would  in  the  opinion  of  many  of  his  country- 
men stand  first  in  achievement,  as  he  indubitably  does  in 
character. 

Walter  Scott1  was  born  on  the  I5th  of  August,  1771.     His 

1  The  sources  of  information  about  Scott,  in  addition  to  his  works,  his 
comments  thereon,  and  his  autobiographical  fragment,  are  copious  and 
satisfactory.  There  is,  first  and  foremost,  Lockhart's  great  Life,  7  vols., 
1837-8,  ed.  abridged  by  Lockhart  himself  with  some  new  matter,  2  vols., 
1848.  The  edition  referred  to  here  is  the  complete  ed.  (i  vol.,  1893). 
There  is  an  excellent  reprint  in  10  vols.,  Edin.,  1902-3.  This  has  been 
supplemented  of  late  years  by  the  publication  of  the  whole  of  Scott's 
Journal,  ed.  Douglas,  2  vols.,  Edin.,  1890 ;  and  of  two  volumes  of 
Familiar  Letters,  Edin.,  1894,  under  the  same  admirable  editorship.  Of 
volumes  of  personal  reminiscence,  the  best  is  the  Recollections  of  R.  P. 
Gillies,  Edin.,  1837  ;  the  worst  and  most  offensive  is  Hogg's  on  Scott's 
Domestic  Manners  and  Private  Life,  Glasg.,  1834.  Of  essays,  introductions 
and  the  like,  there  is  abundance.  One  of  the  best  is  Mr.  Bagehot's,  in 
vol.  ii.  of  his  Literary  Studies,  3  vols.,  1895.  Mr.  Saintsbury's  monograph 
(F.S.S.)  may  be  commended.  Not  so  Mr.  Hutton's  (E.M.L.). 

430 


WALTER   SCOTT  431 

father  and  namesake,  a  writer  to  the  signet  by  profession,  was 
of  the  Scotts  of  Harden  ;  his  mother's  maiden  name  was 
Rutherford  ;  and  through  both  parents  there  flowed  in  his 
veins  the  blood  of  some  of  the  oldest  families  on  the  Scottish 
border.  A  severe  illness,  which  resulted  in  a  permanent  lame- 
ness of  the  right  leg,  was  the  cause  of  his  being  entrusted  in 
early  childhood  to  the  care  of  his  grandmother  and  aunt  in 
Roxburghshire,  and  under  their  charge  he  may  be  said  to  have 
begun  that  unconscious  process  of  "  making  himself,"  which  he 
continued  not  only  during  his  tours  with  his  friend  Robert 
Shortreed  in  Liddesdale,  and  his  visits  to  old  Invernahyle  in 
the  Highlands,  but  down  to  a  much  later  period  of  his  life. 
His  formal  education  he  received  at  the  High  School  of 
Edinburgh  (with  the  exception  of  six  months  at  Kelso 
Grammar  School,  where  he  first  met  James  Ballantyne),  and 
he  left  that  seminary  with  "a  great  quantity  of  general 
information,"  but,  according  to  his  own  account,  with  little 
accurate  scholarship.1  He  began  to  attend  classes  at  the 
College  of  Edinburgh  in  1783,  and,  after  another  spell  of  poor 
health,  was  apprenticed  to  his  father  in  1786.  In  this 
capacity,  despite  the  "  determined  •  indolence "  which  he 
predicates  of  himself  and  his  brothers,  he  was  very  far  indeed 
from  being  idle.  The  precepts  of  Saunders  Fairford  were  duly 
attended  to,  and  the  youthful  apprentice  earned  enough  by  his 
copyings  to  keep  himself  in  pocket-money.  His  leisure 

1  There  are  indications  in  the  novels  that  he  exaggerates  when  he 
asserts  that  he  had  forgotten  the  Greek  alphabet,  though  Lockhart  accepts 
the  statement,  and  confirms  it  by  an  incident  which  happened  in  1830 — a 
date  at  which  Scott's  powers  had  certainly  begun  to  fail.  The  frequency 
and  aptness  of  his  quotations  from  the  Latin  poets  seem  to  prove  that  his 
acquaintance  with  them  was  more  intimate  than  himself  would  have 
admitted,  for  the  passages  he  quotes  are  by  no  means  the  hackneyed  tags 
of  the  public  men  of  the  day.  The  truth  is  that  the  study  of  the  ancient 
tongues  was  in  a  sufficiently  parlous  state  in  all  Scottish  schools  until  the 
opening  of  the  new  Academy  in  Edinburgh  in  1824.  Scott's  speech  on 
that  important  occasion  may  still  be  read  with  much  profit  (Lockhart 
Life,  p.  525). 


432     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

moments  he  devoted  to  that  course  of  desultory  and  omni- 
vorous reading  which  is  in  such  marked  contrast  to  the 
systematic  plans  of  study  by  which  less  highly  gifted  men  have 
painfully  attained  to  one-fiftieth  part  of  his  information  and 
knowledge.  It  was  during  this  period,  too,  that  he  formed 
many  of  his  most  intimate  friendships,  and  acquired  that  foot- 
ing in  general  society  which  gave  him  a  just  confidence  in 
his  own  powers. 

Scott  passed  advocate  on  the  nth  of  July,  1792,  and  there- 
fore a  full  month  before  attaining  majority.  His  career  at  the 
bar,  though  by  no  means  a  complete  failure,  was  not  a 
triumphant  success,  and  his  marriage  to  Miss  Carpenter  in 
1797  must  have  augmented  the  willingness  to  seek  another 
string  for  his  bow  which  had  displayed  itself  in  his  published 
translation  of  Burger's  Lenore  and  the  Wild  Huntsman  in  the 
previous  year.  The  affair  of  his  earlier  attachment  to  another 
lady  has  been  handled  by  Lockhart  with  the  most  scrupulous 
delicacy  and  good  taste  ;  nor  need  we  advert  to  it  further  than 
to  note  the  characteristic  effort  of  will  by  which  he  emanci- 
pated himself  from  the  dominion  of  a  hopeless  passion,  and  the 
frequency  with  which  his  memory  reverted  to  it  in  after  life.1 

The  sheriffship  of  the  county  of  Selkirk,  to  which  he  was 
appointed  in  1799,  set  Scott  free  from  any  pressing  anxiety 
with  regard  to  his  immediate  circumstances.  Six  years  later, 
he  was  made  one  of  the  principal  clerks  of  Session,  though  he 

1  It  can  scarcely  be  doubted  that  the  episode  was  present  to  his  mind 
when  such  passages  as  the  following  were  written  :  "  Who  is  it  that  in  his 
youth  has  felt  a  virtuous  attachment,  however  romantic  or  however  unfor- 
tunate, but  can  trace  back  to  its  influence  much  that  his  character  may 
possess  of  what  is  honourable,  dignified,  and  disinterested  ?  If  he 
recollects  hours  wasted  in  unavailing  hope,  or  saddened  by  doubt  and 
disappointment,  he  may  also  dwell  on  many  which  have  been  snatched 
from  folly  or  libertinism,  and  dedicated  to  studies  which  might  render  him 
worthy  of  the  object  of  his  affection,  or  pave  the  way  perhaps  to  that 
distinction  necessary  to  raise  him  to  an  equality  with  her,"  &c.,  Quarterly 
Review,  October,  1815,  art.  "  Emma."  Scott  returns  to  the  subject  in  a 
review  of  Persuasion  and  Northanger  Abbey,  ibid.,  January,  1821,  apnd  fin 


SIR    WALTER   SCOTT  433 

drew  none  of  the  emoluments  of  that  office  until  1812.  After 
that  date  he  had  a  certain  annual  income  of  at  least  ^£1,600, 
depending  upon  literature  for  what  additional  sum  his  standard 
of  living  demanded.  But  he  had  abandoned  the  practice  of 
his  profession  for  the  career  of  letters  long  before.  The  two 
first  volumes  of  the  Border  Minstrelsy  appeared  in  1802,  and 
the  work  was  completed  by  a  third  volume  in  the  succeeding 
year.  His  first  great  original  poem,  The  Lay  of  the  Last 
Minstrel^  was  published  in  1805,  an(^  m  tne  same  eventful 
year  Scott  became  a  partner  in  the  printing  establishment 
which,  at  his  instigation,  James  Ballantyne  had  transferred 
from  Kelso  to  Edinburgh  some  time  previously.  From  the 
appearance  of  the  Lay  Scott  became  the  poet  of  the  hour. 
Marmion  (1808),  and  The  Lady  of  the  Lake  (1810)  enhanced 
his  popularity  and  reputation,  and  it  was  not  until  the  publica- 
tion of  Rokeby  in  1812 — the  year  in  which  he  bought  the  first 
portion  of  the  estate  he  christened  Abbotsford — that  the  enthu- 
siasm of  the  public  in  any  degree  flagged.  Poetry,  indeed,  had 
not  monopolised  the  whole  of  his  energies.  An  edition  of 
Dryden  (1808),  and  frequent  articles,  first  in  the  Edinburgh,  and 
subsequently  in  the  Quarterly  Review,  testified  to  his  industry 
as  well  as  to  his  expertness  in  a  certain  class  of  prose  literature. 
Financial  engagements,  however,  contracted  in  the  attempt 
to  set  up  John  Ballantyne  and  Co.  as  a  rival  to  Constable 
in  the  publishing  trade,  became  urgent.  Byron  showed  signs 
of  supplanting  him  in  popular  favour  as  a  poet.  The  edition 
of  Swift,  which  appeared  in  1814,  promised  remuneration, 
handsome,  indeed,  but  insufficient  for  his  wants.  Some  new 
vein  must  be  discovered  and  wrought  to  secure  the  needful 
"provision  of  the  blunt."  Accordingly,  in  1814  he  set  to 
work  upon  an  old  manuscript  which  he  had  begun  in  1805, 
and  which,  after  having  gone  amissing  for  some  years,  had 
accidentally  come  to  light.  The  result  of  his  labours  was 
IVaverley  (1814),  which  marks  a  new  stage  in  his  literary 
career,  and  which  was  followed  with  unparalleled  rapidity 

2  E 


434    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

and  steadiness  by  a  series  of  novels  of  which   the  world  has 
never  seen  the  equal.1 

Scott's  fame  and  consequence  went  on  increasing  as  surely 
as  his  territories  and,  apparently,  his  wealth.  His  house  on 
Tweedside  became  the  resort  of  all  persons  of  distinction  in 
both  hemispheres,  and  of  many  who  were  neither  distinguished 
nor  entertaining,  but  whom  his  inveterate  good  nature  would 
not  suffer  to  be  turned  unceremoniously  away.  In  1820  he 
was  created  a  Baronet,  and  in  1822  he  officiated  as  the 
organiser  and  "  stage  manager,"  so  to  speak,  of  the  King's 
visit  to  Edinburgh.  When  he  went  to  London  he  was  the 
"  lion  "  of  society  ;  and  whatever  was  greatest  in  the  great 
world  of  affairs  welcomed  him  with  open  arms.  As  yet  he 
was  not  the  acknowledged  author  of  the  "  Scotch  novels." 
The  secret,  it  is  true,  was  confided  to  upwards  of  twenty 
persons  ;  2  but  none  of  these  betrayed  their  trust,  and,  though 
few  can  have  seriously  doubted  the  authorship  of  the  books, 
Sir  Walter  enjoyed  the  satisfaction  of  preserving  his  nominal 
incognito.  It  was  not  until  February,  1827 — a  little  more 
than  twelvemonths  after  the  crash — that  the  Magician 
formally  laid  aside  a  disguise  which  must  already  have  ceased 
to  mystify  any  one.  3 

1  For  a  chronological  list  of  Scott's  principal  works,  seethe  Appendix  to 
this  chapter.  2  For  a  list  of  their  names,  see  Lockhart,  Life,  p.  654. 

3  The  following  is  one  of  the  most  characteristic  of  the  motives  assigned 
by  Scott  for  a  course  which  was  innocent  and  natural  enough  in  itself,  and 
which  I  cannot  agree  with  Lockhart  in  holding  even  partly  responsible 
for  his  failure  to  look  the  facts  of  the  printing  business  in  the  face  :  "  The 
habits  of  self-importance  which  are  acquired  by  authors  are  highly 
injurious  to  a  well-regulated  mind  :  for  the  cup  of  flattery,  if  it  does  not, 
like  that  of  Circe,  reduce  men  to  the  level  of  beasts,  is  sure,  if  eagerly 
drained,  to  bring  the  best  and  ablest  down  to  that  of  fools.  This  risk  was 
in  some  degree  prevented  by  the  mask  which  I  wore  ;  and  my  own  stores 
of  self-conceit  were  left  to  their  natural  course,  without  being  enhanced 
by  the  partiality  of  friends  or  adulations  of  flattery."  (General  Preface 
(1829)  to  the  Waverley  Novels).  No  maniac,  by  the  bye,  has  as  yet 
broached  the  theory  that  the  real  author  of  the  novels  was  Bacon  in  the 
guise  of  Hogg. 


SIR    WALTER   SCOTT  435 

The  crash  had  come  in  January,  1826,  when  the  firm  of 
Ballantyne  failed  (with  liabilities  amounting  to  ^117,000), 
involved  in  the  ruin  of  the  publishing  house  of  Constable, 
which  itself  had  been  dragged  down  by  the  failure  of  Hurst 
and  Robinson.  For  the  amount  of  this  indebtedness  Scott, 
a  partner  in  the  printing  concern,  was  personally  responsible, 
and,  in  the  characteristic  phrase  of  Lockhart,  he  regarded  this 
obligation  "  with  the  feelings,  not  of  a  merchant,  but  of  a 
gentleman."  That  is  to  say,  instead  of  taking  refuge  in  bank- 
ruptcy, he  devoted  the  remainder  of  his  existence  to  the  attempt 
to  pay  his  creditors  in  full.  Few  things  in  literature  are  more 
melancholy  and  harrowing,  as  few  are  more  noble  and  inspiring, 
than  the  record  of  this  gallant  effort  in  the  pages  of  his  Journal 
and  of  Lockhart's  biography.  He  died  on  the  2ist  September, 
1832,  a  broken  down  and  helpless  man,  before  the  goal  was 
reached  ;  but  within  that  period  of  not  more  than  six  working 
years,  he  had  earned  by  his  pen,  for  behoof  of  his  creditors, 
no  less  than  ^63,000  ;  and  his  representatives  were  enabled  to 
discharge  the  balance  before  very  long  through  the  spirit  and 
enterprise  of  Mr.  Robert  Cadell,  Constable's  son-in-law  and 
former  partner.  It  would  be  superfluous  to  enter  into  the 
intricate  and  acrimonious  controversy  as  to  the  precise  propor- 
tion of  blame  to  be  attached  to  the  members  of  the  Ballantyne 
firm  for  its  disaster.  All  are  agreed  that  these  were  due  to  a 
vicious  system  of  financial  accommodation  practised  between 
the  Ballantynes  and  Constable.  Most  people  are  now  pre- 
pared to  admit  that  Scott,  who  was  certainly  the  "  predominant 
partner  "  in  the  printing  house,  must  bear  the  chief  share  of 
responsibility  for  its  downfall.  At  the  same  time,  had  it  been 
his  lot  to  have  a  man  like  Blackwood  or  Cadell  for  his 
partner  in  the  business,  its  finances  might  have  been  put  upon 
a  sound  basis,  and  the  crisis  never  have  arrived  which  neither 
of  the  brothers,  presented  to  us  by  Lockhart  in  such  vivid 
colours,  was  the  man  to  avert. 

The  character  of  Scott  is  a  comparatively  simple  one,  and, 


436    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

thanks  to  his  biographer  and  himself,  we  are  able  to  form  our 
estimate  of  it  from  ample  information.  To  expatiate  upon  its 
manifest  excellences  is  to  tell  a  thrice-told  tale.  He  possessed 
the  manly  qualities  of  honour,  straightforwardness,  and  courage 
in  a  very  high  degree  ;  and  they  were  mingled  in  his  composi- 
tion with  an  unusual  strain  of  tenderness  and  amiability,  such 
as  won  the  particular  devotion  of  men  in  every  rank  of  society, 
of  all  young  people  and  children,  and  even  of  domestic,  or 
quasi-domestic,  animals.1  With  regard  to  his  "  scheme  of  life," 
his  aspirations,  and  his  practical  ideals,  opinions  will  necessarily 
differ.  "  Highflyers  "  must  needs  view  with  distrust  a  man 
who  practised  so  many  virtues  without  canting  about  the 
eternal  verities;  and  "grovellers"  (if  we  may  use  the  term) 
who  never  practised  a  single  virtue  in  their  lives,  may  make 
Scott's  career  a  justification  for  continuing  in  their  course. 
The  present  writer  is  disposed  to  think  that  the  utmost  that 
can  be  urged  against  Sir  Walter's  failings  has  been  frankly,  yet 
affectionately,  said  by  his  biographer  and  son-in-law.  He,  at 
any  rate,  is  not  to  moralise  upon  his  "  worldliness,"  his  liking 
for  kings  and  princes,  and  his  preference  for  good  society 
before  bad.  For,  in  the  first  place,  whatever  faults  may  be 
laid  at  his  door  were  surely  more  than  expiated  by  the  gloomy 
tragedy  of  his  closing  years.  And,  in  the  second  place,  it  is  to 
those  faults  or  foibles  that  we  owe  the  Waverley  novels. 
Men  may  be  divided  into  two  classes  :  those  who  try  to 
spend  a  little  less  than  they  earn,  and  those  who  try  to  earn 
a  little  more  than  they  spend:  Scott  belonged  to  the  latter 
class,  and  that  explains  his  embarking  upon  commercial 
ventures  which  he  had  better  have  left  alone.  Had  he  belonged 
to  the  former,  perhaps  James  Ballantyne  might  have  remained  at 
Kelso ;  but  in  all  probability  our  literature  had  never  been  enriched 
with  a  Guy  Mannering,  an  Old  Mortality,  or  a  Redgauntlet. 

1  Every  one  remembers  the  anecdote  of  the  little  black  pig.  (Lockhart, 
Life,  p.  433-)  For  an  impression  of  Scott  from  a  frankly  Whig  point  of 
view  see  Memoirs  of  a  Highland  Lady,  1797-1830,  London,  1898. 


SIR    WALTER   SCOTT  437 

Among  the  hands  who  assisted  Scott  in  the  preparation  of  the 
Minstrelsy  were  James  Hogg  and  Charles  Kirkpatrick  Sharpe 
(of  whom  more  presently)  ;  William  Laidlaw  (1780-1845), 
who  afterwards  became  Scott's  intimate  friend  and  amanuensis, 
and  who  wrote  a  poem  in  the  vernacular,  Lucy's  Flittin\  which 
is  not  without  merit,  but  which  has  been  grossly  overpraised  ; 
and,  above  all,  John  Leyden  (1775-1811), r  of  whose  extra- 
ordinary career  Scott  has  given  a  graphic  account  in  a  Memoir 
contributed  to  the  Edinburgh  Annual  Register  for  i8n.2  The 
lines  already  quoted  from  the  Scenes  of  Infancy  (supra,  p.  380) 
indicate  clearly  in  what  direction  the  current  of  Leyden's 
tastes  set,  and  in  truth  no  one  was  more  deeply  versed  than  he 
in  the  martial  traditions  as  well  as  in  the  general  folklore  of  the 
Border.  He  contributed  to  Matt.  Lewis's  collection  of  Tales  of 
Wonder,  and  the  assistance  he  rendered  to  Scott  cannot  (accord- 
ing to  Scott)  be  exaggerated.  Upon  one  occasion  he  walked 
fifty  miles  from  Edinburgh  and  back  again  to  obtain  a  fragment 
of  a  ballad  from  the  mouth  of  some  old  person  who  knew  it. 
His  original  contributions  to  the  Minstrelsy  are  good,  but  not 
supremely  good.  Lord  Sou/is  and  The  Cout  of  Keilder  are 
perhaps  the  best  known  of  his  ballads.  But  every  now  and 
then  there  comes  a  verse  which  might  almost  have  been  written 
by  Scott  at  his  best :  this,  for  example  : — 

"  In  vain  by  land  your  arrows  glide, 

In  vain  your  falchions  gleam  ; 

No  spell  can  stay  the  living  tide, 

Or  charm  the  rushing  stream." 

As  for  the  bulk  of  the  Minstrelsy^  it  forms  an  anthology 
which,  even  in  these  days  of  scientific  method,  is  little  likely  to 
be  superseded.  Scott,  as  has  been  indicated,  did  not  stick  at 
the  conjectural  restoration  of  a  doubtful  reading,  or  even  at 

'  Poetical  Works,  ed.  Brown,  1875.    An  excellent  bibliography  of  Leyden 
will  be  found  at  the  end  of  his  Tour  in  the  Highlands,  ed.  Sinton,  1903. 
1  Misc.  Prose  Works,  vol.  iv. 


438     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

the  amendment  of  what  might  be  bettered.  But,  more 
fortunate  than  most  editors,  he  touched  nothing  which  he  did 
not  improve. 

The  story  of  Scott's  taking  seriously  to  poetry  as  a  form  of 
literary  composition  has  been  narrated  by  himself  with  inimit- 
able candour  and  charm  in  his  Introduction  (1830)  to  the 
collected  edition  of  his  poetical  works.1  Though  the  Minstrelsy 
achieved  but  a  moderate  success,  it  had  done  no  good  to  his 
practice  at  the  bar  ;  he  had  a  wife  and  a  growing  family  to 
provide  for  ;  and  the  time  had  now  arrived  when  it  was  neces- 
sary for  him  to  make  a  definite  choice  between  literature  and 
law.  A  congenial  subject  was  suggested  by  the  Countess  of 
Dalkeith ;  his  first  attempts  upon  it  were,  after  some  delibera- 
tion, approved  of  by  William  Erskine  and  George  Cranstoun  ; 
a  suitable  framework  for  the  tale  was  devised  at  their  suggestion  ; 
and  The  Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel -was  the  result.  Written  at 
the  rate  of  a  canto  a  week  (for  the  irregular  structure  of  the 
stanza  readily  permitted  the  "  accommodation  of  a  troublesome 
rhyme,"  or  the  adjustment  of  an  incorrect  measure)  its  success 
far  surpassed  the  expectations  of  the  author. 

The  model  selected  by  Scott  for  the  metre  of  the  Lay  was 
that  supplied  by  Coleridge's  Christabel ;  and  he  deliberately 
chose  it  in  preference  to  the  plain  octosyllabic  measure,  not 
merely  because  of  its  superior  variety,  but  because  it  held  out 
less  temptation  to  slovenliness.  It  will  probably,  however,  be 
agreed  that  the  best  portions  of  the  Lay  are  those  in  which  the 
Minstrel  appears,  and  these  are  all  in  octosyllabics.  Dangerous 
as  the  facility  of  that  metre  is,  Scott  consistently  avoided 
many  of  the  pitfalls,  while  he  availed  himself  of  every 
legitimate  device  in  the  way  of  dexterous  transposition  of 
the  rhymes  to  obviate  the  risk  ot  monotony.  It  may  be  laid 
to  his  account  that  he  taught  every  subsequent  poet  to  employ 

1  Poetical  Works,  6  vols.,  Edin.,  1833,  and  since  reprinted.  There  are 
innumerable  editions  in  one  volume,  of  which  perhaps  the  most  convenient 
is  that  in  Messrs.  Macmillan's  Globe  series,  ed.  Palgrave. 


SIR    WALTER   SCOTT  439 

for  serious  purposes  a  measure  for  long  associated  (Barbour  not- 
withstanding) with  matters  of  a  less  heroic  and  more  ludicrous 
cast  ;  but  it  cannot  be  said  that  he  himself  overdid  it,  and  that 
the  cadence  of  his  verse  ever  palls  upon  the  jaded  ear. 

If  the  inherent  suitability  of  octosyllabics  to  lofty  themes 
required  demonstration,  Scott  has  unquestionably  afforded  it. 
Almost  all  his  "  show  "  scenes  are  in  that  stanza — the  battle 
in  Marmlon  and  the  hero's  departure  from  Tantallon,  the 
meeting  of  Fitz-James  and  Rhoderick  Dhu  in  The  Lady  of  the 
Lake — all  the  passages,  in  short,  which  the  youth  of  this 
country  were  wont  to  commit  to  memory,  and,  it  is  to  be 
hoped,  still  do.  Let  us  be  thankful  that  they  were  not 
written  in  blank  verse — though  Scott's  blank  verse  is  more 
than  tolerable,  despite  a  plethora  of  double  endings  ;  or  in 
rhymed  heroics — though  The  Poacher  (1809)  *s  alm°st  as  good 
as  Crabbe  at  his  best  ;  or  in  the  Spenserian  metre — though 
there  are  dignified  and  noble  stanzas  in  The  Vision  of  Don 
Roderick  (1811).  Far  be  it  from  us  even  to  seem  to  disparage 
the  "epic"  muse  of  Scott  ;  to  discover  with  Hazlitt  "some- 
thing meretricious "  (an  astounding  adjective  !)  in  his  ballad- 
rhymes  ;  to  deny  him  an  extraordinary  share  of  strength  and 
originality.  But  it  is  by  no  means  certain  that  a  higher  and 
more  subtle  poetical  quality  does  not  belong  to  less  strenuous 
passages  in  the  octosyllabic  measure  than  to  those  in  which 
the  reader  is  hurried  along  in  the  overwhelming  rapidity  and 
irresistible  onrush  of  the  narrative.  Let  us  bear  in  mind,  for 
example,  such  performances  as  the  introductions  to  the  several 
cantos  of  Marmion,  particularly  those  addressed  to  Mr.  Rose 
and  Mr.  Erskine,  or  as  the  following  exquisite  poem,  supposed 
to  have  been  composed  by  Waverley  "  on  receiving  intelligence 
of  his  commission  as  captain  of  a  troop  of  horse  in  Colonel 
Gardiner's  regiment." 

"  Late,  when  the  autumn  evening  fell 
On  Mirkwood-Mere's  romantic  dell, 
The  lake  returned,  in  chasten'd  gleam, 
The  purple  cloud,  the  golden  beam  : 


440    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Reflected  in  the  crystal  pool, 
Headland  and  bank  lay  fair  and  cool ; 
The  weather-tinted  rock  and  tower, 
Each  drooping  tree,  each  fairy  flower, 
So  true,  so  soft,  the  mirror  gave, 
As  if  there  lay  beneath  the  wave 
Secure  from  trouble,  toil,  and  care, 
A  world  than  earthly  world  more  fair. 

But  distant  winds  began  to  wake, 

And  roused  the  Genius  of  the  Lake  ! 

He  heard  the  groaning  of  the  oak, 

And  donned  at  once  his  sable  cloak, 

As  warrior  at  the  battle  cry, 

Invests  him  with  his  panoply  : 

Then  as  the  whirlwind  nearer  press'd, 

He  'gan  to  shake  his  foamy  crest 

O'er  furrowed  brow  and  blacken'd  cheek, 

And  bade  his  surge  in  thunder  speak. 

In  wild  and  broken  eddies  whirled, 

Flitted  that  fond  ideal  world  ; 

And  to  the  shore  in  tumult  tost, 

The  realms  of  fairy  bliss  were  lost. 

Yet  with  a  stern  delight  and  strange, 

I  saw  the  spirit-stirring  change. 

As  warr'd  the  wind  with  wave  and  wood, 

Upon  the  ruin'd  tower  I  stood, 

And  felt  my  heart  more  strongly  bound, 

Responsive  to  the  lofty  sound, 

While,  joying  in  the  mighty  roar, 

I  mourn'd  that  tranquil  scene  no  more. 

So  on  the  idle  dreams  of  youth 

Breaks  the  loud  trumpet-call  of  truth, 

Bids  each  fair  vision  pass  away, 

Like  landscapes  on  the  lake  that  lay, 

As  fair,  as  flitting,  and  as  frail, 

As  that  which  fled  the  autumn  gale — 

For  ever  dead  to  fancy's  eye 

Be  each  gay  form  that  glided  by, 

While  dreams  of  love  and  lady's  charms 

Give  place  to  honour  and  to  arms."  ' 


1  From  Waverley,  ch.  v. 


SIR    W ALTER   SCOTT  441 

In  the  last  verse  of  this  fine  piece  we  catch  the  peculiar 
ring  characteristic  of  Scott  when  his  inspiration  is  at  its 
highest.1 

Contemporary  criticism  was  disposed  to  place  Marmlon  at 
the  head  of  Sir  Walter  Scott's  poems,  with  The  Lady  of  the 
Lake  second,  and  The  Lay  (a  manifestly  inferior  work  to 
either),  or  Rokeby,  third.  The  opinion  of  subsequent  genera- 
tions has  not  perhaps  been  very  different ;  and  it  would  unques- 
tionably be  a  hard  task  to  show  that  the  preference  almost 
unanimously  accorded  to  Marmlon  is  not  thoroughly  deserved. 
Any  doubts  that  may  arise  from  the  character  of  the  hero,  or 
the  improbability  of  the  plot,  are  swept  away  in  the  animated 
march  of  the  story,  culminating  as  it  does  in  that  famous  sixth 
canto  which  has  often  been  described  as  the  most  Homeric 
piece  of  writing  since  the  Iliad.  Without  considering  too 
curiously  the  felicity  of  the  epithet — of  which  Jeffrey  appears 
to  have  been  the  original  author — we  may  at  least  esteem  it 
fortunate  that  the  day  of  Scotland's  disaster  should  have  found 
so  noble  and  worthy  a  record.  But  when  to  The  Lady  of  the 
Lake  is  awarded  the  second  place,  I  am  moved  to  protest, 
and  to  claim  that  distinction  for  Rokeby^  a  poem  which  pro- 
voked an  extremely  witty  gibe  from  Tom  Moore,  but  which, 
as  honest  Tom  himself  might  have  admitted,  was  not  far 
short  of  the  best  that  Scott  could  give.  The  Lady  of  the  Lake 
has  much  in  it  that  is  charming,  and  much  that,  to  the  age 
which  welcomed  it,  was  novel.  For  us  the  novelty  has  eva- 
porated ;  though  much  of  the  charm  remains.  There  are 
beautiful  and  stirring  passages  which  may  not  be  heedlessly 
passed  over.  But  in  point  of  coherence,  probability,  and 

1  The  same  note  is  audible  in  four  magnificent  lines  from  the  epistle  to 
William  Erskine  prefixed  to  canto  iii.  of  Mann  ion  : — 

"  Methought  that  still  with  trump  and  clang 
The  gateway's  broken  arches  rang  ; 
Methought  grim  features,  seamed  with  scars, 
Glar'd  through  the  windows'  rusty  bars." 


442     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

directness  of  plot,  Rokeby  is  superior  to  any  one  of  Scot's 
poems  ;  and  while  in  none  is  the  average  level  of  achievement 
higher,  it  yields  to  Marmion  only  because  it  can  boast  of  none 
of  those  glorious  passages  which  at  once  became  matter  of 
common  knowledge  to  the  general  public.  I  confess  I  should 
have  little  hesitation  in  staking  Scott's  fame  as  a  writer  of  long 
poems  upon  Rokeby  alone. 

It  is,  indeed,  primarily  as  a  "  narrative  genius "  that  Scott's 
was  for  long  regarded.1  The  rest  of  what  he  accomplished  in 
verse  was  thrown  into  the  background,  first  by  the  vogue  of 
Marmion  and  its  brethren,  and  subsequently  by  the  still  greater 
vogue  of  the  Waverley  novels.  I  can  recollect  no  professional 
critic  in  the  first  three-quarters  of  the  nineteenth  century  who 
has  honoured  his  fugitive  and  occasional  poetry  with  adequate 
notice  ;  and  though  its  merit  has  probably  been  more  generously 
recognised  during  the  last  five-and-twenty  years,  it  has  not  yet 
had  full  justice  done  to  it.  With  our  minds  concentrated  upon 
this  conception  of  Scott  as  ante  omnla  a  "  narrative  genius,"  we 
have  been  too  apt  to  lose  sight  of  the  ballad  and  lyrical  verse 
scattered  with  such  careless  prodigality  through  the  novels  and 
the  "  epics."  We  ignore  his  amazing  versatility  as  a  poet :  his 
turn  for  composing  words  to  any  tune,  grave  or  gay,  though 
he  had  no  ear  for  melody.  We  forget  that  most  apt  and 
humorous  of  broadsides,  Carle,  now  the  King's  come  (1822)  ;  or 
the  delightful  lines  to  Lockhart  (1824)  "on  the  composition  of 
Maida's  epitaph,"  of  which  here  are  a  few  : — 

"  So  slet  pro  ratione  voluntas — be  tractile, 
Invade  not,  I  say,  my  own  dear  little  dactyl ; 
If  you  do,  you'll  occasion  a  breach  in  our  intercourse  : 
To-morrow  you'll  see  me  in  town  for  the  winter-course, 


1  The  phrase  is  G.  L.  Craik's  in  his  Sketches  of  the  History  of  Literature 
and  Learning  in  England,  6  vols.,  1844-45  ;  in  many  ways  a  remarkably 
good  book.  It  is  significant  that  he  treats  of  Scott  wholly  from  this  point 
of  view. 


SIR    WALTER.  SCOTT  443 

But  not  at  your  door  at  the  usual  hour,  sir, 

My  own  pye-house  daughter's  good  prog  to  devour,  sir. 

Ergo — peace  !  on  your  duty,  your  squeamishness  throttle, 

And  we'll  soothe  Priscian's  spleen  with  a  canny  third  bottle. 

A  fig  for  all  dactyls,  a  fig  for  all  spondees, 

A  fig  for  all  dunces  and  dominie  Grundys  ; 

A  fig  for  dry  thrapples,  south,  north,  east,  and  west,  sir, 

Speates  and  raxes  ere  five  for  a  famishing  guest,  sir  ; 

And  as  Fatsman  and  I  have  some  topics  for  haver,  he'll 

Be  invited,  I  hope,  to  meet  me  and  Dame  Peveril, 

Upon  whom,  to  say  nothing  of  Oury  and  Anne,  you  a 

Dog  shall  be  deemed  if  you  fasten  your  Janua." 1 

Or  we  forget  Dona/a    Caird  (1818),  from    which   I  excerpt 
three  stanzas  : — 

Chorus. 

"  Donald  Caird's  come  again  ! 
Donald  Caird's  come  again  ! 
Tell  the  news  in  brugh  and  glen, 
Donald  Caird's  come  again  ! 

Donald  Caird  can  lilt  and  sing, 
Blithely  dance  the  Hieland  fling, 
Drink  till  the  gudeman  be  blind, 
Fleech  till  the  gudewife  be  kind  ; 
Hoop  a  leglin,  clout  a  pan, 
Or  crack  a  pow  wi'  ony  man  ; 
Tell  the  news  in  brugh  and  glen, 
Donald  Caird's  come  again. 

Donald  Caird  can  wire  a  maukin, 
Kens  the  wiles  o'  dun-deer  stalkin', 
Leisters  kipper,  makes  a  shift 
To  shoot  a  muir-f owl  in  the  drift ; 
Water-bailiffs,  rangers,  keepers, 
He  can  wauk  when  the}'  are  sleepers  ; 
Not  for  bountith  or  reward 
Dare  ye  mell  wi'  Donald  Caird. 


1  Lockhart,  Life,  ch.  Ix.  ed.  tit.  p.  528. 


444    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Steek  the  aumrie,  lock  the  kist, 
Else  some  gear  may  weel  be  missed  ; 
Donald  Caird  finds  orra  things 
Where  Allan  Gregor  fand  the  tings  ; 
Dunts  of  kebbuck,  taits  o'  woo', 
Whiles  a  hen  and  whiles  a  sow, 
Webs  or  duds  frae  hedge  or  yard — 
'Ware  the  wuddie,  Donald  Caird  ! 

Donald  Caird's  come  again  ! 
Donald  Caird's  come  again  ! 
Dinna  let  the  Shirra  ken 
Donald  Caird's  come  again  ! " 

Or  we  forget  even  Bonnie  Dundee  (1825),  those  "few  verses, 
written  before  dinner,"  to  whose  irresistible  excellence  Scott 
alone  appears  to  have  been  insensible,  and  the  authorship  of 
which  was  at  a  later  date  to  escape  his  memory. 

If,  then,  we  would  exalt  Scott  to  the  highest  rank  in  the 
hierarchy  of  poetry  to  which  he  may  reasonably  lay  claim, 
the  present  writer's  conviction  is  that  in  his  incidental  and 
miscellaneous  verse  will  be  found  our  best  warrant  for  so 
doing.  Beaten  by  Byron  at  his  own  game,  as  the  world 
thought,  he  attained  an  elevation  in  some  of  his  shorter  pieces 
to  which  Byron  could  aspire  as  little  as  Erasmus  Darwin. 
The  emotion  with  which  they  throb  is  never  other  than 
sincere  ;  they  are  disfigured  by  no  airs  and  graces  ;  and  their 
language  is  so  simple  and  direct,  their  music  so  brave  and 
gallant,  that  they  imprint  themselves  indelibly  upon  the 
memory.  "  Where  shall  the  lover  rest  "  is  as  good  as  most 
passages  in  Marmion^  and  the  best  thing  in  Rokeby  (unless  we 
except  Scott's  addition  to  the  old  ballad  on  which  Burns  also 
tried  his  hand)  is  the  song  of  Erignall  Banks  : — 

"  O,  Brignall  banks  are  wild  and  fair, 

And  Greta  woods  are  green, 
And  you  may  gather  garlands  there, 
Would  grace  a  summer  queen. 


SIR    WALTER   SCOTT  445 

And  as  I  rode  by  Dalton-hall, 

Beneath  the  turrets  high, 
A  maiden  on  the  castle  wall 

Was  singing  merrily — 

CHORUS. 
'  O,  Brignall  banks  are  fresh  and  fair 

And  Greta  woods  are  green  ; 
I'd  rather  rove  with  Edmund  there 

Than  reign  our  English  queen.' 

'  If,  maiden,  thou  wouldst  wend  with  me 

To  leave  both  tower  and  town, 
Thou  first  must  guess  what  life  lead  we, 

That  dwell  by  dale  and  down  ! 
And  if  thou  canst  that  riddle  read, 

As  read  full  well  you  may, 
Then  to  the  greenwood  shalt  thou  speed 

As  blithe  as  Queen  of  May.' 

'  I  read  you  by  your  bugle  horn 

And  by  your  palfrey  good, 
I  read  you  for  a  ranger  sworn 

To  keep  the  king's  greenwood.' 
'  A  ranger,  lady,  winds  his  horn, 

And  'tis  at  peep  of  light  ; 
His  blast  is  heard  at  merry  morn, 

And  mine  at  dead  of  night.' 

CHORUS. 

Yet  sung  she,  '  Brignall  banks  are  fair, 

And  Greta  woods  are  gay  ; 
I  would  I  were  with  Edmund  there, 

To  reign  his  Queen  of  May  ! ' 

'  With  burnished  brand  and  musketoon 

So  gallantly  you  come, 
I  read  you  for  a  bold  dragoon, 

That  lists  the  tuck  of  drum.' 
'  I  list  no  more  the  tuck  of  drum, 

No  more  the  trumpet  hear  ; 
But  when  the  beetle  sounds  his  hum, 

My  comrades  take  the  spear. 


446    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

CHORUS. 
And  O,  though  Brignall  banks  be  fair, 

And  Greta  woods  be  gay, 
Yet  mickle  must  the  maiden  dare, 

Would  reign  my  Queen  of  May  ! 

'  Maiden  !  a  nameless  life  I  lead, 

A  nameless  death  I'll  die  ! 
The  fiend  whose  lantern  lights  the  mead 

Were  better  mate  than  I  ! 
And  when  I'm  with  my  comrades  met 

Beneath  the  greenwood  bough, 
What  once  we  were  we  all  forget, 

Nor  think  what  we  are  now. 

CHORUS. 

Yet  Brignall  banks  are  fresh  and  fair, 

And  Greta  woods  are  green, 
And  you  may  gather  garlands  there, 

Would  grace  a  summer  queen.' "  ' 

We  would  sacrifice  much  contemporary  and  subsequent 
versification  for  Cleveland's  song,  "  Farewell,  farewell,  the 
voice  you  hear,"  for  "  Why  sit'st  thou  by  that  ruined  hall," 
for  County  Guy ;  nay,  for  a  single  verse  such  as — 

"  Sound,  sound  the  clarion,  fill  the  fife  ! 

To  all  the  sensual  world  proclaim, 
One  crowded  hour  of  glorious  life 
Is  worth  an  age  without  a  name  ; " 

or  as — 

"  Cauld  is  my  bed,  Lord  Archibald, 

And  sad  my  sleep  of  sorrow  ; 
But  thine  sail  be  as  sad  and  cauld 
My  fause  true  love  !  to-morrow." 

That  Elspeth's  ballad  of  Harlaw  is  as  masterly  an  essay  in  that 
species  of  poetry  as  ever  came  from  the  lips  or  pen  of  ancient 
or  modern  minstrel,  will  scarcely  be  disputed. 

1  Rokeby,  canto  iii. 


SIR    WALTER    SCOTT  447 

These  observations  on  Scott's  poetry  may  be  concluded  by 
citing  two  more  specimens,  each  perfect  in  its  way.  The 
first  is  notable  for  the  haunting  quality  of  its  cadences  :  the 
solemn  and  dignified  rhythm  lingers  in  the  mind  : — 

"  And  you  shall  deal  the  funeral  dole  ; 

Ay,  deal  it,  mother  mine, 
To  weary  body  and  to  heavy  soul, 
The  white  bread  and  the  wine. 

And  you  shall  deal  my  horses  of  pride  ; 

Ay,  deal  them,  mother  mine  ; 
And  you  shall  deal  my  lands  so  wide, 

And  deal  my  castles  nine. 

But  deal  not  vengeance  for  the  deed, 

And  deal  not  for  the  crime  ; 
The  body  to  its  place,  and  the  soul  to  Heaven's  grace, 

And  the  rest  in  God's  own  time."  * 

The    second   represents  perhaps  the  highest   flight  of  Scott's 
genius  in  poetry  : — 

"  Proud  Maisie  is  in  the  wood, 

Walking  so  early  ; 
Sweet  robin  sits  on  the  bush, 
Singing  so  rarely. 

'  Tell  me,  thou  bonny  bird, 

When  shall  I  marry  me  ? ' 
'  When  six  braw  gentlemen 

Kirkward  shall  carry  ye.' 

'  Who  makes  the  bridal  bed, 

Birdie,  say  truly  ? ' 
'  The  grey-headed  sexton, 

That  delves  the  grave  duly. 

The  glow-worm  o'er  grave  and  stone 

Shall  light  thee  steady  ; 
The  owl  from  the  steeple  sing, 

"  Welcome,  proud  lady." '  "  2 


From  The  Pirate.  2  From  The  Heart  of  Midlothian. 


448     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Definitions  of  poetry  may  vary  from  age  to  age  ;  but  none 
can  be  worth  much  which  would  exclude  the  note  which  is 
here  sounded  from  ranking  with  all  that  is  most  truly  poetical 
in  the  literature  of  the  world. 

The  glory  of  the  Waverley  novels  has  thrown  the  other 
prose  writings  of  Scott  into  the  shade,  yet  there  is  enough  in 
the  twenty-eight  volumes  of  his  collected  Miscellaneous  Prose 
Works  to  have  established  the  fame  of  any  less  illustrious 
author  upon  an  absolutely  sure  foundation.  It  is  not  that 
he  excels  in  the  artful  concatenation  of  words  and  phrases, 
though,  as  we  shall  have  occasion  to  note,  too  much  has  been 
made  of  the  "  slovenliness "  of  his  style.  But  there  are  a 
wisdom,  a  benignity,  and  a  personal  charm,  about  everything 
that  came  from  his  pen  which  more  correct  and  accomplished 
writers  have  often  failed  to  attain.  His  learning  sits  lightly 
on  him,  and  is  communicated  with  ease  ;  he  is  never  under 
the  necessity  of  "  combining  his  knowledge,"  like  the  famous 
member  of  Mr.  Pott's  staff;  and,  in  fine,  though  his  sentences 
may  be  long  and  awkward,  though  his  metaphors  may  be 
unduly  elaborated,  and  though  his  diction  may  be  ordinary 
and  his  vocabulary  not  recherche,  the  general  effect  is  that 
which  might  have  been  produced  by  his  conversation  in  real 
life.  We  know  that  it  was  the  fashion  among  the  "  intellec- 
tual "  section  of  Edinburgh  society  to  despise  it  as  common- 
place, and  that  many  clever  young  persons  in  particular 
professed  to  hold  what  Lockhart  calls  "  that  consolatory 
tenet  of  local  mediocrity."  Lord  Cockburn's  retort  to  one 
who  avowed  this  view  is  sufficient  and  conclusive  : — "  I 
have  the  misfortune  to  think  differently  from  you — in  my 
humble  opinion,  Walter  Scott's  sense  is  a  still  more  wonderful 
thing  than  his  genius"  x 

In     biography,    history,    and    criticism    Scott    was    equally 
excellent.     His  most  important,  or,  rather,  his  longest,  prose 
work  is  a   combination  of  the   two  first   kinds,  and    perhaps 
1  Lockhart,  Life,  ch.  xl.  p.  370. 


SIR    WALTER   SCOTT  449 

its  very  magnitude  has  stood  in  the  way  of  its  adequate 
appreciation  by  posterity.  An  age  which  has  no  time  to  read 
the  whole  of  Gibbon  has  no  time  to  read  the  whole  of  the 
Life  of  Napoleon  Buonaparte  (1827),  though  the  illiterate 
public  of  the  day  absorbed  two  editions  of  the  nine  volumes, 
and  thereby  contributed  ^18,000  towards  the  payment  of 
the  biographer's  creditors.  Scott  was  probably  too  near  the 
events  he  chronicled  to  be  an  ideal  historian  of  the  Napoleonic 
era,  but  ideal  historians  are  rare,  and  no  one  has  since 
played  the  part  in  connection  with  the  same  subject.  That 
the  work  was  composed  in  haste  is  indeed  true  ;  Lockhart 
opines  that  its  composition  had  occupied  no  more  than  twelve 
months.1  But  assuredly  there  was  no  economy  of  care  in 
investigating  facts,  and,  though  there  may  be  inaccuracy  in 
details,  in  all  the  fundamentals  there  is  complete  trust- 
worthiness. Above  all,  we  recognise  the  fairness  of  judgment 
which  always  characterised  Scott's  excursions  into  history, 
and  which  aroused  the  wrath  of  partisans  at  either  extremity 
of  opinion.  The  following  extract  may  serve  to  convey  an 
idea  of  Scott's  historical  muse  in  her  more  lively  and  com- 
bative mood  : — 

"All  this  extraordinary  energy  was,  in  one  word,  the  effect  of 
TERROR.  Death — a  grave — are  sounds  which  awaken  the  strongest 
efforts  in  those  whom  they  menace.  There  was  never  anywhere, 
save  in  France  during  this  melancholy  period,  so  awful  a  comment 
on  the  expression  of  Scripture,  '  All  that  a  man  hath  he  will  give  for 
his  life.'  Force,  immediate  and  irresistible  force,  was  the  only  logic 
used  by  the  government — Death  was  the  only  appeal  from  their 
authority — the  Guillotine  the  all-sufficing  argument,  which  settled 
each  debate  betwixt  them  and  the  governed. 

"  Was  the  Exchequer  low,  the  Guillotine  filled  it  with  the  effects 


1  We  may  here  note  that  the  second  and  third  volumes  of  Waverley 
were  written  in  three  weeks,  and  that  the  composition  of  Guy  Mannering, 
undertaken  by  way  of  "  refreshing  the  machine,"  occupied  no  more 
than  six. 

2  F 


450    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

of  the  wealthy,  who  were  judged  aristocratical  in  exact  proportion 
to  the  extent  of  their  property.  Were  these  supplies  insufficient, 
diminished  as  they  were  by  peculation  ere  they  reached  the  public 
coffers,  the  assignats  remained,  which  might  be  multiplied  to  any 
quantity.  Did  the  paper  medium  of  circulation  fall  in  the  market  to 
fifty  under  the  hundred,  the  Guillotine  was  ready  to  punish  those 
who  refused  to  exchange  it  at  par.  A  few  examples  of  such  jobbers 
in  the  public  funds  made  men  glad  to  give  one  hundred  francs  for 
state  money  which  they  knew  to  be  worth  no  more  than  fifty.  Was 
bread  awanting,  corn  was  to  be  found  by  the  same  compendious 
means,  and  distributed  among  the  Parisians,  as  among  the  ancient 
citizens  of  Rome,  at  a  regulated  price.  The  Guillotine  was  a  key  to 
storehouses,  barns,  and  granaries. 

"  Did  the  army  want  recruits,  the  Guillotine  was  ready  to  exter- 
minate all  conscripts  who  should  hesitate  to  march.  On  the  generals 
of  the  Republican  army,  this  decisive  argument,  which  a  -priori, 
might  have  been  deemed  less  applicable,  in  all  its  rigour,  to  them 
than  to  others,  was  possessed  of  the  most  exclusive  authority.  They 
were  beheaded  for  want  of  success,  which  may  seem  less  different 
from  the  common  course  of  affairs  ;  but  they  were  also  guillotined 
when  their  successes  were  not  improved  to  the  full  expectation  of 
their  masters.  Nay,  they  were  guillotined  when,  being  too  suc- 
cessful, they  were  suspected  of  having  acquired  over  the  soldiers 
who  had  conquered  under  them,  an  interest  dangerous  to  those 
who  had  the  command  of  this  all-sufficing  reason  of  state.  Even 
mere  mediocrity,  and  a  limited  but  regular  discharge  of  duty, 
neither  so  brilliant  as  to  incur  jealousy,  nor  so  important  as  to 
draw  down  censure,  was  no  protection.  There  was  no  rallying 
point  against  this  universal,  and  very  simple  system — of  main 
force. 

"  The  Vendeans  who  tried  the  open  and  manly  mode  of  generous 
and  direct  resistance,  were,  as  we  have  seen,  finally  destroyed, 
leaving  a  name  which  will  live  for  ages.  The  commercial  towns, 
which,  upon  a  scale  more  modified,  also  tried  their  strength  with 
the  revolutionary  torrent,  were  successively  overpowered.  One 
can,  therefore,  be  no  more  surprised  that  the  rest  of  the  nation 
gave  way  to  predominant  force  than  we  are  daily  at  seeing  a  herd 
of  strong  and  able-bodied  cattle  driven  to  the  shambles  before  one 
or  two  butchers,  and  as  many  bull-dogs.  As  the  victims  approach 
the  slaughter-house,  and  smell  the  blood  of  those  which  have  suffered 
the  fate  to  which  they  are  destined,  they  may  be  often  observed  to 
hesitate,  start,  roar,  and  bellow,  and  intimate  their  dread  of  the  fatal 
spot,  and  instinctive  desire  to  escape  from  it ;  but  the  cudgels  of 
their  drivers,  and  the  fangs  of  the  mastiffs,  seldom  fail  to  compel 


WALTER   SCOTT  451 

them  forward,  slavering,  and  snorting,  and  trembling,  to  the  destiny 
which  awaits  them." ' 

In  point  of  proportion  and  symmetry,  however,  the  Napoleon 
is  inferior  to  the  comparatively  short  Life  of  Dryden  prefixed  to 
the  edition  of  that  poet's  works  published  in  1808,  and  to  the 
Life  of  Swift^  prefixed  to  the  edition  of  the  Dean's  works  pub- 
lished in  1814,  exactly  six  days  before  Waverley.  Both  of  these 
are  first-rate  examples  of  literary  biography  ;  and,  inasmuch  as 
the  career  of  both  authors  offers  numerous  topics  of  controversy, 
Scott's  tact  and  breadth  of  view  are  peculiarly  conspicuous. 
Perhaps  he  rises  to  his  highest  level  as  a  critic  in  the  admirable 
introductions  which  he  furnished  to  Ballantyne's  Novelists' 
Library  (1821).  Occasionally  we  come  across  a  curious  aber- 
ration of  judgment,  as  in  the  well-known  passage  in  which  he 
places  Fathom  above  'Jonathan  Wild;  but  these  freaks  are 
rare,  and  as  a  rule  his  criticism  is  at  once  sane  and  sagacious  ; 
free  from  the  jargon  of  the  professional  reviewer,  and  free  from 
the  waywardness  of  personal  prejudice  ;  the  offspring  of  a 
masterly  intellect,  a  profound  memory,  and  a  generous  spirit. 
What  the  Quarterly  might  have  been  without  Scott  at  the 
beginning  of  its  career  it  is  painful  to  think. 

We  may  not  dwell  on  the  learned  Essays  on  Chivalry  (1818), 
on  the  Drama  (1819),  and  on  Romance  (1824),  contributed,  at 
Constable's  earnest  request,  to  the  Supplement  to  the  Encyclo- 
paedia 'Britannica,  nor  can  we  afford  to  linger  over  PauPs 
Letters  to  his  Kinsfolk  (1816),  an  essay,  so  to  speak,  in  "special 
correspondence,"  which  supplied  Lockhart  with  the  hint  for  a 
work  in  a  very  different  vein.  We  may  be  permitted  to  say  a 
little  more  of  the  Tales  of  a  Grandfather,  a  work  which  was 
undertaken  immediately  upon  the  completion  of  the  Buonaparte^ 
and  of  which  the  first  series  appeared  before  the  end  of  1827. 
This  is  probably  the  best  history  for  the  use  of  children  ever 
written.  Scott  strongly  disapproved  of  writing  down  to  the 

1  Life  of  Napoleon  Buonaparte  in  Misc.  Prose  Works,  vol.  ix.  p.  190. 


452     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

capacity  of  the  young,  and  thus  the  Tales  have  not  only 
succeeded  in  catching  the  ear  of  the  class  for  which  they  were 
primarily  intended,  but  have  also  fixed  the  attention  of  the 
grown-up  reader.  The  Scottish  Tales,  indeed,  are  in  some 
respects  still  our  best  history  of  Scotland.  From  no  other 
work  can  so  just  a  conception  be  derived  of  the  mingled  glory 
and  squalor  which  make  up  our  annals.  The  romance  is 
brought  into  full  prominence ;  the  familiar  and  pregnant 
sayings,  stripped  of  which  Scottish  history  ceases  to  be  Scottish 
history,  are  all  there.  But  the  reverse  of  the  shield  is  not 
concealed  from  view  ;  and  the  excesses  of  contending  factions 
are  impartially  displayed  and  rebuked.  Nowhere  are  Scott's 
coolness  of  reason  and  fairness  of  judgment  more  striking. 
How  difficult  it  is,  in  discussing  the  history  of  Scotland,  to 
avoid  "  taking  sides,"  only  a  Scot  can  know.  In  the  most 
heated  and  prolonged  controversy  of  all,  Sir  Walter's  pre- 
dilections unmistakably  led  him  in  one  direction.  Perhaps 
he  curbed  them  with  unnecessary  rigour,  and  went  farther  in 
the  opposite  course  than  it  was  absolutely  necessary  for  candour 
and  impartiality  to  go.  Denounced  by  the  apologists  for  the 
Covenanters  in  his  own  day,1  he  is  eagerly  cited  by  their  more 
prudent  successors  in  our  own.  The  Tales^  says  Lockhart, 
are  "  equally  prized  in  the  library,  the  boudoir,  the  schoolroom 
and  the  nursery."  2  We  believe  that  they  are  now  rarely  to 
be  found  in  the  list  of  books  prescribed  for  use  in  Scotch 
secondary  schools.  They  are  less  suitable  for  the  purpose  of 
examinations  than  the  compilations  of  some  obscure  hack,  who 
can,  moreover,  infuse  into  his  work  the  opinions  believed  to  be 
acceptable  to  the  average  parent.  This  is  a  testimony  to  the 

1  Dr.  M'Crie's  articles  on  Old  Mortality  in  the  Religious  Instructor  (1817), 
provoked  a  reply  from  Scott  in  the  Quarterly,  but  need  not  farther  be 
adverted  to.  I  am  satisfied  that  every  syllable  put  into  the  mouth  of 
Mause  Headrigg,  or  Gabriel  Kettledrummle,  or  Habakkuk  Mucklevvrath, 
can  be  paralleled  in  the  recorded  utterances  of  savoury  Mr.  Alexander 
Peden  or  any  other  precious  saint  of  the  Covenant. 
a  Life,  p.  674. 


SIR    WALTER   SCOTT  453 

permanent  value  of  the  Tales  as  irrefragable  as  that  afforded  by 
the  censures  of  the  Prelatist  fanatic  on  the  one  hand  or  the 
Presbyterian  enthusiast  on  the  other. 

For  the  rest,  the  reader  who  desires  a  characteristic  selection 
of  Scott's  prose-writings  other  than  fiction  cannot  possibly 
do  better  than  consult  volumes  xx.  and  xxi.  of  the  Miscel- 
laneous Prose  Writings^  in  the  contents  of  which  he  will 
find  precisely  what  he  wants.  They  comprise  the  Quarterly 
article  on  the  Culloden  papers  (1816),  with  its  concise  yet 
spirited  sketch  of  the  Rebellion  of  1745,  and  its  excellent 
dissertation  on  the  Highlands  ;  the  review  of  Pepys's  Diary 
and  of  John  Kemble's  life,  both  from  the  Quarterly  (1826), 
and  the  latter  an  exceptionally  interesting  and  delightful 
paper  ;  and  the  Essay  on  Planting  Waste  Lands  (1827)  and 
that  On  Landscape  Gardening  (1828),  two  of  his  most 
attractive  contributions  to  the  same  periodical.  Finally,  there 
are  the  three  Letters  of  Malachi  Malagrowther,  addressed 
to  the  editor  of  the  Edinburgh  Weekly  Journal  (1826),  and 
afterwards  published  in  a  pamphlet  by  Blackwood.  Their 
immediate  object  was  the  preservation  of  the  national  ^i  note, 
then  menaced  by  the  proposed  currency  measures  of  the 
government ;  their  fundamental  theme  was  a  defence  of 
Scottish  institutions  against  rash  and  ill-considered  innovations 
at  the  instance  of  English  ministers.  "  If  you  unscotch  us,  you 
will  find  us  damned  mischievous  Englishmen,"  was  his  warning 
to  Croker  ; x  and  coming  as  it  did  from  one  the  national,  as 
opposed  to  the  provincial,  quality  of  whose  patriotism  was 
unimpeachable,  it  produced  a  great  effect.  It  would  be  vain  to 
deny  that  in  the  Letters  there  are  traces  of  a  petulance  which 
before  the  days  of  financial  disaster  was  altogether  a  stranger 
to  his  constitution.  But  in  general  his  reasoning  is  sound, 
while  his  arguments  are  cogent,  and  his  illustrations  felicitous. 
Scott  must  rank  with  the  pamphleteers  who  have  moulded 
the  policy  of  the  nation.  The  objectionable  proposal  was 
1  Lockhart,  Life,  p.  616. 


454    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

withdrawn  ;  the  "  small  note "  was  saved  from  extinction  ; 
and  though  for  many  years  to  come  the  predominant  party  in 
the  British  legislature  paid  little  heed  to  the  interests  or 
sensibilities  of  North  Britain,  it  may  safely  be  said  that  the 
administration  of  that  portion  of  the  island  has  for  some  time 
past  been  conducted  upon  those  enlightened  principles  of  which 
"  Malachi  Malagrowther  "  was  the  passionate  and  persistent 
advocate. 

No  more  than  two  of  Scott's  fellow-countrymen  had  hitherto 
attempted  the  novel  with  conspicuous  success,  and  neither  had 
employed  it  as  a  medium  for  the  exhibition  of  the  national 
character  or  manners.  It  is  one  of  the  most  singular  things 
about  Tobias  George  Smollett  (172 1-71  )z  that  he,  who  in 
temperament  was  a  thorough  Scot  of  a  certain  type,  should,  in 
works  largely  based  upon  his  own  experience,  have  abstained 
from  introducing  almost  any  important  traits  characteristic  of 
North  Britain.  Neither  Random  nor  Pickle  has  anything  to 
differentiate  him  from  an  English  ruffian  ;  nor  can  Strap  call 
cousin  with  Andrew  Fairservice,  or  any  other  of  the  servants 
who  occupy  so  distinguished  a  place  in  the  Waverley  gallery. 
An  exception  may  be  suggested  in  favour  of  Smollett's  latest 
and  greatest  novel,  Humphry  Clinker  (1771),  and  unquestion- 
ably that  work  affords  many  interesting  glimpses  of  social  life 
in  Scotland.  But  the  interest  of  the  piece  centres  in  Matthew 
Bramble  and  his  household,  especially  Mrs.  Winifred  Jenkins, 
and,  though  Lismahago's  nationality  is  beyond  dispute,  I  am 
heterodox  enough  to  doubt  whether  he  is  so  successful  a 
creation  as  has  sometimes  been  supposed.  It  is  for  this  reason 
that  ampler  space  has  not  here  been  accorded  to  the  author  of 
Roderick  Random  (1748)  and  Peregine  Pickle  (1751),  who  left 
his  native  land  early  in  life,  and  spent  the  greater  part  of  his 
existence  in  the  then  lucrative  occupation  of  a  journeyman  of 
letters.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Scott  owed  something 

1  Works,  ed.  Anderson,  6  vols.,  Edin.  1820.  See  also  Mr.  Henley's 
Introduction  prefixed  to  Works,  12  vols.,  1899-1900. 


SIR    WALTER   SCOTT  455 

to  Smollett,  for  whose  writings  he  had  an  almost  inordinate 
admiration,  and  that  in  the  beginning,  at  all  events,  of  his 
career  as  a  novelist  he  was  disposed  to  follow  Smollett's 
example  in  the  style  of  his  narrative  and  dialogue.  The 
precise  debt  of  Scott  to  each  individual  in  the  throng  of  British 
novelists  and  playwrights  would  be  difficult  to  trace  ;  but  the 
episode  of  Mr.  Pembroke  and  Tom  Alibi  in  the  opening 
chapters  of  Waverley  is  an  unmistakable  reminiscence  of  Dr. 
Toby,  who  may  also  perhaps  share  with  Scott's  brother  Robert 
the  credit  of  inspiring  the  sea-scenes  and  the  sea-dogs  in  The 
Pirate* 

Of  Henry  Mackenzie2  (1745-1831),  on  the  other  hand, 
there  is  in  Scott  hardly  a  single  trace,  unless  we  note  a 
resemblance  in  tone  and  expression  between  Miss  Julia 
Mannering's  letters  and  some  of  the  correspondence  in  Julia 
de  Roubigne  (ijjj}.  That  novel,  together  with  its  predecessors, 
The  Man  of  Feeling  (1771),  and  The  Man  of  the  World  (1773), 
ceased  to  be  generally  read  before  its  author  died,  and  there 
is  small  chance  of  a  reaction  setting  in  in  its  favour.  Any- 
thing more  lachrymose  than  yulia  it  would  in  truth  be  hard 
to  imagine,  or  anything  more  imbecile  than  the  behaviour  of 
the  personages.  Montauban,  the  hero,  writes  of  the  heroine  : 
"  The  music  of  Julia's  tongue  gives  the  throb  of  virtue  to  my 
heart,  and  lifts  my  soul  to  somewhat  superhuman  "  ;  and  the 
sentence  is  typical  of  the  strain  in  which  the  correspondence 
between  the  characters  is  conducted.  Julia  and  Montauban 
both  finally  succumb  to  a  dose  of  poison  administered  in  a  fit 
of  jealousy  by  the  latter  ;  and  you  cannot  help  feeling  that 
'tis  better  so.  Harlev,  the  hero  of  the  Man  of  Feeling,  also 
dies,  after  passing  through  all  the  adventures  with  cardsharpers, 
statesmen,  and  other  people  who  need  not  be  specified,  which 
in  the  eighteenth  century  were  the  portion  of  the  "  young 

1  Vide  Lockhart,  Life,  chap,  v.,  p.  741. 

2  Works,  8  vols.,  Edin.,  1808.     Memoir  by  Scott,  in  Misc.  Prose  Works, 
vol.  iv.  p.  I. 


456    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

man  from  the  country."  Scott  has  gone  so  far  as  to  attribute 
to  Mackenzie  the  virtue  of  originality.  But  to  no  other  has 
he  less  claim.  His  sentiment  is  barefaced  Jean  Jacques,  as  his 
style  is  unblushing  Sterne. 

"  He  is  now  forgotten  and  gone  !  The  last  time  I  was  at  Silton 
Hall,  I  saw  his  chair  stand  in  its  corner  by  the  fire-side  ;  there  was 
an  additional  cushion  on  it,  and  it  was  occupied  by  my  young  lady's 
lap-dog.  I  drew  near  unperceived,  and  pinched  its  ears  in  the 
bitterness  of  my  soul ;  the  creature  howled,  and  ran  to  its  mistress. 
She  did  not  suspect  the  author  of  its  misfortune,  but  she  bewailed  it 
in  the  most  pathetic  terms  ;  and,  kissing  its  lips,  laid  it  gently  on  her 
lap,  and  covered  it  with  a  cambric  handkerchief.  I  sat  in  my  old 
friend's  seat ;  I  heard  the  roar  of  mirth  and  gaiety  around  me — poor 
Ben  Silton  !  I  gave  thee  a  tear  then  :  accept  of  one  cordial  drop 
that  falls  to  thy  memory  now."  ' 

Mons'ous  affecting,  no  doubt  ;  but  hardly  original.  Mackenzie 
often  does  his  imitating  with  a  good  enough  grace  ;  and  in 
fact  his  talent  was.  essentially  imitative.  The  Mirror  (1779-80) 
and  The  Lounger  (1785-86),  are  indistinguishable  from  any  other 
tolerable  copy  of  the  Spectator^  and  are  chiefly  interesting  as 
being  practically  the  last  of  a  long  line.2  Yet  Mackenzie's 
own  personality  is  conspicuous  and  picturesque.  He  was  a 
link  between  the  old  Scotland  and  the  new,  between  the  age 
of  Hume  and  the  age  of  Scott  ;  3  and  it  is  when  he  gives  free 

1  Man  of  Feeling,  vol.  i.  p.  8. 

2  That  is  to  say,  each  is  amclangeoi  literary,  ethical,  and  social  criticism, 
with  character  sketches  thrown  in.     The  names  of  Colonel  Caustic,  John 
Homespun,  the  family  of  the  Mushrooms,  and  Gabriel  Gossip,  tell  their 
own  story.     Few  probably  remember  that  Mackenzie  invented  the  name 
of  Mr.  Caudle  (Mirror,  No.  5).     The  following  papers,  in  addition  to  the 
celebrated  story  of  La  Roche  (Mirror,  Nos.  42-44),  are  worth  looking  at  : 
the  notice  of  Burns's   poems,    1786   (Lounger,   No.    97)  ;  the   paper    on 
nomenclature  in   fiction  (Mirror,  No.  7)  ;    and  the   account   of  William 
Strahan,  the  printer  (Lounger,  No.  29). 

3  "  He  has,  we  believe,  shot  game  of  every  description  which  Scotland 
contains  (deer  and  probably  grouse  excepted),   on  the  very  grounds  at 
present  occupied  by  the  extensive  and  splendid  streets  of  the  New  Town 
of  Edinburgh  ;  has  sought  for  hares  and  wild  ducks  where  there  are  now 


SIR    WALTER   SCOTT  457 

play  to  his  memory  and  recalls  the  literary  and  social  world 
with  which  his  youth  had  been  familiar  (as  he  does  in  his 
Memoir  of  John  Home)  that  we  most  highly  appreciate  those 
moral  and  intellectual  qualities  which  procured  his  recognition 
among  the  northern  literati  as  the  Deacon  of  their  craft.  Not 
the  least  of  his  virtues  was  the  generosity  of  spirit  which 
moved  him  to  give  a  warm  welcome  to  the  productions  of  the 
author  of  Waver  ley.'1 

The  complete  and  adequate  discussion  of  Sir  Walter  Scott's 
novels2  is  a  task  which  might  lay  a  heavy  tax  upon  the  powers 
of  the  greatest  critic.  Their  extraordinary  copiousness  and 
variety  seem  to  demand  the  labour  of  years  and  the  space  of 
volumes  to  do  justice  to  them.  Yet  judging  by  the  majority 
of  Shakespearean  commentaries,  we  have  little  reason  to  regret 
that  Scott  has  not  as  yet  been  overlaid  with  exposition  and 
annotation.  He  himself  has  supplied  the  best  possible  guide 
to  the  novels  in  his  introductions  and  notes  ;  and  what  he  has 
not  disclosed  with  regard  to  the  sources  whence  he  drew  his 
materials  and  hints  is  scarcely  worth  knowing.  In  a  volume 
like  the  present,  exhaustive  treatment  is  out  of  the  question. 
We  can  only  attempt  to  deal  with  some  of  the  salient  features 
of  that  extraordinary  series  of  works,  taking  for  our  guide  the 
unfavourable  criticisms  which  have  from  time  to  time  been 

palaces,  churches,  and  assembly  rooms ;  and  has  witnessed  moral  revolu- 
tions as  surprising  as  this  extraordinary  change  of  local  circumstances." 
(Scott,  Misc.  Prose  Works,  vol.  iv.  p.  8). 

1  See,  for  example,  his  letter  to  Scott,  July  5,  1819,  quoted  in  Familiar 
Letters,  vol.  ii.  p.  48  ;/. 

3  The  best  edition  of  the  novels  is  that  in  48  volumes,  Edin.,  Cadell, 
1829-33,  rep.  1841,  which  is  the  one  from  which  I  cite,  and  1895.  But  the 
editions  good,  bad,  and  indifferent,  are  innumerable.  Of  criticism  on 
the  novels,  the  best  and  most  suggestive  among  much  that  is  both  good 
and  suggestive,  and  more  that  is  not,  is  that  of  Lockhart,  in  his  Life  of 
Scott,  passim  :  of  J.  L.  Adolphus,  in  Letters  to  Mr.  Heber  (1821) ;  of  N. 
W.  Senior,  in  Essays  on  Fiction  (1864)  ;  and  lastly  of  Mr.  A.  Lang,  in  his 
annotated  edition  of  the  novels,  48  vols.  (1892-94).  Mr.  Lang's  introduc- 
tions are  especially  useful  in  furnishing  a  brief  synopsis  of  contemporary 
criticism. 


458     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

made  upon  him,  and  bearing  in  mind  that  their  relation  to 
the  literature  of  his  own  country  has  for  us  a  predominating 
interest. 

In  the  entertaining  dialogue  between  Captain  Clutterbuck 
and  "  the  author  of  Waverley"  which  forms  the  preface  to  The 
Fortunes  of  Nigel,  Scott  good-humouredly  pleads  guilty  to  three 
charges  frequently  made  against  him  :  his  treatment  of  the 
supernatural,  his  failure  to  construct  a  good  plot,  and  his 
tendency  to  "  huddle  up  "  the  end  of  all  his  stories.  On  the 
two  last  points,  no  judicious  apologist  will  seek  to  make  a 
stand.  Most  of  his  fables  are  certainly  defective  in  proportion, 
or  in  coherence,  or  in  probability.1  The  "long  arm  of 
coincidence  "  has  to  extend  its  aid,  and  even  with  such  assist- 
ance it  is  sometimes  not  easy  to  make  out  what  the  story  is  all 
about.  Rob  Roy  is  perhaps  the  most  striking  instance  of  a  great 
novel  with  an  almost  unintelligible  intrigue.2  As  for  the 
"  huddling  up,"  nothing  could  be  much  worse  than  The  Pirate^ 
where  a  complicated  entanglement  is  resolved  in  breathless 
haste,  to  the  intense  bewilderment  of  the  reader. 

As  regards  the  supernatural,  our  own  generation,  less 
tinctured  with  the  prejudices  begotten  by  an  age  of  reason, 
will  probably  be  more  tolerant  than  Scott's.  The  astrology 
of  Guy  Mannering  is  eminently  pleasing,  nor  should  we  ever 
dream  of  inquiring  too  strictly  "how  much  there  is  in  it." 
The  Bodach  Glas  and  the  second  sight  require  no  apology,  for, 
when  employed  in  the  right  manner,  they  are  "a  great  set-off" 
to  any  novel.  Much  more  exasperating  and  much  less  plausible 
is  some  makeshift  explanation  of  a  mystery,  like  the  true 

1  While  diffuseness  is  a  common   fault   in   the   conduct  of   many   of 
Scott's  narratives,  it  is  remarkable  how  successful  he  was,  from  the  purely 
technical  point  of  view,  in  the  short  story.     Wandering  Willie's  Tale  is,  of 
course,  facile  princeps,  but  The  Highland  Widow  and  The  Two  Drovers 
should  not  be  forgotten. 

2  In  St.  Ronan's  Well,  the  plot  as  it  stands  is  not  so  much  unintelligible 
as  fatuous.     It  had  been  well  if  "  the  black   hussar  of  literature "  had 
turned  as  deaf  an  ear  to  the  suggestion  of  Ballantyne  as  he  had  formerly 
done  to  the  remonstrances  of  Blackvvood. 


SIR    WALTER   SCOTT  459 

meaning  of  "Search^  No.  II.,"  as  lame  a  piece  of  eclaircissement 
as  can  anywhere  be  met  with.  The  Dousterswivel  business 
is  apparently  found  tedious  by  many  people,  and  to  these  we 
will  gladly  sacrifice  the  White  Lady  of  Avenel,  together  with 
any  "Cock-lane  scratch,"  or  "  bounce  of  the  Tedworth  drum," 
which  they  may  require  at  our  hands.  But  beyond  this  we 
are  not  prepared  to  go  ;  and  when  they  tell  us,  with  Mr. 
Senior,  that  Ailsie  Gourlay's  prediction  of  Ravensworth's  doom 
(like  the  rhyme  about  "stabling  his  steed  in  the  Kelpie's 
flow ")  is  a  "  useless  improbability,"  we  must  beg  leave, 
respectfully  but  firmly,  to  differ.  The  suggestion  of  the 
supernatural  might  as  well  be  eliminated  from  Wandering 
Willie's  Tale  as  from  The  Bride  of  Lammermoor.  The  Bride 
is  one  of  the  most  ambitious  of  all  Scott's  novels,  and  in  some 
respects  the  finest.  Not  even  the  episode  of  Lord  Glenallan 
in  The  Antiquary  can  surpass  it  for  intensity  of  tragic  gloom. 
And  much  of  its  power  and  impressiveness  is  due  to  the 
omens  and  premonitions  of  evil  with  which  from  the  very 
beginning  the  narrative  abounds.  The  reader  feels  that 
disaster  is  "  in  the  air  "  :  not  all  the  fooling  of  Caleb  Balder- 
stone  can  banish  the  sense  of  imminent  doom.  The  occasional 
intervals  of  illusory  happiness — the  periods  when  Fate  seems 
to  have  changed  her  frown  for  a  smile — merely  accentuate 
the  melancholy  of  the  inevitable  catastrophe.  Without  blind 
Alice,  and  without  the  three  hags  who  come  to  her  "streak- 
ing," the  tale  might  be  affecting  or  pathetic,  but  it  would 
cease  to  be  tragedy.  Few  things  in  any  writer  are  more 
awful,  as  few  are  more  appropriate,  than  the  dialogue  between 
Annie  Winnie  and  Ailsie  Gourlav  : — 


"  '  That's  a  fresh  and  full-grown  hemlock,  Annie  Winnie — mony  a 
cummer  lang  syne  wad  hae  sought  nae  better  horse  to  flee  over  hill 
and  how,  through  mist  and  moonlight,  and  light  down  in  the  King 
of  France's  cellar.' 

"  'Ay,  cummer  !  but  the  very  deil  has  turned  as  hard-hearted  now 
as  the  Lord  Keeper,  and  the  grit  folk  that  hae  breasts  like  whinstane. 


460    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

They  prick  us  and  they  pine  us,  and  they  pit  us  on  the  pinnywinkles 
for  witches ;  and,  if  I  say  my  prayers  backwards  ten  times  ower, 
Satan  will  never  gie  me  amends  o'  them.' 

"  '  Did  ye  ever  see  the  foul  thief  ? '  asked  her  neighbour. 

" '  Na  ! '  replied  the  other  spokeswoman  ;  '  but  I  trow  I  hae 
dreamed  of  him  mony  a  time,  and  I  think  the  day  will  come  they 
will  burn  me  for't.  But  ne'er  mind,  cummer  !  we  hae  this  dollar  of 
the  Master's,  and  we'll  send  doun  for  bread  and  for  yill,  and  tobacco, 
and  a  drap  brandy  to  burn,  and  a  wee  pickle  saft  sugar — and  be 
there  deil,  or  nae  deil,  lass,  we'll  hae  a  merry  night  o't.' 

"  Here  her  leathern  chops  uttered  a  sort  of  cackling  ghastly  laugh, 
resembling  to  a  certain  degree  the  cry  of  the  screech-owl. 

" '  He's  a  frank  man,  and  a  free-handed  man,  the  Master,'  said 
Annie  Winnie,  'and  a  comely  personage — broad  in  the  shouthers, 
and  narrow  around  the  lungies — he  wad  mak  a  bonny  corpse  * — I 
wad  like  to  hae  the  streaking  and  winding  o'  him.' 

" '  It  is  written  on  his  brow,  Annie  Winnie,'  returned  the  octo- 
genarian, her  companion,  "  that  hand  of  woman,  or  of  man  either, 
will  never  straught  him — dead  deal  will  never  be  laid  on  his  back — 
make  you  your  market  of  that,  for  I  hae  it  frae  a  sure  hand.' 

"'Will  it  be  his  lot  to  die  on  the  battleground  then,  Ailsie 
Gourlay  ?  Will  he  die  by  the  sword  or  the  ball,  as  his  forbears 
hae  dune  before  him,  mony  ane  o'  them  ? ' 

"'Ask  nae  mair  questions  about  it — he'll  no  be  graced  sae  far,' 
replied  the  sage. 

"  '  I  ken  ye  are  wiser  than  ither  folk,  Ailsie  Gourlay.  But  wha 
tell'd  ye  this  ? ' 

" '  Fashna  your  thumb  about  that,  Annie  Winnie,'  answered  the 
sibyl, — '  I  hae  it  frae  a  hand  sure  eneugh.' 

"  '  But  ye  said  ye  never  saw  the  foul  thief,'  reiterated  her  inquisi- 
tive companion. 

"  '  I  hae  it  frae  as  sure  a  hand,'  said  Ailsie,  '  and  frae  them  that 
spaed  his  fortune  before  the  sark  gaed  ower  his  head.' 

"  '  Hark  !  I  hear  his  horse's  feet  riding  aff,'  said  the  other  ;  'they 
dinna  sound  as  if  good  luck  was  wi'  them.' 

"  '  Mak  haste,  sirs,'  cried  the  paralytic  hag  from  the  cottage,  'and 
let  us  do  what  is  needfu',  and  say  what  is  fitting ;  for,  if  the  dead 
corpse  binna  straughted,  it  will  girn  and  thraw,  and  that  will  fear  the 
best  o'  us.'  "  z 


1  Compare  Mrs.  Gamp,  who  makes  the  same  remark  about  her  patient, 
in  Martin  Chuzzleivit,  ch.  xxv. 

2  The  Bride  of  Lammermoor,  ed.  1841,  vol.  ii.  p.  227. 


SIR    WALTER   SCOTT  461 

Here,  as  Mr.  Lang  has  justly  remarked,  is  the  essence  of  a 
thousand  trials  for  witchcraft  :  and  here  is  a  "  useless  impro- 
bability "  ! 

The  uninteresting  quality  of  most  of  Scott's  heroes  and  of 
many  of  his  heroines  has  been  a  frequent  topic  of  remark  ; 
and  again  there  is  something  in  what  the  critics  say,  as  Scott 
himself  allowed.  I  am  reluctant,  I  confess,  to  admit  that 
Edward  Waverley  is  "a  sneaking  piece  of  imbecility,"  as  his 
creator  terms  him  :  the  judgment  is  surely  a  little  harsh.  But 
he  is  not  very  "  heroic,"  nor  is  Vanbeest  Brown,  nor  Lovell, 
nor  Morton,  nor  Frank  Osbaldistone,  nor  Lord  Glenvarloch, 
nor  a  dozen  others.  Perhaps  Frank  Osbaldistone  was  the  least 
worthy  of  all  to  woo  and  win  that  queen  among  heroines,  Di 
Vernon.  But  when  Scott  contrasts  the  heroic  with  a  more 
commonplace  type  of  woman,  it  is  the  latter  who  is  invariably 
paired  off  with  the  hero  when  the  novel  doth  appropinque  an 
end.  It  is  so  in  the  case  of  Flora  Maclvor  and  Rose  Bradwar- 
dine,  of  Minna  and  Brenda  Troil,  of  Rebecca  and  Rowena. 
That  Scott  knew  better  than  most  what  passion  is,  no  sensible 
man  can  doubt.  But  when  he  took  seriously  to  writing  fiction 
he  was  past  forty,  and  he  regards  his  lovers  not  with  undis- 
criminating  sympathy,  but  rather  with  the  mixture  of  amuse- 
ment and  benevolence  characteristic  of  one  who  has  long  since 
"  been  through  the  mill "  himself.  It  is  one  or  the  most 
remarkable  features  in  Scott  that,  though  strongly  sympathising 
with  enthusiastic  and  exalted  feeling,  he  allows  the  representa- 
tives of  a  more  commonplace  frame  of  mind  to  put  in  their 
word,  and  to  state  the  case  on  behalf  of  a  view  of  life  in  which 
illusion  plays  no  part.  A  novelist  of  the  ordinary  type,  for 
example,  would  have  seized  the  opportunity  of  putting  a 
vigorous  and  irrelevant  covenanting  tirade  into  the  mouth 
of  Mortsheugh,  the  gravedigger,  in  The  Bride  of  Lammermoor. 
Mortsheugh  is  a  Scots  peasant  ;  the  Scots  peasantry  is  Presby- 
terian ;  argal,  Mortsheugh  must  have  been  a  rabid  Whig. 
Such  would  have  been  his  chain  of  reasoning.  With  the 


462     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

unerring  sagacity  of  genius,  Scott  represents  the  old  man  as 
comparatively  indifferent  to  the  rights  and  wrongs  of  the 
defeated  party  at  Bothwell  Bridge,  and  as  wholly  occupied 
with  the  loss  of  his  own  bit  mailing,  through  the  improvident 
and  inconsiderate  conduct  of  the  Ravenswood  family.  Similarly, 
when  Mause  Headrigg  expresses  her  gladness  and  pride  "to 
see  her  bairn  ganging  to  testify  for  the  truth  gloriously  with 
his  mouth  in  Council  as  he  did  with  his  weapon  in  the  field," 
"  Whisht,  whisht,  mither  ! "  replies  Cuddie,  "  Od,  ye  daft 
wife,  is  this  a  time  to  speak  o'  thae  things  ?  I  tell  ye  I'll 
testify  naething  either  ae  gate  or  another."  And  when  the 
persevering  Mause  reminds  him  of  his  bridal  garment — "  Oh, 
hinny,  dinna  sully  the  marriage  garment  !  " — Cuddie's  only 
response  is  a  brusque  "  Awa,  awa,  mither  ;  never  fear  me — I 
ken  how  to  turn  this  far  better  than  ye  do — for  ye're  bleezing 
awa  about  marriage,  and  the  job  is  how  we  are  to  win  by 
hanging."  In  no  place  does  old  Mause  appear  to  such 
advantage  ;  in  none  is  the  practical  good  sense  of  her  son 
more  triumphant.  Another  illustration  of  the  same  charac- 
teristic may  be  found  in  The  Pirate^  where  the  old  Zetlander, 
Haagen,  indulges  in  reminiscences  of  Montrose's  wars  : — 

" '  And  Montrose,'  said  the  soft  voice  of  the  graceful  Minna  ; 
'  what  became  of  Montrose,  or  how  looked  he  ? ' 

" '  Like  a  lion  with  the  hunters  before  him,'  answered  the  old 
gentleman  ;  '  but  I  looked  not  twice  his  way,  for  my  own  lay  right 
over  the  hill.' 

"'And  so  you  left  him?'  said  Minna  in  a  tone  of  the  deepest 
contempt. 

"  '  It  was  no  fault  of  mine,  Mistress  Minna,'  answered  the  old  man, 
somewhat  out  of  countenance,  '  but  I  was  there  with  no  choice  of 
my  own  ;  and,  besides,  what  good  could  I  have  done  ? — all  the  rest 
were  running  like  sheep,  and  why  should  I  have  staid  ? ' 

"  '  You  might  have  died  with  him,'  said  Minna. 

"  '  And  lived  with  him  to  all  eternity  in  immortal  verse  ! '  added 
Claud  Halcro. 

" '  I  thank  you,  Mistress  Minna,'  replied  the  plain-dealing  Zet- 
lander ;  '  and  I  thank  you,  my  old  friend  Claud  ;  but  I  would  rather 


SIR    WALTER   SCOTT  463 

drink  both  your  healths  in  this  good  bicker  of  ale,  like  a  living  man 
as  I  am,  than  that  you  should  be  making  songs  in  my  honour,  for 
having  died  forty  or  fifty  years  agone.  But  what  signified  it  ?  Run 
or  fight,  'twas  all  one  ; — they  took  Montrose,  poor  fellow,  for  all  his 
doughty  deeds,  and  they  took  me  that  did  no  doughty  deeds  at  all ; 
and  they  hanged  him,  poor  man,  and  as  for  me ' 

"  '  I  trust  in  heaven  they  flogged  and  pickled  you,'  said  Cleveland, 
worn  out  of  patience  with  the  dull  narrative  of  the  peaceful  Zet- 
lander's  poltroonery,  of  which  he  seemed  so  wondrous  little 
ashamed. 

"  '  Flog  horses,  and  pickle  beef,'  said  Magnus ;  "  why,  you  have 
not  the  vanity  to  think  that,  with  all  your  quarter-deck  airs,  you  will 
make  poor  old  neighbour  Haagen  ashamed  that  he  was  not  killed 
some  scores  of  years  since  ? '  "  * 

The  Udaller's  verdict  on  the  matter  is  the  same  as  Scott's. 
There  is  no  homologation  of  Minna's  and  Cleveland's  heroics  ; 
there  is  no  attempt  to  blast  Haagen  with  ridicule,  or  to  hold 
him  up  to  scorn  as  a  base  knave.  The  contrast  between  the 
two  temperaments  is  presented  in  fiction  as  it  presents  itself  in 
real  life  ;  and  it  is  the  same  instinctive  and  predestined  fidelity 
to  nature  which  makes  Scott  conclude  one  of  the  most  solemn 
and  moving  chapters  of  Waverley  with  the  somewhat  heartless 
commentary  of  Alick  Polwarth  on  the  execution  of  Fergus 
and  Evan  Dhu. 

Here,  then,  we  may  perhaps  find  an  explanation  of  the 
notoriously  prosaic  character  of  some  of  Scott's  heroes.  Vivid 
as  his  imagination  was,  he  could  not  brush  aside  the  ex  post  facto 
judgments  of  reason  on  historical  events.  When  the  hero's  is 
the  life  of  rapid  action,  as  in  the  case  of  Quentin  Durward,  he 
comes  off  bravely  enough.  But  when,  through  no  fault  of  his 
own,  he  is  so  situated  that  he  must  passively  await  the  develop- 
ment of  events,  like  Harry  Bertram  and  Lovel,  or  when  he 
has  to  take  sides  on  a  question  in  the  solution  of  which  reason 
pulls  one  way  and  passion  or  inclination  another,  he  is  not  so 
apt  to  captivate  the  imagination.  Morton's  views  on  the 

1  The  Pirate,  vol.  i.  p.  260. 


public  affairs  of  his  time  are  substantially  those  of  Scott  nearly 
a  century  and  a  half  later,  and  Edward  Waverley  is  as  wide- 
awake to  the  weak  points  in  the  young  Pretender  and  his 
cause,  as  his  creator  is.  Scott,  it  may  be  surmised,  would  have 
thought  little  of  a  comtemporary  who  weighed  the  pros  and 
cons  of  the  great  French  war  as  judicially  as  these  young 
gentlemen  the  claims  of  conflicting  parties.  Once  put  a  man, 
however,  into  the  position  of  being  resolved,  of  being  able  to 
be  deaf  to  the  voice  of  prudence,  and  of  having  relinquished 
the  attitude  of  the  bonus  paterfamilias,  and  we  see  with  what 
animation  and  gusto  Scott  could  portray  him.  Lord  Evandale, 
Burley,  and  Sergeant  Bothwell,  are,  each  in  his  own  way,  of 
the  true  romantic  breed.  There  is  the  ring  of  the  genuine 
metal  about  Cleveland  ;  and  in  Nanty  Ewart  we  have  one 
of  the  most  profoundly  truthful  and  fascinating  studies  of 
character  that  ever  came  from  Scott's  hand.  The  Master  of 
Ravenswood,  his  plume  notwithstanding,  may  be  excepted  from 
the  list  of  Scott's  "  uninteresting  "  heroes  ;  but  it  is  no  heinous 
offence  to  hold  him  less  felicitously  drawn  than  Hayston  of 
Bucklaw. 

We  need  not,  perhaps,  be  much  distressed  by  the  accusation 
of  inaccuracy  in  depicting  the  life  of  past  ages  brought  against 
Scott  by  historians.  Mr.  Freeman  I  has  urged  all  that  can  be 
urged  against  Ivanhoe  on  this  score,  and  done  so  with  more 
than  his  customary  moderation  and  politeness.  We  must 
give  up  our  old  friends  Wamba  and  Gurth,  the  Templar  and 
Front  de  Bceuf,  and  the  sharp  line  of  cleavage  between 
Saxon  and  Norman  described  as  existing  in  the  reign  of 
Richard  I.  All  that  can  be  pleaded  in  extenuation  is  that 
to  "  telescope  "  two  or  three  centuries  is  a  comparatively  venial 
offence  when  these  centuries  are  remote,  and  that  Scott  ceases 
to  perpetrate  such  enormities  (as  they  seem  to  grave  historical 
critics)  when  he  deals  with  later  periods.  It  is  true  that  he 
does  not  stick  at  a  convenient  anachronism  ;  and  the  reader 
1  Nonnau  Conquest,  vol.  v.  note  W. 


SIR    WALTER   SCOTT  465 

may  well  be  startled  at  not  a  few  in  Kenikvtrth,  besides  the 
reference  to  the  Tempest  as  being,  circ.  1567,  "a  comedy 
which  was  then  new,  and  was  supposed  among  the  more 
favourable  judges  to  augur  some  genius  on  the  part  of  the 
author."  But  so  manifest  a  joke  upon  the  ignorant  is  obnoxious 
to  censure  less  because  Shakespeare  was  a  four-year-old  child  at 
the  time  supposed,  than  because  the  allusion  savours  of  being 
dragged  in — like  the  similar  reference  in  Nigel  to  a  quotation 
from  Macbeth  which  "  had  already  grown  matter  of  common 
allusion  in  London."  It  is  probably  unnecessary  to  note  that 
such  "  George  de  Barnewell "  touches  are  extremely  rare  in 
Scott,  who  wrote  out  of  the  fulness  of  his  reading,  and  had  not 
read  merely  that  he  might  write.1  Whatever  the  degree  of 
historical  accuracy  which,  judged  by  a  strict  canon,  he  attains, 
his  characters  are  no  mere  lay-figures,  garbed  in  the  quaint 
robes  of  a  particular  period.  And  as  regards  the  manners  and 
social  life  of  the  one  tolerably  distant  era  in  which  we  have 
the  best  means  of  checking  him,  we  believe  that  he  will 
emerge  triumphant  from  the  closest  scrutiny.  The  picture 
of  London  life,  in  all  its  various  aspects — from  Whitehall  to 
Whitefriars,  from  the  Court  to  the  City — which  he  places 
before  us  in  Nigel  is  not  merely  spirited  and  vivacious  but 
essentially,  and  almost  literally,  true  to  fact,  so  far  as  can  be 
judged.  The  difficulty,  once  more,  of  finding  a  suitable 
language  for  dialogue,  which  is  ever  present  in  the  historical 
novel,  is  surmounted  by  Scott  with  extraordinary  success,  one 
can  scarce  tell  how.  The  dialect  employed  belongs,  perhaps, 
to  no  particular  age  ;  it  may  be  disfigured  here  and  there  by 
modern  locutions,  by  vulgarisms2  even — yet  the  illusion  is 
sustained,  and  the  "  Wardour  Street "  element  never  becomes 
obtrusive  or  irritating.  Lastly,  on  this  head,  even  on  the 

1  Master  Lowestoffe's  account  of  his  game  at  gleek  with  Lord  Dal- 
garno  is  one  of  the  very  rare  passages  which  do  something  smell  of  the 
lamp. 

~  E.g.,  "I  have  brought  the  party  hither,"  (Louis  XI.  to  Galeotti  in 
Quciitin  Durwani)  where  party  =  person. 

2G 


466     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

assumption  that  the  pictures  of  past  times  are  vitiated  by 
inexcusable  errors,  it  will  at  least  be  admitted  that  Scott  has 
enriched  the  world  with  a  group  of  historical  portraits  the 
exact  resemblance  of  which  to  the  originials  may  be  matter  of 
dispute,  but  which  are  unrivalled  in  the  brilliancy  with  which 
is  presented  that  aspect  of  the  subject  which  has  generally 
struck  the  imagination  of  posterity.  Richard  in  Ivanhoe  and 
The  Talisman,  Louis  XI.  in  Quentin  Durward,  Claverhouse  in 
Old  Mortality,  Charles  II.  in  Woodstock  (the  sketch  of 
Cromwell  in  the  same  novel  is  now  supposed  to  be  too 
"stagey"),  Mary  Queen  of  Scots  in  The  Abbot,  her  cousin  in 
Kenilworth,  and,  above  all,  her  son  in  The  Fortunes  of  Nigel, 
form  a  group  whose  features  are  so  deeply  engraved  upon  the 
mind  of  the  reading  public  that  half  a  dozen  savants  could 
scarce  obliterate  them. 

I  have  reserved  for  the  last  the  two  most  formidable  and 
hotly  pressed  charges  against  Scott,  of  which  the  first  is  that 
his  "  style  "  is  deplorable.  The  locus  classicus  for  this  accusation 
is  Mr.  Stevenson's  Gossip  on  Romance,*  in  which  he  takes  as  his 
text  the  episode  of  Harry  Bertram's  return  to  Ellangowan, 
opines  that  "a  man  who  gave  in  such  copy  [as  a  certain 
sentence  in  the  passage  he  cites]  would  be  discharged  from  the 
staff  of  a  daily  paper,"  characterises  a  great  deal  of  Scott's 
writing  as  "  languid,  inarticulate  twaddle,"  and  eke  as  "  un- 
grammatical  and  undramatic  rigmarole,"  and  finally  pronounces 
Scott  to  have  been  "  utterly  careless  ;  almost  it  would  seem 
incapable  in  the  technical  matter  of  style."  Such  language 
appears  to  be  grotesquely  exaggerated.  What  residuum  of 
truth  it  contained,  Scott,  as  usual,  was  himself  well  aware. 
It  seems  that  his  son-in-law  occasionally  ventured  to  suggest 
emendations,  which  were  by  no  means  acceptable.  "  J.  G.  L.," 
he  writes  in  his  "Journal,2  "  kindly  points  out  some  solecisms 

1  Longman's  Magazine,  February,  1882  ;  Memories  and  Portraits,  1887. 

2  Vol.  i.  p.  181,  under  date  April  22,  1826,  about  three  weeks  before 
Lady  Scott's  death. 


SIR    WALTER   SCOTT  467 

in  my  style,  as  'amid'  for  'amidst,'  'scarce'  for  'scarcely.' 
'Whose,'  he  says,  is  the  proper  genitive  of  'which'  only 
at  such  times  as  '  which '  retains  its  quality  of  impersoni- 
fication.  Well !  I  will  try  to  remember  all  this,  but  after 
all  I  write  grammar  as  I  speak,  to  make  my  meaning 
known,  and  a  solecism  in  point  of  composition,  like  a 
Scotch  word  in  speaking,  is  indifferent  to  me.  I  never 
learned  grammar  ;  and  not  only  Sir  Hugh  Evans,  but  even 
Mrs.  Quickly,  might  puzzle  me  about  Giney's  case  and  horum 
harum  horum.  I  believe  the  Bailiff  in  The  Good-natured  Man 
is  not  far  wrong  when  he  says,  '  One  man  has  one  way  of 
expressing  himself,  and  another  another,  and  that  is  all  the 
difference  between  them.' '  Here  is  Scott's  philosophy  of 
style  in  a  nutshell.  That  its  results  were  often  more  curious 
than  satisfactory  is  plain  enough.  To  it  we  owe  "  the  superb 
monarch  of  the  feathered  tribes  "  x— meaning  the  eagle — 
a  fair  specimen  of  the  recognised  fine  English  of  the  age  of 
Dr.  Parr.  To  it  we  owe  the  retort  of  Helen  MacGregor, 
cited  by  Sir  Leslie  Stephen.2  To  it  we  owe  the  Norna  who 
bids  Mordaunt  Mertoun  begone  from  under  Triptolemus 
Yellowley's  roof : — 

"You  shall  not  remain  in  this  hovel  to  be  crushed  amid  its 
worthless  ruins,  with  the  relics  of  its  more  worthless  inhabitants, 
whose  life  is  as  little  to  the  world  as  the  vegetation  of  the  house- 
leek,  which  now  grows  on  their  thatch,  and  which  shall  soon  be 
crushed  amongst  their  mangled  limbs."  3 

To  it  we  owe  Miss  Vernon's  advice  to  Rashleigh  : — 

"  Dismiss  from  your  company  the  false  archimage,  Dissimulation, 
and  it  will  better  ensure  your  free  access  to  our  classical  con- 
sultations." 4 

To  it  we  owe  Catherine  Glover's  exhortation  to  Hal  o'  the 
Wynd  :— 

1  Waverley,  vol.  i.  p.  169.  -  Hours  in  a  Library,  vol.  i.  p.  149. 

3  The  Pirate,  i.  93.  4  Rob  Roy,  i.  190. 


468    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

"Throw  from  you,  my  dear  Henry,  cast  from  you,  I  say,  the  art 
which  is  a  snare  to  you.  Abjure  the  fabrication  of  weapons  which 
can  only  be  useful  to  abridge  human  life,  already  too  short  for 
repentance,  or  to  encourage  with  a  feeling  of  safety  those  whom 
fear  might  otherwise  prevent  from  risking  themselves  in  peril. 
The  art  of  forming  arms,  whether  offensive  or  defensive,  is  alike 
sinful  in  one  whose,"  &c.' 

But  if  Scott's  philosophy  pf  style  was  the  parent  of  passages 
such  as  these,  of  which  their  tameness  is  perhaps  the  chief 
merit,  it  was  also  responsible  for  many  another  in  which  the 
substantives  are  very  much  to  the  purpose,  and  the  epithets, 
though  never  far-fetched  or  exotic,  are  eminently  appropriate  ; 
nor  have  we  any  business  to  inquire  whether  this  result  was 
attained  by  good  luck  or  good  guidance.  There  are  passages 
descriptive  of  nature  which  for  beauty  and  vividness  have  not 
been  surpassed  even  by  Mr.  Ruslcin,  with  his  palette  of  many 
colours,2  and  there  are  touches  of  external  circumstance  of 
which  the  most  painfully  selected  vocabulary  could  not 
enhance  the  effect.  Such  I  conceive  to  be  the  "  hoarse 
dashing  "  of  the  ocean,  with  its  "multitudinous  complication  of 
waves  "  as  heard  from  within  the  gaol  at  Portanferry,3  or  the 
night  wind  which  brings  the  "  sullen  sound  of  a  kettledrum  " 
to  Morton's  ears,  and  the  breaking  of  the  moon  through  the 
clouds,  which  illuminates  the  departure  of  the  life-guards  from 
the  vicinity  of  Milnwood.4  There  are  passages  of  animated 
narrative  to  which  no  amount  of  assiduous  polishing  could 
lend  more  fire  and  vigour  than  they  possess.  The  siege  of 
Torquilstone,  done  into  Stevensonese,  would  probably  be  less 
exciting  than  it  is  at  present.  And  there  are  passages  of 

1  The  Fair  Maid  of  Perth,  i.  55. 

2  As  to  the   "  actual   study   of   nature,"   the   "  landscape-gardening  of 
poetry,"  Scott  found  that  he  could  get  on  "  quite  as  well  from  recollection 
while  sitting  in  the  Parliament  House  as  if  wandering  through  wood  and 
wold  ;  though  liable  to  be  roused  out  of  a  descriptive  dream  now  and 
then,  if  Balmuto,  with  a  fierce   grunt,  demands,   '  Where  are  your  cau- 
tioners ? '  "     (Gillies,  Recollections,  p.  24.) 

3  Guy  Manuering,  ii.  243.  4  Old  Mortality,  i.  304,  314. 


SSR    WALTER   SCOTT  469 

splendid  rhetoric  which  more  than  atone  for  all  that  is  stilted 
and  heavy  in  those  which  we  have  quoted  above.  It  is  a 
common  complaint  of  Sydney  Smith's  against  Scott  that  he 
completely  failed  in  reproducing  the  ordinary  conversation  of 
ladies  and  gentlemen.  He  certainly  did  not  reproduce  the 
conversation  of  Holland  House  ;  but  be  it  so.  When  he  gets 
to  the  vernacular,  however,  no  one  will  deny  that  he  is 
thoroughly  at  home.  The  Scots  dialect  he  uses  is  free  from 
local  peculiarities.  You  cannot  say  that  it  is  the  Scots  of  the 
Lothians,  or  Ayrshire,  or  the  Mearns.1  It  is  merely  "the 
purest  surviving  form  of  English  "  (to  repeat  Mr.  Freeman's 
phrase)  at  its  best.  His  dialogue  in  the  vernacular  is  easy, 
fluent,  and  pointed  ;  and  when  something  more  ambitious  and 
formal  than  everyday  talk  is  required  the  same  medium  never 
fails.  We  might  illustrate  this  from  old  Mucklebackit  or 
Edie  Ochiltree,3  but  we  cannot  do  better  than  reproduce  the 
famous  speech  of  Meg  Merrilies  to  the  laird  of  Ellangowan  : — 

"  Ride  your  ways,  Laird  of  Ellangowan — ride  your  ways,  Godfrey 
Bertram  !  This  day  have  ye  quenched  seven  smoking  hearths — see 
if  the  fire  in  your  ain  parlour  burn  the  blither  for  that.  Ye  have 
riven  the  thack  off  seven  cottar  houses — look  if  your  ain  roof-tree 
stand  the  faster. — Ye  may  stable  your  stirks  in  the  shealings  at 
Derncleugh — see  that  the  hare  does  not  couch  on  the  hearthstane  at 
Ellangowan. — Ride  your  ways,  Godfrey  Bertram — what  do  ye 
glower  after  our  folk  for  ? — There's  thirty  hearts  there  that  wad  hae 
wanted  bread  ere  ye  had  wanted  sunkets,  and  spent  their  life-blood 
ere  ye  had  scratched  your  finger.  Yes — there's  thirty  yonder,  from 
the  auld  wife  of  an  hundred  to  the  babe  that  was  born  last  week, 
that  ye  have  turned  out  o'  their  bits  o'  bields,  to  sleep  with  the  tod 
and  the  black-cock  in  the  muirs  !  — Ride  your  ways,  Ellangowan. — 
Our  bairns  are  hinging  at  our  weary  backs — look  that  your  braw 
cradle  at  hame  be  the  fairer  spread  up — not  that  I  am  wishing  ill  to 
little  Harry,  or  to  the  babe  that's' yet  to  be  born — God  forbid — and 
make  them  kinder  to  the  poor,  and  better  folk  than  their  father  ! — 


1  Francie  Macraw  in  The  Antiquary,  to  be  sure,  speaks  Aberdonian,  but 
that  exception  does  not  invalidate  the  general  rule. 

2  See,  for  example,  Edie's  views  on  the  duello,  The  Antiquary,  i.  295. 


470    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

And  now  ride  e'en  your  ways  ;  for  these  are  the  last  words  yell  ever 
hear  Meg  Merrilies  speak,  and  this  is  the  last  reise  that  I'll  ever  cut 
in  the  bonny  woods  of  Ellangowan  !  "  ' 

This  is  neither  "  languid,  inarticulate  twaddle,"  nor  yet  "  un- 
grammatical,  undramatic  rigmarole  "  ;  and  it  can  be  paralleled 
by  many  other  passages  in  Scott,  though  perhaps  it  is  sur- 
passed by  none,  unless  it  be  by  Jeanie  Deans's  apostrophe  to 
Queen  Caroline.2 

Finally  we  come  to  the  gravest  charge  of  all.  It  is  alleged 
that  Scott's  treatment  of  human  character  is  essentially  super- 
ficial ;  that  while  he  reproduces  the  outward  habit  and  external 
manners  of  his  personages,  he  fails  to  sound  the  depths  of  their 
inmost  nature  ;  and  that  consequently  his  claim  to  rank  along 
with,  or  not  far  below,  the  greatest  artists  of  the  world  cannot 
be  substantiated.  Hazlitt,  whose  praise  of  the  Waverley 
novels  is  otherwise  so  discriminating  and  so  generous  (con- 
sider what  it  must  have  cost  him  to  praise  the  work  of  so 
arrant  a  Tory  !)  complains  that  the  one  thing  lacking  to  Scott 
is  "  what  the  heart  whispers  to  itself  in  secret,  what  the 
imagination  tells  in  thunder."  Carlyle  puts  it  in  a  less  im- 
pressive way  when  he  makes  the  well-known  remark  that 
"  your  Shakespeare  fashions  his  characters  from  the  heart  out- 
wards ;  your  Scott  fashions  them  from  the  skin  inwards,  never 
getting  near  the  heart  of  them !  "  And  he  winds  up  his 
criticism  with  a  groan  :  "  Not  profitable  for  doctrine,  for 
reproof,  for  edification,  for  building  up  or  elevating  in  any 
shape  !  The  sick  heart  will  find  no  healing  here,  the  darkly 
struggling  heart  no  guidance :  the  Heroic  that  is  in  all  men  no 
divine  awakening  voice."  3  The  sentiment  has  been  echoed 
by  many  critics,  much  less  entitled  to  a  hearing,  who  prefer 
other  methods  and  conventions  to  those  of  Scott. 

1  Guy  Mamiering,  i.  79. 

2  The  critics  are  all  mightily  offended  at  the  Queen's,  "  This  is  elo- 
quence."    But  the  commentary  may  perhaps  be  forgiven  in  consideration 
of  its  truth. 

3  Carlyle,  Essays,  in  Works,  centenary  ed.,  vol.  xxix.  p.  22. 


SIR    WALTER   SCOTT  471 

Carlyle's  criticism  appears  to  resolve  itself  into  two  heads. 
With  regard  to  the  absence  from  Scott's  novels  of  a  didactic 
tendency  (using  the  word  didactic  in  its  highest  and  most 
complimentary  signification),  all  that  can  be  said  is,  that  you 
can  but  speak  of  a  book  as  you  find  it.  If  the  "  sick  "  or 
"  darkly  struggling  "  heart  can  find  no  medicament  in  Scott, 
that  organ  must  surely  be  past  all  healing;  if  "the  heroic 
that  is  in  all  men  "  overhears  from  his  lips  no  wakening  voice, 
its  slumbers  must  indeed  be  profound.1  Were  it  only  true 
that  the  perusal  of  those  works  of  fiction  has  succeeded  "  in 
amusing  hours  of  relaxation,  or  relieving  those  of  languor, 
pain,  or  anxiety,"  2  the  point  might  perhaps  be  waived.  As 
it  is,  each  man  must  abide  by  his  own  experience  ;  and  we 
are  not  ashamed  to  own  ourselves  of  the  Uncle  Adam  faction. 

On  the  second  branch  of  Carlyle's  contention  we  should 
be  happy  to  join  issue,  were  it  not  for  a  suspicion  that  the 
dispute  may  narrow  itself  down  into  a  wrangle  about  the 
true  method  in  fiction.  If  that  method  be  the  method  of 
Marivaux  ;  if  you  must  treat  your  characters  as  a  demonstrator 
in  anatomy  treats  his  subject ;  if  every  "  i  "  must  be  dotted 
and  every  "  t "  crossed  ;  then  there  is  no  more  to  be  said  for 
Scott  than  there  is  for  Fielding  or  for  Shakespeare.  If, 
however,  it  is  maintained  that  Scott's  method  is  perfectly 
consistent  with  a  profound  knowledge  of  human  nature,  but 
that  Scott  knew  not  how  to  employ  it,  because  his  knowledge 
was  defective,  I  venture  to  meet  that  proposition  with  a 
categorical  and  emphatic  denial.  There  are,  I  should  suppose, 
few  passages  in  any  literature  in  which  the  transition  stage 
from  youth  to  manhood  is  so  sympathetically  and  beautifully 
depicted  as  in  those  introductory  chapters  of  Waverley  which 

1  It  is  interesting  to  compare  Hazlitt  :  "  What  a  world  of  thought  and 
feeling   is  thus  rescued  from  oblivion  !     How  many  hours  of  heartfelt 
satisfaction   has   our  author  given  to  the  gay  and  thoughtless  !     How 
many  sad  hearts  has  he  soothed  in  pain  and  solitude  ! "     (Selections,  ed. 
Ireland,  1889,  p.  440.) 

2  Dedication  of  the  Opus  Magnum  to  George  IV. 


472    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

are  unanimously  (it  seems)  voted  "  dull "  ;  nor  many  in 
in  which  the  female  temperament  and  idiosyncrasy  are  more 
subtly  and  exquisitely  indicated  than  in  Rose  Bradwardine's 
letter  to  Edward  Waverley,  or  Diana  Vernon's  farewell 
to  Frank  Osbaldistone,  or  (on  a  somewhat  different  plane) 
Jeannie  Deans's  letters  to  Staunton,  to  her  father,  and  to 
Butler,  after  her  interview  with  the  Queen.  To  those  who 
argue  that,  because  Scott  declines  to  dwell  on  the  grimy  and 
squalid  side  of  human  life,  he  must  needs  have  been  an 
optimistic  ignoramus,  it  is  superfluous  to  give  any  elaborate 
answer.  We  know  that  Scott  had  found  out,  in  Hazlitt's 
felicitous  phrase,  that  "  facts  are  better  than  fiction,"  and  we 
remember  Mrs.  Heukbane's  reminiscences  of  her  youth  in 
The  Antiquary*-  and  bethink  us  how,  with  a  single  flourish  of 
his  wand,  the  Magician  produces  an  effect  which  the  modern 
"  realist "  would  have  toiled  after  in  vain,  expounding  through 
many  dreary  chapters  the  gallantries  of  a  small  provincial 
town.  But  we  are  prepared  to  make  a  "sporting"  con- 
cession. Let  us  hand  over  every  English-speaking  character 
to  the  enemy,  and  pin  our  faith  in  Scott  to  those  of  his 
creations  whose  language  is  more  or  less  the  old  speech  of 
Scotland. 

One  or  two  of  these  also  it  may  be  necessary  to  throw 
overboard.  I  had  rather  hold  no  brief  for  Caleb  Balder- 
stone,  nor  yet  for  Triptolemus  Yellowley,  though  his  sister 
Babbie  is  well  worth  a  certain  quantity  of  ink.  But  the 
rest,  from  Cosmo  Comyn  Bradwardine2  to  Jamie  Jinker, 

1  "Ah  !  lasses,  an  ye  had  kend  his  [Monkbarns's]   brother  as  I  did — 
mony  a  time  he  wad  slip  in  to  see  me  wi'  a  brace  o'  wild-deukes  in  his 
pouch,  when  my  first  gudeman  was  awa  at  the  Falkirk  tryst — weel,  weel 
— we'se  no  speak  o'  that  e'enow."     (The  Antiquary,  i.  205).     The  said 
brother,  it  will  be  remembered,  died  of  a  cold  contracted  "  while  shooting 
ducks  in  the  swamp  called  Kittlefittingmoss." 

2  It  was  apparently  fashionable  at  one  time  to  speak  of  Scott's  "  bores," 
and  to  include  in  that  category,  not  merely  the  excellent  Triptolemus,  but 
the  Baron,  Dominie  Sampson,  Major  Dalgetty,  Peter  Peebles,  and  Bartoline 
Saddletree,  to  say  nothing  of  Claud  Halcro,  whose  "  glorious  John  "  might 


WALTER   SCOTT  473 

the  horse-couper,  from  Dugald  Dalgetty  to  Mrs.  Glass,  the 
tobacconist,  from  Crystal  Croftangry  to  mine  host  Mac- 
kitchinson,  from  David  Deans  to  Andrew  Fairservice,  from 
Nicol  Jarvie  to  Jock  Jabos — are  they  not  all,  high  and 
low,  rich  and  poor,  gentle  and  simple,  friends  to  live  and 
die  for  (if  we  may  adapt  the  emphatic  phraseology  of 
Edward  Waverley)  ?  Balmawhapple,  Duncan  MacWheeble, 
Mrs.  Flockhart,  Dandie  Dinmont,  Mrs.  MacCandlish,  Mrs. 
Mailsetter,  Mrs.  Heukbane,  Mrs.  Shortcake,  Cuddie  Headrigg, 
Jenny  Dennison,  Alison  Wilson,  Richie  Moniplies,  Wee 
Benjie,  and  a  hundred  others — for  the  list  might  be  indefinitely 
extended — exhibit  Scottish  life  and  character  with  an  intimacy 
of  knowledge,  an  accuracy  of  detail,  and  a  breadth  of  sympathy, 
which  have  been  equalled  neither  before  nor  since.  Yet 
unrivalled  as  is  the  delineation  of  national  peculiarities,  still 
more  remarkable  is  the  grasp  of  human  nature  in  its  more 
general  aspects  which  elevates  Scott's  pictures  above  the  level 
to  which  the  merely  provincial  limner  is  capable  of  attaining. 
The  local  colour,  vivid  and  striking  as  it  is,  is  never  permitted 
to  obliterate  the  broad  and  firm  outlines  which  are  peculiar  to 
the  really  great  artist.  This  might  be  illustrated  by  a  dozen 
famous  episodes  in  which  the  particular  is  insensibly  merged 
in  the  universal.  We  might  appeal  to  the  funeral  of  Miss 
Margaret  Bertram  of  Singleside  in  Guy  Mannering,  and  to  the 
meeting  of  Mrs.  Mailsetter  and  her  gossips  in  The  Antiquary, 
two  scenes  in  which  Scott's  humour  has  always  been  admitted 
to  have  reached  its  highest  pitch.  Or  we  might  appeal  to  the 
death  of  old  Dumbiedykes,  and  to  the  interview  with  Queen 
Caroline,  in  The  Heart  of  Midlothian.  Or,  again,  we  might 
appeal  to  the  scene  at  the  blacksmith's  at  Cairnvreckan,  in 
Waverley,  or  to  the  Saturday  night  gathering  at  the  Gordon 
Arms  at  Kippletringan  in  Guy  Mannering,  or  to  the  Muckle- 
backit  portions  of  The  Antiquary.  But  we  shall  content 

have  saved  him  this  disgrace.  It  would  be  well  if  in  real  life  all  bores 
were  such  good  company  as  the  delinquents  we  have  named. 


474    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

ourselves  with  citing  three  comparatively  unnoticed  passages 
which  seem  to  display  all  Scott's  most  characteristic  qualities 
on  the  humorous  side. 

The  first  of  these  is  the  advice  of  Neil  Blane,  the  landlord 
of  the  "howff"  in  Old  Mortality,  to  his  daughter  :— 

"  .  .  .  '  The  dragoons  will  be  crying  for  ale,  and  they  wunna  want 
it,  and  maunna  want  it — they  are  unruly  chields,  but  they  pay  ane 
some  gate  or  other.  I  gat  the  humle-cow,  that's  the  best  in  the 
byre,  frae  black  Frank  Inglis,  and  Sergeant  Bothwell,  for  ten  pund 
Scots,  and  they  drank  out  the  price  at  ae  downsitting.' 

"  '  But,  father,'  interrupted  Jenny,  '  they  say  the  twa  reiving  loons 
drave  the  cow  frae  the  gude-wife  o'  Bell's-moor,  just  because  she 
gaed  to  hear  a  field-preaching  ae  Sabbath  afternoon.' 

" '  Whisht  !  ye  silly  tawpie,'  said  her  father,  '  we  have  naething  to 
do  how  they  come  by  the  bestial  they  sell — be  that  atween  them  and 
their  consciences.  Aweel,  take  notice,  Jenny,  of  that  dour,  stour- 
looking  carle  that  sits  by  the  cheek  of  the  ingle,  and  turns  his  back 
on  a'  men.  He  looks  like  ane  of  the  hill-folk,  for  I  saw  him  start  a 
wee  when  he  saw  the  red-coats,  and  I  jalouse  he  wad  hae  liked  to 
hae  ridden  by,  but  his  horse  (it's  a  gude  gelding)  was  ower  sair 
travailed  ;  he  behoved  to  stop  whether  he  wad  or  no.  Serve  him 
cannily,  Jenny,  and  with  little  din,  and  dinna  bring  the  sodgers  on 
him  by  speering  ony  questions  at  him  ;  but  let  na  him  hae  a  room 
to  himsell,  they  wad  say  we  were  hiding  him.  For  yoursell,  Jenny, 
ye'll  be  civil  to  a'  the  folk,  and  take  nae  heed  o'  ony  nonsense  and 
daffing  the  young  lads  may  say  to  ye.  Folk  in  the  hostler  line  maun 
put  up  wi'  muckle.  Your  mither,  rest  her  saul,  could  pit  up  wi1  as 
muckle  as  maist  women,  but  aff  hands  is  fair  play  ;  and  if  onybody 
be  uncivil  ye  may  gie  me  a  cry.  Aweel,  when  the  malt  begins  to 
get  aboon  the  meal,  they'll  begin  to  speak  about  government  in  kirk 
and  state,  and  then,  Jenny,  they  are  like  to  quarrel — let  them  be 
doing — anger's  a  drouthy  passion,  and  the  mair  they  dispute,  the 
mair  ale  they'll  drink  ;  but  ye  were  best  serve  them  wi'  a  pint  o' 
the  sma'  browst,  it  will  heat  them  less,  and  they'll  never  ken  the 
difference.' 

"  '  But,  father,'  said  Jenny,  '  if  they  come  to  lounder  ilk  ither,  as 
they  did  last  time,  suldna  I  cry  on  you  ? ' 

" '  At  no  hand,  Jenny,  the  redder  gets  aye  the  warst  lick  in  the  fray. 
If  the  sodgers  draw  their  swords,  ye'll  cry  on  the  corporal  and  the 
guard.  If  the  country  folk  tak  the  tangs  and  poker,  ye'll  cry  on  the 
bailie  and  town-officers.  But  in  nae  event  cry  on  me,  for  I  am 


SIR    WALTER   SCOTT  475 

wearied  wi'  doudling  the  bag  o'  wind  a'  day,  and  I  am  gaun  to  eat 
my  dinner  quietly  in  the  spence.  And  now  I  think  on't,  the  Laird 
of  Lickitup  (that's  him  that  was  the  laird)  was  speering  for  sma' 
drink  and  a  saut  herring — gie  him  a  pu'  by  the  sleeve,  and  round  into 
his  lug  I  wad  be  blithe  o'  his  company  to  dine  wi'  me ;  he  was  a  gude 
customer  anes  in  a  day,  and  wants  naething  but  means  to  be  a  gude 
ane  again — he  likes  drink  as  weel  as  e'er  he  did.  And  if  ye  ken  ony 
puir  body  o'  acquaintance  that's  blate  for  want  o'  siller,  and  has  far 
to  gang  name,  ye  needna  stick  to  gie  them  a  waught  o'  drink  and  a 
bannock — we'll  ne'er  miss't,  and  it  looks  creditable  in  a  house  like 
ours.  And  now,  hinny,  gang  awa',  and  serve  the  folk,  but  first  bring 
me  my  dinner,  and  twa  chappins  o'  yill  and  the  mutchkin  stoup  o' 
brandy.' "  * 

The  second  illustrates  the  modes  of  thought  and  speech 
of  the  laird  of  Ellangowan,  than  whom  there  are  few  more 
convincing  types  in  Scott's  crowded  gallery  : — 

"  '  Why,  Mr.  Mannering,  people  must  have  brandy  and  tea,  and 
there's  none  in  the  country  but  what  comes  this  way — and  then 
there's  short  accounts,  and  maybe  a  keg  or  two,  or  a  dozen  pounds 
left  at  your  stable  door,  instead  of  a  d d  lang  account  at  Christ- 
mas from  Duncan  Robb,  the  grocer  at  Kippletringan,  who  has  aye 
a  sum  to  mak  up,  and  either  wants  ready  money  or  a  short-dated 
bill.  Now,  Hatteraick  will  take  wood,  or  he'll  take  bark,  or  he'll 
take  barley,  or  he'll  take  just  what's  convenient  at  the  time.  I'll  tell 
you  a  good  story  about  that.  There  was  ance  a  laird — that's  Macfie 
of  Gudgeonford — he  had  a  great  number  of  kain  hens — that's  hens 
that  the  tenant  pays  to  the  landlord,  like  a  sort  of  rent  in  kind. 
They  aye  feed  mine  very  ill.  Luckie  Finniston  sent  up  three  that 
were  a  shame  to  be  seen  only  last  week,  and  yet  she  has  twelve 
bows  sowing  of  victual ;  indeed  her  good-man,  Duncan  Finniston 
— that's  him  that's  gone  (we  must  all  die,  Mr.  Mannering,  that's 
ower  true) — and  speaking  of  that,  let  us  live  in  the  meantime,  for 
here's  breakfast  on  the  table,  and  the  Dominie  ready  to  say  the 
gracL-.' 

"The  Dominie  did  accordingly  pronounce  a  benediction,  that 
exceeded  in  length  any  speech  which  Mannering  had  yet  heard 
him  utter.  The  tea,  which  of  course  belonged  to  the  noble  Captain 
Hatteraick's  trade,  was  pronounced  excellent.  Still  Mannering 
hinted,  though  with  due  delicacy,  at  the  risk  of  encouraging  such 


Old  Mortality,  vol.  i.  p.  283. 


476    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

desperate  characters  :  'Were  it  but  in  justice  to  the  revenue,  I 
should  have  supposed ' 

" '  Ah,  the  revenue  lads ' — for  Mr.  Bertram  never  embraced  a 
general  or  abstract  idea,  and  his  notion  of  the  revenue  was  per- 
sonified in  the  commissioners,  surveyors,  comptrollers,  and  riding 
officers  whom  he  happened  to  know — '  the  revenue  lads  can  look 
sharp  enough  out  for  themselves,  no  ane  needs  to  help  them,  and 
they  have  a'  the  soldiers  to  assist  them  besides  ;  and  as  to  justice, 
you'll  be  surprised  to  hear  it,  Mr.  Mannering,  but  I  am  not  a  justice 
of  the  peace.' 

"  Mannering  assumed  the  expected  look  of  surprise,  but  thought 
within  himself  that  the  worshipful  bench  suffered  no  great  depriva- 
tion from  wanting  the  assistance  of  his  good-humoured  landlord. 
Mr.  Bertram  had  now  hit  upon  one  of  the  few  subjects  on  which  he 
felt  sore,  and  went  on  with  some  energy — 

" '  No,  sir  ;  the  name  of  Godfrey  Bertram  of  Ellangowan  is  not  in 
the  last  commission,  though  there's  scarce  a  carle  in  the  country 
that  has  a  ploughgate  of  land,  but  what  he  must  ride  to  quarter 
sessions,  and  write  J.P.  after  his  name.  I  ken  fu'  weel  whom  I  am 
obliged  to.  Sir  Thomas  Kittlecourt  as  good  as  tell'd  me  he  would 
sit  in  my  skirts,  if  he  had  not  my  interest  at  the  last  election ;  and 
because  I  chose  to  go  with  my  own  blood  and  third  cousin,  the 
Laird  of  Balruddery,  they  keepit  me  off  the  roll  of  freeholders  ; 
and  now  there  comes  a  new  nomination  of  justices,  and  I  am  left 
out  !  And  whereas  they  pretend  it  was  because  I  let  David 
MacGuffog  the  constable  draw  the  warrants  and  manage  the 
business  his  ain  gate,  as  if  I  had  been  a  nose  o'  wax,  it's  a  main 
untruth ;  for  I  granted  but  seven  warrants  in  my  life,  and  the 
Dominie  wrote  every  one  of  them,  and  if  it  had  not  been  that 
unlucky  business  of  Sandy  MacGruthar's,  that  the  constables  should 
have  keepit  twa  or  three  days  up  yonder  at  the  auld  castle,  just  till 
they  could  conveniency  to  send  him  to  the  county  jail,  and  that  cost 
me  eneugh  o'  siller.  But  I  ken  what  Sir  Thomas  wants  very  weel. 
It  was  just  sic  and  siclike  about  the  seat  in  the  kirk  o'  Kilmagirdle. 
Was  I  not  entitled  to  have  the  front  gallery  facing  the  minister, 
rather  than  MacCrosskie  of  Creochstone,  the  son  of  Deacon 
MacCrosskie,  the  Dumfries  weaver  ? ' 

"  Mannering  expressed  his  acquiescence  in  the  justice  of  these 
various  complaints. 

"  '  And  then,  Mr.  Mannering,  there  was  the  story  about  the  road 
and  the  fauld-dike.  I  ken  Sir  Thomas  was  behind  there,  and  I  said 
plainly  to  the  clerk  to  the  trustees  that  I  saw  the  cloven  foot.  Let 
them  take  that  as  they  like.  Would  any  gentleman,  or  set  of 


SIR    WALTER   SCOTT  477 

gentlemen,  go  and  drive  a  road  right  through  the  corner  of  a 
fauld-dike,  and  take  away,  as  my  agent  observed  to  them,  like  twa 
roods  of  gude  moorland  pasture  ?  And  there  was  the  story  about 
choosing  the  collector  of  the  cess.' 

" '  Certainly,  sir,  it  is  hard  you  should  meet  with  any  neglect  in  a 
country  where,  to  judge  from  the  extent  of  their  residence,  your 
ancestors  must  have  made  a  very  important  figure.' 

"'Very  true,  Mr.  Mannering.  I  am  a  plain  man,  and  do  not 
dwell  on  these  things,  and  I  must  say  I  have  little  memory  for 
them  ;  but  I  wish  ye  could  have  heard  my  father's  stories  about 
the  auld  fights  of  the  MacDingawaies — that's  the  Bertrams  that 
now  is — wi'  the  Irish,  and  wi'  the  Highlanders  that  came  here  in 
their  berlings  from  Hay  and  Cantire,  and  how  they  went  to  the 
Holy  Land — that  is,  to  Jerusalem  and  Jericho — wi'  a'  their  clan  at 
their  heels — they  had  better  have  gaen  to  Jamaica,  like  Sir  Thomas 
Kittlecourt's  uncle — and  how  they  brought  hame  relics,  like  those 
that  Catholics  have,  and  a  flag  that's  up  yonder  in  the  garret.  If  they 
had  been  casks  of  Muscavado,  and  puncheons  of  rum,  it  would  have 
been  better  for  the  estate  at  this  day  ;  but  there's  little  comparison 
between  the  auld  keep  at  Kittlecourt  and  the  castle  o'  Ellangowan. 
I  doubt  if  the  keep's  forty  feet  of  front.  But  ye  make  no  breakfast, 
Mr.  Mannering ;  ye're  no  eating  your  meat.  Allow  me  to  recom- 
mend some  of  the  kipper.  It  was  John  Hay  that  cacht  it  Saturday 
was  three  weeks,  down  at  the  stream  below  Hempseed  ford,' 
&c.,  &c.,  &C.1 

Mrs.  Nickleby  is  good,  but  surely  Godfrey  Bertram  is  even 
better. 

Our  third  selection  is  the  merest  fragment  from  the  conver- 
sation of  the  little  party  which  is  winding  its  way  up  the 
West  Bow  from  the  Grassmarket  after  the  announcement  of 
Porteous's  reprieve  : — 

"  '  I'll  tell  ye  what  it  is,  neighbours,'  said  Mrs.  Howden,  '  I'll  ne'er 
believe  Scotland  is  Scotland  ony  mair,  if  our  kindly  Scots  sit  down 
with  the  affront  they  hae  gien  us  this  day.  It's  not  only  the  blude 
that  is  shed,  but  the  blude  that  might  hae  been  shed,  that's  required 
at  our  hands  ;  there  was  my  daughter's  wean,  little  Eppie  Daidle — 
my  oe,  ye  ken,  Miss  Grizzel — had  played  the  truant  frae  the  school 
as  bairns  will  do,  ye  ken,  Mr.  Butler ' 


1  Guy  Mannering,  vol.  i.  p.  48. 


4/8     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

"  '  And  for  which,'  interjected  Mr.  Butler,  '  they  should  be  soundly 
scourged  by  their  well-wishers.' 

" '  And  had  just  cruppen  to  the  gallows'  foot  to  see  the  hanging, 
as  was  natural  for  a  wean  ;  and  what  for  mightna  she  hae  been  shot  as 
weel  as  the  rest  o'  them,  and  where  wad  we  a'  hae  been  then  ?  I 
wonder  how  Queen  Carline  (if  her  name  be  Carline)  wad  hae  liked 
to  hae  had  ane  o'  her  ain  bairns  in  sic  a  venture  ? ' " J 

Dislocated  from  its  context,  this  snatch  of  dialogue  loses 
something  of  its  exact  propriety.  Yet  even  so  it  appears 
to  illustrate  that  touch  in  handling  character,  of  which 
Scott  alone  among  British  writers,  since  Shakespeare's  death, 
with  the  possible  exception  of  Fielding,  has  mastered  the 
secret: 

The  Waverley  novels  have  been  translated  into  most  foreign 
languages,  but  it  would  be  affectation  to  pretend  that  they  can 
be  rightly  appreciated  by  any  people  save  the  compatriots  of 
the  author.  For  every  Scot,  however,  they  are  a  complete 
guide  to  his  fellow-countrymen,  and  he  alone  can  testify  to 
its  correctness  and  sufficiency.  There  is  no  element  of  the 
esoteric  in  admiration  for  Scott.  His  genius,  so  wide  in  its 
scope,  so  benevolent  in  its  humanity,  makes  its  appeal  to 
quivis  ex  populo^  as  the  inimitable  Saddletree  would  say.2  Even 
injudicious  and  misplaced  praise  cannot  make  us  think  less  of 
him  ;  and  the  rhetoric  of  public  banquets  fails  to  vulgarise 
David  Deans  or  his  daughter  Jeanie.  Take  him  all  in  all, 
he  is,  perhaps,  the  greatest  unconscious  artist  in  literature  that 
the  world  has  seen  since  Homer.  Not  that  he  was  unaware 
when  his  day's  task  had  "  come  twangingly  off,"  but  that  he 
achieved  his  results,  both  in  poetry  and  prose,  with  rapidity 

1  The  Heart  of  Midlothian,  vol.  i.  p.  224. 

2  This  statement  must  be  qualified  by  the  observation  that  a  certain 
class   of    Scott's  characters  can  be  fully  enjoyed,   in  all  probability,  by 
the   members  of  only  one  profession.     To  extract  the  full  flavour  out 
of  MacWheeble,  Greenhorn  and  Grinderson,  Nichil   Novit,  Saddletree, 
Saunders  Fairford,  and  Peter  Peebles  is  a  privilege  reserved  for  the  Scots 
lawyer — some  might  be  bold  enough  to  say  for  the  Scots  advocate  ! 


SIR    WALTER   SCOTT 


479 


and  ease,  writing  "  as  the  spirit  moved  him  "  out  of  the  fulness 
of  an  overflowing  imagination,  with  no  pauses  for  the  discovery 
of  the  mot  propre,  or  for  the  elaboration  of  those  refinements  to 
which  a  more  self-conscious  artist  instinctively  turns.  His 
fame,  which,  perhaps,  suffered  a  slight  obscuration  during  the 
middle  of  the  Victorian  era,  has  once  more  emerged  into  the 
full  blaze  of  noonday  ;  and  the  opinion  of  competent  judges 
appears  to  be  gradually  tending  towards  the  view  which 
regards  him  as  the  most  conspicuous  and  important  figure  in 
the  annals  of  the  European  literature  of  the  nineteenth 
century. 


APPENDIX 


CHRONOLOGICAL  LIST  OF  SIR  WALTER  SCOTT'S  PRINCIPAL  WORKS 


1802-3.  The  Minstrelsy  of  the  Scot-     1819. 

lish  Border. 

1805.  The  Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel. 
1808.  Marmion. 

„      Edition  of  Dryden. 
1810.  The  Lady  of  the  Lake.  „ 

i8u.  The  Vision  of  Don  Roderick.     1820. 

1813.  Rokeby.  „ 

„      The  Bridal  of  Triermain.          1821. 

1814.  Edition  of  Swift.  „ 
„      Waverley.  „ 

1815.  The  Lord  of  the  Isles.  1822. 
„      Guy  Mannering.  1823. 

1816.  Paul's  Letters  to  his  Kins-        „ 

folk. 

„      The  Antiquary.  1824. 

„      Tales  of  My  Landlord,  ist     1825. 
series,     containing     the 
Black    Dwarf  and    Old 
Mortality.  1826. 

1817.  Rob  Roy. 

1818.  Tales  of  My  Landlord,  2nd        „ 

series,    containing     The     1827. 
Heart  of  Midlothian. 


Tales  of  My  Landlord,  3rd 
series,  containing  The 
Bride  of  Lammermoor 
and  A  Legend  of  Mont- 
rose. 

Ivanhoe. 

The  Monastery. 

The  Abbot. 

Lives  of  the  Novelists. 

Kenilworth. 

The  Pirate. 

The  Fortunes  of  Nigel. 

Peveril  of  the  Peak. 

Quentin  Durward. 

St.  Ronan's  Well. 

Redgauntlet. 

Tales  of  the  Crusaders,  com- 
prising The  Betrothed 
and  The  Talisman. 

The  Letters  of  Malachi 
Malagrowther. 

Woodstock. 

The  Life  of  Napoleon  Buona- 
parte. 


480    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 


1827.  Chronicles  of  the  Canongate, 

ist  series,  containing 
The  Highland  Widow, 
The  Two  Drovers,  and 
The  Surgeon's  Daughter. 
„  Tales  of  a  Grandfather,  ist 
series. 

1828.  Chronicles  of  the  Canongate, 

2nd    series,    containing 
The  Fair  Maid  of  Perth. 
„      Tales  of  a  Grandfather,  2nd 
series. 


1829.  Anne  of  Geierstein. 

,,      The  "  Opus  Magnum." 
„      Tales  of  a  Grandfather,  3rd 
series. 

1830.  Letters  on  Demonology  and 

Witchcraft. 

1831.  Tales  of  My  Landlord,  4th 

series,  containing  Count 
Robert  of  Paris  and  Castle 
Dangerous. 


CHAPTER    IX 

THE    RISE    OF     PERIODICAL     LITERATURE  :     THE     "  EDINBURGH 
REVIEW  "    AND    "  BLACKWOOD  " 

WHEN  we  turn  to  the  lesser  lights,  we  find  that  the  first 
thirty  years  of  the  nineteenth  century,  which  practically 
coincide  with  the  period  of  Scott's  literary  activity,  were 
characterised  by  extraordinary  productiveness  in  almost  every 
department  of  writing.  Poetry,  fiction,  theology  (or,  rather, 
the  composition  of  sermons),  political  economy,  metaphysics, 
and  the  study  of  antiquities,  had  their  enthusiastic  and  success- 
ful devotees.  History,  no  doubt,  had  declined  from  her  high 
estate  under  Hume  and  Robertson,  though  the  works  of 
Alexander  Fraser  Tytler  (1747-1813),  the  son  of  William 
(1711-92),  who  had  vindicated  Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  and 
Malcolm  Laing  (1762-1 8  iS),1  who  attacked  the  Ossian 
legend,  are  by  no  means  to  be  lightly  brushed  aside.  But, 
of  all  the  branches  of  literature,  there  was  none  which  attracted 
to  itself  a  more  remarkable  collection  of  ability  and  mental 
vigour  than  criticism,  and  what  may  be  called  the  higher 
journalism. 

Scotland  had  been  indifferently  well  provided  with  periodicals, 
of  every  description  then  known,  during  the  preceding  century. 

1  History  of  Scotland,  4  vols.,  1802. 

2H  48i 


482    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Mere  news  had  been  supplied  by  The  Edinburgh  Courant,  which, 
founded  in  1705,  continued  a  somewhat  chequered  existence 
down  to  1886,  and  by  the  Caledonian  Mercury  (1720),  which 
ultimately  came  to  be  merged  in  the  Scotsman.  The  Mercury 
was  for  some  time  printed  and  published  by  Thomas  Ruddi- 
man  (1674-1757), J  Hume's  predecessor  in  the  keepership  of 
the  Advocates'  Library,  whose  name  is  best  remembered  as  the 
author  of  those  Rudiments  of  the  Latin  tongue  (1714),  which 
until  a  comparatively  recent  date  formed  the  Scotch  school 
boy's  first  introduction  to  the  classics.  Such  journals,  it  need 
scarcely  be  said,  dependent  as  they  were  upon  the  press  of  the 
southern  metropolis  for  information  upon  politics,  foreign  and 
domestic,  were  no  very  great  things. 

Not  to  be  behind  the  age,  Edinburgh  had  had  its  Tatler, 
"  by  Donald  Macstaff  of  the  North  "  (said  to  be  the  work  of 
Robert  Hepburn  of  Bearford),  so  early  as  1711.  But  the  first 
really  noteworthy  periodical  to  have  any  connection  with 
literature  was  the  Scots  Magazine,  established  in  1739,  taken 
over  by  Constable  in  1800,  improved  and  furbished  up  (with 
the  aid  of  the  ex-editors  of  Blackwood]  in  1817,  and  finally 
defunct  after  the  financial  collapse  of  its  proprietor.  The 
Scots  Magazine  was  a  monthly,  modelled  upon  the  pioneer  of 
all  such  undertakings,  the  Gentleman 's,  and  no  small  portion  of 
its  contents  consisted  of  extracts  from  books,  and  from  publica- 
tions of  the  same  class  with  itself.  The  "  Exchanges  "  was 
indeed  as  indispensable  a  department  in  an  eighteenth-century 
magazine  as  it  is  in  any  far-west  newspaper  of  to-day.  More 
interesting,  and  probably  more  prosperous  while  it  lasted  (1768- 
1784),  was  The  Weekly  Magazine^  or  Edinburgh  Amusement^ 
founded  by  Walter  Ruddiman  (1719-81),  a  nephew  of  the 
grammarian,  and  proprietor  of  a  separate  printing  establishment 
from  his.  The  circulation  of  this  periodical  is  said  to  have 
reached  a  total  of  3,000,  and  the  miscellaneous  character  of  its 

1  See  The  Ruddimans  in  Scotland,  by  G.  H.  Johnston,  Edin.,  1901,  and 
the  review  of  that  work  in  the  Banffshire  Journal,  December  31, 1901. 


RISE   OF  PERIODICAL   LITERATURE    483 

bill  of  fare  no  doubted  attracted  even  more  readers  than  the 
fact  that  Robert  Fergusson  was  among  its  contributors.  On 
its  very  title-page,  the  Weekly  Magazine  professed  to  be  a  sort 
of  "  review  of  reviews,"  and  every  number,  starting  with  prose, 
original  and  selected,  proceeds  through  poetry,  to  that  tolerably 
full  chronicle  of  the  week,  which  at  length  brought  the  pub- 
lisher into  trouble  with  the  Inland  Revenue  authorities  for 
evading  the  newspaper  stamp  duty.  Neither  the  Scots  nor  the 
Weekly  Magazine  can  honestly  be  said  to  have  been  very  strong 
on  the  critical  side.  Their  efforts  in  this  direction  were  no 
improvement  upon  those  of  the  Critical  and  the  Monthly  in 
London  ;  and  the  short-lived  Edinburgh  Review  of  1755,  which 
we  have  already  dealt  with,  held  out  by  far  the  most  flattering 
promise  of  judicious  and  independent  reviewing.  But  nearly 
half  a  century  was  to  elapse  before  that  promise  was  fulfilled 
in  its  namesake. 

That  the  second  Edinburgh  Review,  with  whose  blue  cover 
and  yellow  back  we  are  all  familiar,  was  projected  in  Jeffrey's 
house,  up  three  or  four  flights  of  stairs,  in  Buccleuch  Place  ; 
that  Sydney  Smith  was  its  true  begetter  ;  that  the  editorship 
was  originally  in  commission  ;  that  the  first  number  appeared 
on  October  10,  1802  ;  and  that  its  success  was  instantaneous  ; 
are  facts  which  at  this  time  of  day  need  only  be  repeated  by 
way  of  formality.  In  addition  to  Smith  and  Jeffrey,  Francis 
Horner,  John  Archibald  Murray,  Henry  Brougham,  Thomas 
Brown,  and  Thomas  Thomson,  were  privy  to  the  inception  of 
the  venture  ;  of  whom  all  became  contributors,  though  Brown, 
resenting  editorial  interference,  soon  withdrew  his  assistance. 
The  little  band  of  projectors  embraced  men  of  varying  ability, 
but  of  the  same  cast  of  opinion  ;  if  disposed  to  admire  one 
another,  they  were  at  least  unprejudiced  (save  by  political  or 
theological  bias)  in  their  views  of  current  literature  ;  and 
(what  perhaps  told  most  strongly  in  favour  of  independent 
judgment  and  good  work)  a  rule  was  laid  down  from  the  very 
beginning  that  all  contributions,  without  exception,  were  to  be 


484    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

paid  for,  and  that  upon  a  liberal  scale.1  To  enable  this  principle 
to  be  carried  into  effect,  it  was  necessary  to  find  an  enlightened 
and  enterprising  publisher  ;  and  that  publisher  was  forthcoming 
in  the  person  of  the  most  striking  figure  in  the  annals  of  "the 
trade  "  in  Scotland. 

There  had  been  enterprising  enough  publishers,  or  book- 
sellers, in  Edinburgh  before.  The  names  of  Creech,  Bell, 
Bradfute,  Donaldson,  and  especially  Elliot  (all  enumerated 
and  discussed  in  Constable's  extremely  interesting  note  appended 
to  volume  i.  of  his  Correspondence)  were  in  their  day  synony- 
mous with  uprightness,  sagacity,  and  strict  attention  to 
business.  But  Archibald  Constable  (1774-1 827)2  ^ar  excelled 
all  his  predecessors  and  contemporaries  in  the  scope  of  his  native 
abilities  (for  to  education  he  owed  not  much)  as  well  as  in  the 
range  and  magnitude  of  his  ambition.  Rarely  has  such  a 
combination  been  seen  of  the  sanguine  and  the  prudent  tem- 
perament ;  and  although  his  ultimate  failure  would  seem  to 
point  to  the  predominance  of  the  former,  his  nickname,  "The 
Crafty,"  leaves  no  doubt  that  the  latter  made  at  least  an  equally 
strong  impression  upon  all  who  were  brought  into  contact  with 
him.  Cockburn  describes  him  as  "  the  most  spirited  book- 
seller that  had  ever  appeared  in  Scotland  "  ;  3  and  Scott  thus 
sums  up  his  character  :  "  He  was  a  prince  of  booksellers  ;  4  his 
views  sharp,  powerful  and  liberal  ;  too  sanguine,  however,  and, 
like  many  bold  and  successful  schemers,  never  knowing  when 
to  stand  or  stop,  and  not  always  calculating  his  means  to  his 
objects  with  mercantile  accuracy.  He  was  very  vain,  for 
which  he  had  some  reason,  having  raised  himself  to  great 

1  See  on   this   point  Sydney  Smith's  excellent  letter  to   Constable   in 
Cockburn's  Life  of  Jeffrey,  vol.  i.  p.  134.     This  laudable  practice  was  also 
conformed  to  by  the  Quarterly  and  Blackwood. 

2  See  Archibald  Constable  and  his  Literary  Cot  respondents  by  his  son, 
T.    Constable,    3   vols.,   Edin.,  1873.      Consult   also   Lockhart's    Life    of 
Scott,  passim.  3  Life  of  Jeffrey,  i.  133. 

•*  While  in  "the  trade"  Murray  was  the  Emperor,  and  the  Longmans 
the  Divan,  Constable  was  the  Czar  of  Muscovy. 


RISE   OF  PERIODICAL   LITERATURE    485 

commercial  eminence,  as  he  might  also  have  attained  great 
wealth  with  good  management.  He  knew,  I  think,  more  of  the 
business  of  a  bookseller  in  planning  and  executing  popular  works 
than  any  man  of  his  time"  x  The  most  remarkable  of  all  his 
conceptions  was  the  projected  Miscellany,  of  the  disclosure 
of  which  to  Scott  Loclchart  has  given  so  graphic  a  descrip- 
tion.2 It  is  no  small  testimony  to  his  breadth  of  view  that, 
having  for  twenty  years  of  unprecedented  and  uninterrupted 
success,  been  the  publisher  of  a  series  of  poems  in  quarto  at 
two  guineas,  and  of  novels  in  three  or  four  volumes  at  half 
a  guinea  apiece,  he  should  have  realised  that  "  the  trade  was  in 
its  cradle,"  and  that  a  fortune  awaited  the  publisher  who  should 
venture  to  bring  good  literature  (in  the  shape  of  half-crown  or 
three  shilling  volumes)  within  the  reach  of  every  one.  The 
scheme,3  owing  to  Constable's  bankruptcy,  never  fulfilled  the 
expectations  entertained  of  it.  The  "  Napoleon  of  the  realms 
of  print  "  had  a  hatred  of  accounts  and  balance  sheets.  And 
so  he  went  down  in  the  financial  crisis  of  1825—6,  having  ever 
been  heedless  of  Deacon  Jarvie's  great  maxim — that  you  should 
never  put  out  your  arm  further  than  you  are  sure  of  being 
able  to  draw  it  back.  Such  was  the  publisher  of  the  Edinburgh 
Review,  a  work  to  which,  with  many  faults,  belongs  the  credit 
of  having  raised  the  standard  of  periodical  literature  to  a  height 
never  before  dreamt  of,  and  since  pretty  constantly  sustained. 

The  direction  of  the  Edinburgh  rested,  from   1803  to  1829, 
with  Francis  Jeffrey  (i773-i85o),4  "the  greatest,"  according 

1  Journal,  vol.  ii.  p.  n.     On  p.  12  ;/.  will  be  found  an  interesting  note 
vindicating  Constable's  judgment  of  literary  property,  if  not  his  prudence. 

2  Life  of  Scott,  ut  sup.,  p.  548. 

3  Scott  pronounced  it    "the   cleverest  thing  that  ever   came  into  that 
cleverest  of  all  bibliopolic  heads."    Lockhart  to  Constable,  in  Constable's 
Correspondence,  vol.  iii.  p.  306. 

4  Life  and  Correspondence,  by  Lord  Cockburn,  2  vols.  1852.     The  life, 
which  occupies  the  first  volume,  is  not  broken  up  into  chapters,  nor  does 
it  boast  an  index  !     The  greatest  of  critics  has  been  frequently  criticised  : 
by  none  more  fairly  or  to  better  purpose   than    by   Mr.   Saintsbury   in 
Essays  in  English  Literature,  1780-1860  (1890). 


486    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

to  his  biographer,  "  of  British  critics,"  and  certainly  among  the 
greatest  of  British  editors.  Jeffrey  was  the  son  of  one  of  the 
Depute-clerks  of  Session  ;  and  was  educated  at  the  High 
School  of  Edinburgh,  the  College  of  Glasgow  (where  his 
father  would  not  permit  him  to  attend  Professor  Millar's 
lectures)  and,  for  the  space  of  one  Academic  year,  at  Queen's 
College,  Oxford,  which  he  hated.  He  was  admitted  to  the 
Scottish  bar  in  1794,  and,  though  he  attached  himself  to  what 
for  long  was  the  losing  side  in  politics,  became  in  time  one 
of  the  busiest  and  most  successful  members  of  that  branch  of 
the  legal  profession.  His  style  of  pleading,  and  the  cha- 
racteristics of  his  oratory,  which  was  extraordinarily  voluble 
and  rapid  in  delivery,  are  minutely  described  in  Peter  s  Letters. 
He  was  elected  Dean  of  Faculty  in  1829  (when  he  abandoned 
his  editorial  chair),  was  appointed  Lord  Advocate  on  the 
accession  of  his  party  to  power  in  1831,  and  was  raised  to  the 
Bench  in  1834. 

The  political  views  of  Jeffrey  and  of  the  Edinburgh  while 
under  his  control,  might  be  summarised  by  a  cynic,  with  some 
truth,  as  "  distrust  of  the  people  tempered  with  fear."  He 
was  haunted  by  a  constitutional  pessimism  or  timidity,  which 
occasionally  reached  the  pusillanimous.  No  politician  was 
ever  a  greater  slave  to  the  word  "  inevitable."  He  believed, 
during  the  long  French  war,  that  Napoleon  was  certain  to 
win,  and  he  "  hankered  after  peace "  chiefly,  as  he  owns, 
"  out  of  fear  and  out  of  despair." 1  Between  him  and 
Brougham  equally  must  be  divided  the  credit  or  discredit  of 
the  article  on  Don  Pedro  Cevallos  which  was  the  signal  for 
the  final  alienation  of  his  Tory  contributors  (including  Scott) 
and  the  establishment  of  the  Quarterly  Review.2  Defenders 
may  not  be  wanting  for  Jeffrey's  political  opinions,  but  few, 

1  Life,  vol.  i.  p.  194.     "My  honest  impression  is,"  he  writes  to  Horner  in 
1808,  "that  Bonaparte  will  be  in  Dublin  in  about  fifteen  months,  perhaps 
sooner."     He  had  "  put  his  money  on  the  wrong  horse." 

2  The  article  appeared  in  the  Edinburgh  for  October,  1808.     For  the 
last  word  on  its  authorship,  see  Macvey  Napier's  Correspondence,  p.  308  n. 


RISE   OF  PERIODICAL   LITERATURE    487 

probably,  will  absolve  him  of  all  blame  for  the  needlessly 
flippant  tone  which  his  Review  habitually  adopted  in  discussing 
questions  of  religion.  On  this  matter,  though  not  in  the 
article  of  politics,  the  Whig  reviewers  continued,  and 
exaggerated,  the  tradition  of  the  "  moderate "  school  of 
thinkers  in  the  eighteenth  century. 

The  list  of  Jeffrey's  contributions  to  the  Edinburgh  embraces 
no  fewer  than  two  hundred  articles  on  a  great  variety  of 
topics.1  In  his  youth  he  had  been  a  voracious  reader,  an 
assiduous  commentator,  an  indefatigable  abstractor  ;  and  there 
were  few  topics  on  which  he  was  unwilling  to  pronounce  with 
a  considerable  share  of  self-confidence.  "  Cocksureness "  is 
one  of  the  notes  of  his  writing,  as  indeed  it  is  of  the  work 
of  his  staff — "  cocksureness,"  and  the  species  of  rationalism 
which  regards  as  inherently  ridiculous  whatever  cannot  be 
explained  in  a  couple  of  sentences.  Essential  superficiality 
consequently  vitiates  those  of  his  essays  in  which  depth  of 
thought  is  not  to  be  compensated  by  scrupulous  lucidity  of 
expression.  Many  subsequent  critics  have  imitated  Jeffrey 
in  this  fault,  and  have  moreover  aped  too  sedulously  his  more 
obtrusive  tricks  of  manner — his  affectation  of  the  judicial 
character,  his  implicit  claim  to  a  superiority  of  information  only 
stopping  short  of  omniscience.  They  have  been  less  solicitous 
to  study  his  virtues,  and,  while  reproducing  his  hardness  and 
want  of  charm,  have  entirely  failed  to  surprise  the  secret  of 
his  clean-cut  and  vivacious  prose.  Perhaps  the  only  thing  of 
his  composition  in  which  the  gift  of  clear  and  pointed  writing 
deserted  him  is  his  inscription  for  the  foundation  stone  of  the 
Scott  Monument,2  which  compares  very  unfavourably  with 
any  of  the  recognised  masterpieces  in  this,  a  very  special  and 
difficult,  kind. 

That    Jeffrey    was    ever    unconsciously    influenced    in    his 

1  See  Cockburn's  Life,  vol.  i.  p.  419.  A  selection  made  by  himself, 
containing  most  of  his  best  stuff,  was  published  in  4  vols.  1843  ;  reprinted, 
I  vol.  1853.  2  Life,  vol.  i.  p.  374. 


488     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

literary  criticism  by  party  passion  it  might  be  rash  to  deny  ; 
that  he  was  ever  so  consciously  influenced  it  would,  I  believe, 
be  wholly  unwarrantable  to  affirm.1  His  age  was  one  in 
which  party  feeling  ran  high  ;  and  the  first  inquiry  of  the 
average  reviewer  seems  generally  to  have  been  whether  the 
author  at  the  bar  was  a  Whig  or  a  Tory.  He  certainly  was 
not  exempt  from  the  prejudice  that  a  Whig  is  probably  a 
good  man,  and  a  Tory  generally  a  bad  one.  But  he  holds 
that  comforting  doctrine  with  nothing  like  the  fervour  with 
which  his  excellent  biographer,  Lord  Coclcburn,  clung  to  it. 
The  Memorials  (1856)  and  the  Journal  (1874)  of  Henry 
Cockburn  ( 1779-1854),  invaluable  though  they  are  as  social 
documents,  constitute  the  most  perfect  expression  of  that 
complacent  and  self-satisfied  frame  of  mind  which,  at  various 
periods,  has  marked  the  party  of  "  progress,"  and  has  caused 
the  enemy  to  blaspheme  with  uncommon  heartiness.  The 
notice  of  Marmion  will  naturally  be  cited  as  an  instance  in 
which  Jeffrey  sacrificed  considerations  of  literary  taste  and 
personal  friendship  to  political  partisanship.  In  that  light  it 
was  regarded  at  the  time.2  But,  deplorable  as  this  perform- 
ance was,  I  see  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  criticism  was 
written  in  perfect  good  faith,  and  that  the  writer  was  no  more 
consciously  animated  by  illegitimate  motives  than  he  was 
when  he  perpetrated  the  rest  of  his  celebrated  faux  pas. 

Every  schoolboy  in  these  days  of  "  general  knowledge  "  has 
those  unlucky  blunders  at  his  fingers'  ends.  He  can  gibe  at 
the  prediction  that  the  fame  of  Rogers  and  Campbell  would 
outlive  that  of  Shelley  and  Byron,  and  wax  warm  over  "  This 
will  never  do  !  "  though  he  might  be '  hard  put  to  it  to 

1  There  is  no  trace   in   Jeffrey's  Life  or   correspondence,  so  far  as   I 
am  aware,  of  the  "see-if-I-don't-give-the-varlet's-jacket-a-dusting  "  tone. 

2  "The  critique  on  Marmion  is  so  improper  that  it  seems  to  divulge  a 
secret  hitherto  unknown,  that  the  editor  of  the  first  literary  journal  in 
Britain  is  capable  of  being  seduced  by  temporary  political  motives  to 
betray  the  cause  of  good  sense  and  taste."     (John  Murray  to  Constable,  in 
the  Correspondence  of  the  latter,  vol.  i.  p.  277.) 


RISE   OF  PERIODICAL   LITERATURE    489 

explain  why  posterity  has  decided  that  the  Excursion  will  do. 
No  critic  in  steady  practice  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and 
more,  can  hope  to  avoid  pronouncing  some  judgments  which 
future  generations  are  certain  to  regard  as  wrong-headed  and 
even  outrageous.  Perhaps  Jeffrey  pronounced  more  than  his 
fair  share  of  such  judgments,  and  certainly  he  pronounced  them 
in  an  extremely  dogmatic,  aggressive,  and  irritating  manner. 
The  attempt  to  justify  them  has  indeed  for  some  time  been 
abandoned.  It  is  no  better  excuse  for  them,  that  they  repre- 
sented at  the  time  a  large  body  of  public  opinion,  than  that, 
when  the  century  was  half  way  through,  Lord  Cockburn 
seems  to  have  suspected  nothing  wrong  with  them.  What 
may  reasonably,  however,  be  said  for  Jeffrey  is,  that  it  was 
his  minor,  not  his  major,  premise,  that  was  amiss,  and  that  he 
went  astray  not  so  much  in  his  general  principles  of  criticism 
as  in  his  application  of  them  to  particular  cases. 

If  we  could  apply  to  Jeffrey's  Contributions  the  method 
which  Boswell  desired  to  have  applied  to  Johnson's  Lives, 
and  could  digest  them  into  a  critical  code,  we  should  find  the 
root-principle  of  the  Edinburgh  reviewer  to  be  this,  that 
literature  is  an  art.  It  follows  that  in  literature  there  must 
be  the  careful  adaptation  of  form  to  matter  ;  in  other  words, 
that  you  cannot  hope  to  turn  out  good  literature  by  the 
haphazard  employment  of  the  commonplace  and  promiscuous 
vocabulary  and  diction  of  every-day  life.  It  was  loyalty  to 
this  fundamental  axiom  which,  as  we  conceive  the  matter, 
set  Jeffrey  up  in  arms  against  Wordsworth,  who  certainly 
had  propounded  heretical  doctrine  on  the  point  in  no 
ambiguous  language.  Jeffrey  could  never  rid  himself  of  the 
notion  that  Wordsworth's  practice  must  necessarily  square 
with  his  theory.  He  failed  to  make  allowances  for  the 
inconsistency  of  human  nature,  and  he  attacked  the  Excursion 
full  of  the  preconceived  idea  that,  being  Wordsworth's,  it  must 
be  constructed  upon  principles  which  imply  the  very  negation 
of  all  ordered  art  whatever.  That,  upon  reading  the  work, 


490    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

he  ought  to  have  abandoned  such  an  idea  is  true.  It  is  also 
true  that  in  Marmion  he  should  have  been  eager  to  welcome 
a  new  form  at  least  as  artistic  as  any  of  the  older  forms  in 
which  his  aesthetic  theories  found  their  (to  him)  most  congenial 
expression.  He  did  not  approach  Burns  with  any  such  precon- 
ception, as  the  following  extract  demonstrates  : — 

"  One  other  remark  is  of  a  more  general  application,  and  is  addressed 
to  the  followers  and  patrons  of  that  new  school  of  poetry  against 
which  we  have  made  it  our  duty  to  neglect  no  opportunity  of  testifying. 
Those  gentlemen  are  outrageous  for  simplicity,  and  we  beg  leave  to 
recommend  to  them  the  simplicity  of  Burns.  He  has  copied  the 
spoken  language  of  passion  and  affection  with  infinitely  more  fidelity 
than  they  have  ever  done,  on  all  occasions  which  properly  admitted 
of  such  adaptation.  But  he  has  not  rejected  the  helps  of  elevated 
language  and  habitual  associations,  nor  debased  his  composition  by 
an  affectation  of  babyish  interjections  and  all  the  puling  expletives 
of  an  old  nursery-maid's  vocabulary.  They  may  look  long  among 
his  nervous  and  manly  lines  before  they  find  any  '  Good  lacks  ! ' 
'  Dear  hearts  ! '  or  '  As  a  body  may  says'  in  them  ;  or  any  stuff 
about  dancing  daffodils  and  sister  Emmelines.  Let  them  think  with 
what  infinite  contempt  the  powerful  mind  of  Burns  would  have 
perused  the  story  of  Alice  Fell  and  her  duffle  coat,  of  Andrew  and 
the  half-crown,  or  of  little  Dan  without  breeches,  and  his  thievish 
grandfather.  Let  them  contrast  their  own  fantastical  personages  of 
hysterical  schoolmasters  and  sententious  leechgatherers  with  the 
authentic  rustics  of  Burns's  Cottar's  Saturday  Night  and  his  inimi- 
table songs,  and  reflect  on  the  different  reception  which  those 
personifications  have  met  with  from  the  public.  Though  they  will 
not  be  reclaimed  from  their  puny  affectations  by  the  example  of  their 
learned  predecessors,  they  may,  perhaps,  submit  to  be  admonished 
by  a  self-taught  and  illiterate  poet,  who  drew  from  Nature  far  more 
correctly  than  they  can  do,  and  produced  something  so  much  liker  the 
admired  copies  of  the  masters  whom  they  have  abjured."  J 

Why  could  he  not  approach  the  "stampmaster  "  with  as  open 
a  mind  ?  But  it  is  unjust  to  brand  him  as  a  blockhead  or 
a  Philistine.  The  zeal  of  his  house  had  eaten  him  up  ;  and 
his  admiration  of  deliberate  design  in  literary  art  led  him  to 

1  Jeffrey,  Essays,  vol.  ii.  p.  421. 


RISE   OF  PERIODICAL   LITERATURE    491 

look  with  too  favourable  an  eye  upon  the  merely  artificial. 
As  Mr.  Saintsbury  has  pointed  out,  he  has  a  French- 
man's devotion  to  the  "  classical "  ideals,  combined  with  a 
Frenchman's  devotion  to  sentiment  of  a  somewhat  crude 
and  primitive  kind.  What  he  admired  in  Dickens,  as  his 
letters  testify,  was  not  the  Gamps,  and  the  Moulds,  and  the 
Squeerses,  but  the  little  Nells  and  the  Paul  Dombeys — 
especially  their  deathbeds. 

It  is  easy,  then,  to  vilipend  Jeffrey  as  a  critic,  for  his  weak- 
nesses are  manifest,  and  he  assuredly  makes  no  pretence  to  being 
more  "  sympathetic  "  than  he  is.  We  cannot  compare  him 
as  a  master  of  criticism  either  with  Scott  or  with  his  other 
contributor,  Hazlitt.  Yet,  though  he  bestowed  much  pains 
upon  the  attempt  to  dissemble  it,  the  root  of  the  matter  was  in 
him.  And  even  if  he  makes  no  special  appeal  to  a  reader 
of  the  present  day,  when  more  lenient  standards  than  the 
yudex  damnator  are  thought  to  become  a  critic — even  if  we 
perversely  refuse  to  learn  anything  from  what  he  has  to  say 
about  Richardson,  or  Swift,  or  Burns — we  may,  at  all  events, 
be  entertained  for  one  while  by  his  unflagging  spirits.  There 
is  something  invigorating  in  the  freshness  and  "  gusto " 
which  distinguish  all  his  work.  Decades  of  incessant  review- 
ing left  him  not  jaded,  nor  petulant,  nor  "  stale."  He  comes 
to  his  task  as  buoyant,  as  gay,  as  well  primed  with  ideas,  as 
keenly  interested  in  the  game,  as  if  he  were  a  young  fellow  in 
the  Speculative  commencing  critic.  Of  no  man  could  that  be 
said  whose  love  for  literature  was  not  sincere  and  profound. 
The  following  passage,  excerpted  from  one  of  his  most  vigorous 
essays,  may  convey  some  slight  idea  of  his  inextinguishable 
vivacity  : — 

"  By  this  time  he  [Warburton]  seems  to  have  passed  over 
from  the  party  of  the  Dunces  to  that  of  Pope;  and  proclaimed 
his  conversion  pretty  abruptly  by  writing  an  elaborate  defence  of 
the  Essay  on  Man  from  some  imputations  which  had  been  thrown 
on  its  theology  and  morality.  Pope  received  the  services  of  this 


492     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

voluntary  champion  with  great  gratitude  ;  and  Warburton,  having 
discovered  that  he  was  not  only  a  great  poet  but  a  very  honest 
man,  continued  to  cultivate  his  friendship  with  very  notable 
success.  For  Pope  introduced  him  to  Mr.  Murray,  who  made 
him  preacher  at  Lincoln's  Inn,  and  to  Mr.  Allen  of  Prior  Park, 
who  gave  him  his  niece  in  marriage,  obtained  a  bishopric  for 
him,  and  left  him  his  whole  estate.  In  the  meantime,  he  published 
his  Divine  Legation  of  Moses — the  most  learned,  most  arrogant, 
and  most  absurd  work  which  had  been  produced  in  England 
for  a  century — and  his  editions  of  Pope  and  Shakespeare,  in  which 
he  was  scarcely  less  outrageous  and  fantastical.  He  replied  to 
some  of  his  answerers  in  a  style  full  of  insolence  and  brutal 
scurrility,  and  not  only  poured  out  the  most  tremendous  abuse  on 
the  infidelities  of  Bolingbroke  and  Hume,  but  found  occasion 
also  to  quarrel  with  Drs.  Middleton,  Lowth,  Jortin,  Leland,  and 
indeed  almost  every  name  distinguished  for  piety  and  learning  in 
England.  At  the  same  time  he  indited  the  most  high-flown  adula- 
tion to  Lord  Chesterfield,  and  contrived  to  keep  himself  in  the  good 
graces  of  Lord  Mansfield  and  Lord  Hardwicke  ;  while  in  the  midst 
of  affluence  and  honours  he  was  continually  exclaiming  against  the 
barbarity  of  the  age  in  rewarding  genius  so  frugally,  and  in  not 
calling  in  the  civil  magistrate  to  put  down  fanaticism  and  infidelity. 
The  public,  however,  at  last  grew  weary  of  these  blustering  novelties. 
The  bishop,  as  old  age  stole  upon  him,  began  to  doze  in  his  mitre, 
and  though  Dr.  Richard  Hurd,  with  the  true  spirit  of  an  underling, 
persisted  in  keeping  up  the  petty  traffic  of  reciprocal  encomiums, 
yet  Warburton  was  lost  to  the  public  long  before  he  sunk  into 
dotage,  and  lay  dead  as  an  author  for  many  years  of  his  natural 
existence."  T 

Jeffrey's  wittiest  and  most  useful  lieutenant  on  the 
Edinburgh  was  Sydney  Smith,  who  falls  outside  our  province  ; 
but  his  most  energetic  and  troublesome  assistant,  Henry  Peter 
Brougham  (1778—  r868),2  though  a  Cumbrian  by  extraction, 
was  born  in  Edinburgh,  could  count  Principal  Robertson  for 
his  great-uncle,  and  is  therefore  entitled  to  some  notice  here. 
From  the  Scottish,  Brougham  proceeded  to  the  English  Bar, 

1  Jeffrey,  Essays,  vol.  iv.  p  339. 

2  Lord  Brougham's  Autobiography,  3  vols.,  1871,  is  far  from  trustworthy, 
and  may  be  corrected  by  Lord  Campbell's  account  of  him  in  the  Lives  of 
the  Lord  Chancellors,  vol.  viii.  p.  213. 


RISE   OF  PERIODICAL   LITERATURE    493 

at  which  his  greatest  forensic  triumphs  were  achieved.  When 
the  Whigs  returned  to  power  for  the  first  time  after  many 
years,  he  was  raised  to  the  woolsack,  but  the  experiment  was 
not  repeated  during  that  party's  subsequent  terms  of  office.  In 
truth,  the  many  valuable  qualities  which  Brougham  possessed 
were  vitiated  by  an  almost  maniacal  vanity.  No  public  man 
made  himself  so  consistently  ridiculous  during  a  considerable 
tract  of  time  than  he  ;  and  no  contributor  can  ever  have  laid 
a  heavier  burden  upon  his  editor  than  was  imposed  by  his 
preposterous  jealousy  and  sensitiveness  upon  Jeffrey  and 
his  successor.  He  regarded  himself  as  indispensable  to  the 
success  of  the  Edinburgh  (he  is  said  to  have  written  the 
whole  of  one  number,  much  as  Mrs.  Oliphant  at  a  later 
date  was  said  to  have  written  an  entire  number  of  Black- 
wood]  ;  and  the  picture  of  his  relations  with  Macaulay  fur- 
nished by  Macvey  Napier's  Correspondence  is  exquisitely 
diverting.  His  contributions  to  the  Edinburgh  were  collected 
by  himself  in  three  volumes  in  1856.  But  his  speeches1  are 
better  reading  than  his  essays,  and  superior  to  either  are  his 
Historical  Sketches  of  Statesmen  in  the  Time  of  George  III.,  2 
in  which  his  disagreeable  characteristics  are  kept  well  in 
the  background. 

Of  the  original  Edinburgh  reviewers,  none  was  more 
respected  in  his  own  department  and  in  his  own  day  than 
Thomas  Brown  (1778-1820),  the  Dr.  Brown  whom  Mr. 
John  Mill  invariably  mentions  with  so  much  deference  and 
ceremony  in  his  Examination  of  Sir  William  Hamilton's 
Philosophy.  Brown,  though  the  joint  occupant  with  Dugald 
Stewart  of  the  chair  of  Moral  Philosophy  in  the  University  of 
Edinburgh,  was  by  no  means  a  disciple  of  the  Scotch  school 
of  thought,  but  leant  rather  to  empiricism.  He  published 
some  Observations  on  the  Nature  and  Tendency  of  the  Doctrine  of 
Mr.  Hume  (1804),  in  which,  while  justifying  the  great 
sceptic's  view  of  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect,  he 
1  4  vols.  1838-45.  2  6  vols.,  1839-45. 


494    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

endeavoured  to  prove  that  it  did  not  necessarily  lead  to  scepti- 
cism. But,  though  he  abandoned  the  line  which  had  found 
most  adherents  in  Scotland  for  the  preceding  quarter  of  a 
century,  he  was  faithful  to  the  academic  tradition  of 
"  eloquence,"  of  which  we  have  already  had  occasion  to 
speak. 

In  regard  to  the  Edinburgh,  Brown's  importance  lies  less  in 
his  actual  co-operation,  which,  as  we  have  explained,  was  brief, 
than  in  the  fact  that  he  is  typical  of  the  attitude  of  the  Univer- 
sity to  the  new  venture.  To  say  nothing  of  Dugald  Stewart, 
who  gave  practical  as  well  as  moral  support,  the  more  outstand- 
ing members  of  the  Academic  section  of  Edinburgh  society 
were  in  sympathy  with  the  Review.  John  Playfair  (1748- 
1819),  John  Leslie  (1766-1832),  both  successively  professors 
of  Mathematics  and  Natural  Philosophy,  and  Sir  David 
Brewster  (1781-1868),  the  inventor  of  the  kaleidoscope  and 
the  stereoscope,  and  long  afterwards  Principal  of  the  College 
(1859-68),  were  men  of  high  respectability,  and  were,  or 
had  been  in  their  day,  men  of  conspicuous  talent.  All  were 
in  sympathy  with  this  new  movement,  and  it  is  easy  to  see  how 
much  weight  the  sympathy  of  such  learned  and  estimable  men 
must  necessarily  have  carried. 

To  Chalmers,  who  wrote  in  the  Edinburgh  while  the  century 
was  yet  young,  we  shall  have  occasion  to  return.  Of  Thomas 
Thomson  (1768-1852)  it  must  suffice  to  state  that  he  was  one  of 
the  most  learned  antiquaries  of  his  age,  and  that  to  his  industry 
and  research  is  due  the  authoritative  edition  of  the  Scots  Acts 
of  Parliament  begun  (with  volume  ii.)  in  1814  and  brought  to  a 
successful  conclusion  in  twelve  volumes,  folio,  in  1875.  John 
Ramsay  M'Culloch  (1789-1864),  who  began  to  contribute 
to  the  Edinburgh  in  1818,  enjoyed  a  far  wider  celebrity  than 
Thomson,  though  it  may  be  questioned  if  it  rested  upon  an 
equally  solid  foundation.  He  published  his  Principles  of 
Political  Economy  in  1825,  and  his  Essay  on  the  Circumstances 
which  determine  the  rate  of  wages  and  the.  condition  of  the  labouring 


RISE  OF  PERIODICAL   LITERATURE    495 

classes  in  the  following  year ;  and  he  edited  the  works  of 
David  Ricardo  in  1846.  He  belonged  to  the  most  orthodox 
sect  of  the  economists,  and  his  writings  were  consequently  in 
great  request  at  one  time  as  vehicles  of  instruction  in  that 
"  science."  But  fashions  change  ;  economic  orthodoxy 
is  something  blown  upon,  and  the  umqhuil  editor  of  the 
Scotsman  (for  M'Culloch  presided  over  that  newly-founded 
journal  from  1818  to  1827)  has  ceased  to  represent  any  one 
of  the  numerous  factions  which  now  wrangle  over  one  of  the 
most  chaotic  and  elusive  branches  of  human  knowledge. 

These,  then,  were  among  the  chief  Scotsmen  z  who  fought 
under  the  banner  which  Jeffrey,  on  demitting  office,  handed 
on  to  Macvey  Napier  (1776— 1847),2  a  writer  to  tne  signet 
and  the  first  occupant  of  the  chair  of  Conveyancing  founded  by 
his  Society.  Napier  had  won  his  spurs,  not  only  as  a  writer  in 
the  Review^  but  also  as  the  editor  of  the  Supplement  (1814- 
23)  to  the  sixth  edition  of  the  Encyclopedia  Britannica^ 
which  will  always  be  remarkable  as  one  of  the  most  signal 
proofs  of  the  enterprise,  munificence,  and  sagacity  of  "  The 
Crafty."  Napier  had  also  been  hotly  engaged  on  the  Whig 
side  in  some  of  the  most  desperate  conflicts  of  party  warfare, 
and  the  pamphlet,  Hypocrisy  Unveiled  (1818),  which  attacked 
Wilson  and  Lockhart  with  extreme  violence,  is  believed  to 
have  come  from  his  pen.  But  his  reign  over  the  Edinburgh^ 
though  it  tolerated  no  departure  from  "plain  Whig  principles," 

1  Francis  Horner  (1789-1817),  though  blameless  in  personal  character, 
is  not  of  sufficient  importance  from  a  literary  point  of  view  to  require 
extended     notice.     Thomas    Babington    Macaulay    (1800-59),   the   most 
brilliant  of  Jeffrey's  recruits,  savours  little  of  the  nationality  to  which  by 
descent  he  belonged  ;  nor  is  there  aught  so  distinctively  Scottish   about 
that  excellent  Whig  and  man,  Sir  James  Mackintosh  (1765-1832),    as   to 
entitle  him  to  much  room  in  these  pages. 

2  Selections  from  the   Correspondence   of  the  late  Macvey  Napier,  Esq., 
ed.  by  his  son,  1879. 

3  The  first  edition  of  this  celebrated  work,  appeared  in  3  volumes,  1768- 
71,  under  the  auspices  of  Andrew  Bell,  Colin  Macfarquhar,  and  William 
Smellie.     Napier  also  edited  the  seventh  edition  (1830-42). 


496    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

was  not  distinguished,  or  disgraced,  by  any  exaggerated  out- 
burst of  political  fanaticism  or  acrimony.  Nay,  in  some 
respects  he  may  be  said  to  have  changed  the  tone  of  the 
periodical  for  the  better  ;  and  the  acceptance  and  publication 
of  Sir  William  Hamilton's  famous  review  of  Cousin  in  the  first 
number  for  which  he  was  responsible  (Oct.,  iSiQ),1  may  be 
taken  to  mark  the  abandonment  of  the  tradition  of  unseason- 
able flippancy  as  applied  to  matters  of  high  and  abstruse 
thought. 

If  it  be  true  that  the  fame  of  Brougham  has  been  singularly 
transient  considering  his  great  abilities,  the  remark  is  almost 
equally  applicable  to  that  of  Sir  William  Hamilton  (1788- 
i856).2  No  man  displayed  greater  promise  in  youth,  first  at 
Glasgow  College,  and  afterwards  at  Balliol,  where  he  held  the 
Snell  exhibition,  and  from  which  he  departed  with  a  "  first  in 
Greats."  He  made  little,  to  be  sure,  of  the  Bar,  which  he 
chose  for  a  profession  on  his  return  to  Scotland.  But  when 
Wilson  was  preferred  before  him  to  the  chair  of  Moral  Philo- 
sophy in  Edinburgh  on  Dr.  Brown's  death,  it  must  have  been 
almost  as  plain  then,  as  it  is  now,  that  the  better  man  had 
been  passed  over. 3  His  reputation  was  enhanced  by  the 
articles  which  he  wrote  for  the  Edinburgh,  notably  by  those 
on  University  Reform,  and  his  election  to  the  Professorship 
of  Logic  and  Metaphysics  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh  in 
1836  was  hailed  with  general  applause,  and  was  regarded  as 
a  tardy  reparation  to  depressed  merit  of  no  common  order. 
His  learning  was  exceptionally  wide  and  profound  ;  and, 
though  he  was  a  little  too  apt  to  project  schemes  which  came 

1  Jeffrey  declared  this  article  to  be  "  beyond  all  doubt  the  most  unread- 
able thing  that  ever  appeared  in  the  Review."   (Napier,  Correspondence,  p.  70.) 

2  Discussions,   3rd   ed.,   1866 ;  Lectures  on  Metaphysics  and  Logic,   ed. 
Mansel  and  Veitch,  4  vols.,  1858-60  ;  Memoir  by  Veitch,  1869.     See  also 
J.  S.  Mill,  Examination  of  Sir  William  Hamilton's  Philosophy,  5th  ed., 
1878. 

3  Politics,  it  need  scarcely  be  said,  were  at  the  bottom  of  an  appoint- 
ment which  may  be  paralleled,  though  not  justified,  by  many  similar 
performances  of  the  town  council  during  the  Whig  regime. 


RSSE   OF  PERIODICAL   LITERATURE    497 

to  nothing,  his  habits  were  marked  by  method  and  industry. 
As  a  professor  he  was  a  great  success,  commanding  in  all  cases 
the  attention  and  respect,  and  in  not  a  few  the  enthusiastic  devo- 
tion, of  his  pupils.  His  favourite  doctrines  were  championed  by 
one  of  the  ablest  metaphysicians  who  adorned  Oxford  during 
the  century,  and  denounced  by  one  of  the  feeblest  logicians 
that  ever  attempted  to  reason  accurately.  Yet  now,  there 
is  scarce  a  Hamiltonian  in  the  land.  He  is  repudiated  with 
zeal  alike  by  empiricists  and  *  neo-Hegelians.  His  influence 
is  imperceptible  in  modern  thought  ;  and  there  is  no  sign 
that  the  wheel  of  fashion  will  bring  even  a  modified  form  of 
his  system  into  vogue  again.  Wherein,  then,  lies  the  secret 
of  the  eclipse  of  this  once  brilliant  luminary  ? 

We  may  suspect,  in  the  first  place,  that  much  of  the  repu- 
tation which  he  enjoyed  during  his  lifetime  was  due  to  a 
commanding  and  distinguished  personality.  His  appearance 
was  eminently  imposing,  and,  though  few  fragments  of  his 
conversation  have  been  preserved,  it  is  clear  from  his 
biography  that  he  was  a  striking  and  authoritative  talker. 
But  we  may  be  certain,  in  the  second  place,  that  the  almost 
repellent  style  in  which  most  of  his  speculations  were  clothed 
has  militated  strongly  against  the  permanency  of  his  fame. 
Here  the  very  extent  of  his  erudition  told  against  him.  The 
flow  of  his  speech  is  constantly  interrupted  by  an  appropriate 
quotation  from  some  obscure  schoolman  or  illustrious  poet.1 

1  A  striking  contrast  to  Sir  W.  Hamilton's  methods  is  afforded  by  the 
work  of  George  Combe  (1718-1847),  Mr.  Cobden's  favourite  philosopher, 
and  an  apostle  of  phrenology.  His  Constitution  of  Man  (1828)  consists  of 
propositions  which  would  now  be  generally  admitted  in  theory,  and  some- 
times regarded  in  practice  :  as,  that  you  should  take  great  care  of  your 
health,  and  be  very  particular  as  to  the  lady  whom  you  marry.  But  even 
the  existence  of  an  ad  hoc  Combe  Trust  has  failed  to  supply  Combe's 
memory  with  enough  salt  to  keep  it  sweet.  He  illustrates  the  contem- 
porary appetite  for  hard  and  solid  facts,  catered  for  otherwise  by  works 
popularising  the  discoveries  of  astronomical  science,  such  as  those  of 
Mrs.  Mary  Somerville  (1780-1872),  and  John  Pringle  Nichol  (1804-59), 
Professor  of  Astronomy  at  Glasgow. 

2  I 


498    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

It  may  all  have  sounded  very  well  from  the  professor's  own 
lips,  but  it  is  not  easy  reading  in  the  closet.  Some  allowance 
must  perhaps  be  made  for  the  complicated  and  technical  nature 
of  his  subject  matter.  Yet,  if  Mansel  could  expound  the 
"  philosophy  of  the  unconditioned  "  in  a  strain  of  highly 
animated  and  impressive  rhetoric,  there  seems  no  good  reason 
for  supposing  that  Hamilton  would  necessarily  have  sacrificed 
clearness  and  order  by  being  a  little  less  harsh  and  a  little  more 
attractive.  From  a  purely  literary  point  of  view  he  is,  perhaps, 
at  his  best  in  the  tract *  which  he  contributed  to  the  non- 
intrusion controversy,  yet  even  there  he  rises  to  no  very  lofty 
heights.  It  is  undesirable  that  loose  thinking  should  be  disguised 
in  rodomontade,  and  Hamilton  did  a  good  day's  work  when  he 
substituted  accurate  teaching  for  vague  and  empty  declamation 
in  his  class-room  ;  but  few  spectacles  are  more  agreeable  than 
that  of  philosophy  walking  hand-in-hand  with  literature.  It  is 
high  time  for  us  now,  however,  to  retrace  our  steps,  more 
especially  as,  after  Napier's  time,  the  headquarters  of  the 
Edinburgh  were  transferred  to  London,  whence  they  have 
not  yet  been  shifted  again  to  the  north. 

In  1809,  as  we  have  mentioned,  the  Quarterly  Review  was 
established,  under  the  editorship  of  Gifford,  for  the  express 
purpose  of  rivalling  the  Edinburgh.  This  function  it  per- 
formed to  admiration,  and  in  the  new  periodical  the  Tory 
party  was  able  to  point  to  a  voice  which  spoke  with  no  less 
authority  on  matters  of  taste  and  learning  than  that  of  the 
opposite  side.  In  Edinburgh  itself,  however,  the  supremacy 
of  the  original  Review  remained  unshaken.  It  was  still  the 
organ  of  enlightenment  as  opposed  to  prejudice  ;  of  progress 
as  opposed  to  stagnation  ;  of  sanguine  youth  as  opposed  to 
dull  middle  age  ;  of  cleverness  as  opposed  to  stupidity.  To 
differ  from  the  Edinburgh  was  to  sin  against  the  light,  to 
proclaim  one's  self  a  boor,  to  be  "  behind  the  age."  In  short, 
the  "  blue-and-yellow,"  thanks  partly  to  its  academic  following, 
1  Be  not  Schismatics,  be  not  Martyrs  by  Mistake,  Edin.,  1843. 


RISE   OF  PERIODICAL   LITERATURE    499 

was  invested  with  that  halo  of  "  culture,"  which  is  so  valuable 
an  item  in  the  assets  of  such  a  publication.  But  haloes,  after 
all,  are  composed  of  unsubstantial  material ;  and  the  ineffable 
self-satisfaction  in  which  the  conductors  and  the  admirers  of 
the  Edinburgh  basked,  was  destined,  before  the  end  of  another 
decade,  to  receive  a  rude  and  disagreeable  shock. 

William  Blackwood  (1776-1834) x  was  a  bookseller  and 
publisher,  who,  commencing  business  in  a  very  small  way, 
had  worked  himself  into  a  position  in  "  the  trade "  in 
Edinburgh  second  only  to  that  of  Constable.  He  had  published 
the  first  series  of  the  Tales  of  My  Landlord  for  Scott,  or  rather 
for  "  the  author  of  Waverley " ;  2  he  was  the  correspondent 
and  ally  of  John  Murray  ;  and  his  shop,  No.  1 7,  Princes 
Street — the  first  of  its  kind  to  be  opened  in  the  new  town — 
was  the  resort  of  all  who  professed  to  take  an  interest  in 
literature.  The  description  of  the  saloon  and  its  master  in 
Peter 's  Letters  will  bear  reproduction  once  again  : — 

"  The  length  of  vista  presented  to  one  on  entering  the  shop  has 
a  very  imposing  effect ;  for  it  is  carried  back,  room  after  room, 
through  the  various  gradations  of  light  and  shadow,  till  the  eye 
cannot  trace  distinctly  the  outline  of  any  object  in  the  furthest 
distance.  First,  there  is  as  usual  a  spacious  place  set  apart  for 
retail  business,  and  a  numerous  detachment  of  young  clerks  and 
apprentices,  to  whose  management  that  important  department  of 
the  concern  is  intrusted.  Then  you  have  an  elegant  oval  saloon, 
lighted  from  the  roof,  where  various  groups  of  loungers  and 
literary  dilettanti  are  engaged  in  looking  at,  or  criticising  among 
themselves,  the  publications  just  arrived  by  that  day's  coach  from 
town.  In  such  critical  colloquies,  the  voice  of  the  bookseller  him- 
self may  ever  and  anon  be  heard  mingling  the  broad  and 


1  See    William    Blackwood  and    His  Sons,  by  Mrs.   Oliphant,  2  vols. 
Edin.,  1897,  a  most  valuable  contribution  to  the  literary  history  of  the 
nineteenth  century. 

2  It  will  be    remembered    how    the  connection   between   Scott  and 
Blackwood  was  severed,  owing  to  the  interest  taken  by  the  latter  in  the 
literary  side  of  his  business.     Lockhart,  Life  of  Scott,  p.  335  ;  William 
Blackwood  and  His  Sons,  vol.  i.  pp.  69  ct  seq. 


500     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

unadulterated  notes  of  the  Auld  Reekie  music ;  for,  unless  occupied 
in  the  recesses  of  the  premises  with  some  other  business,  it  is  here 
that  he  has  his  usual  station.  He  is  a  nimble,  active-looking  man  of 
middle  age,  and  moves  about  from  one  corner  to  another  with  great 
alacrity,  and  apparently  under  the  influence  of  high  animal  spirits. 
His  complexion  is  very  sanguineous,  but  nothing  can  be  more 
intelligent,  keen,  and  sagacious,  than  the  expression  of  the  whole 
physiognomy  ;  above  all,  the  grey  eyes  and  eyebrows,  as  full  of 
locomotion  as  those  of  Catalani.  The  remarks  he  makes  are  in 
general  extremely  acute — much  more  so  indeed  than  those  of  any 
member  of  the  trade  I  ever  heard  speak  upon  such  topics." 

We  may  venture  to  anticipate  a  little  and  continue  the 
quotation  : — 

"  The  shrewdness  and  decision  of  the  man  can,  however,  stand  in 
need  of  no  testimony  beyond  what  his  own  conduct  has  afforded, 
above  all,  in  the  establishment  of  his  Magazine  (the  conception  of 
which,  I  am  assured,  was  entirely  his  own),  and  the  subsequent 
energy  with  which  he  has  supported  it  through  every  variety  of 
good  and  evil  fortune.  It  would  be  very  unfair  to  lay  upon  his 
shoulders  any  portion  of  the  blame  which  particular  parts  of  his 
book  may  have  deserved  ;  but  it  is  impossible  to  deny  that  he  is 
well  entitled  to  a  large  share  in  whatever  merit  may  be  supposed  to 
be  due  to  the  erection  of  a  work  founded,  in  the  main,  upon  good 
principles,  both  political  and  religious,  in  a  city  where  a  work  upon 
such  principles  must  have  been  more  wanted,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
more  difficult,  than  in  any  other  with  which  I  am  acquainted. 

"  After  I  had  been  introduced  in  due  form,  and  we  had  stood  for 
about  a  couple  of  minutes  in  this  place,  the  bookseller  drew  Mr. 
Wastle  aside,  and  a  whispering  conversation  commenced  between 
them,  in  the  course  of  which,  though  I  had  no  intention  of  being 
a  listener,  I  could  not  avoid  noticing  that  my  own  name  was  fre- 
quently mentioned.  On  the  conclusion  of  it  Mr.  Blackwood 
approached  me  with  a  look  of  tenfold  kindness,  and  requested  me 
to  walk  with  him  into  the  interior  of  his  premises — all  of  which,  he 
was  pleased  to  add,  he  was  desirous  of  showing  to  me.  I  of  course 
agreed,  and  followed  him  through  various  turnings  and  windings 
into  a  very  small  closet,  furnished  with  nothing  but  a  pair  of  chairs 
and  a  writing-table.  We  had  no  sooner  arrived  in  this  place,  which, 
by  the  way,  had  certainly  something  very  mysterious  in  its  aspect, 
than  Mr.  Blackwood  began  at  once  with  these  words  :  '  Well,  Dr. 
Morris,  have  you  seen  our  last  Number  ?  Is  it  not  perfectly 


RISE   OF  PERIODICAL   LITERATURE     501 

glorious  ? — My  stars,  Doctor,  there  is  nothing  equal  to  it  !  We 
are  beating  the  Reviews  all  to  nothing — and,  as  to  the  other 
Magazines,  they  are  such  utter  trash.'  To  this  I  replied  shortly 
that  I  had  seen  and  been  very  much  amused  with  the  last  number 
of  his  Magazine,  intimating,  however,  by  tone  of  voice  as  well  as 
of  look,  that  I  was  by  no  means  prepared  to  carry  my  admiration 
quite  to  the  height  he  seemed  to  think  reasonable  and  due.  He 
observed  nothing  of  this,  however  ;  or,  if  he  did,  did  not  choose 
that  I  should  see  that  it  was  so.  '  Dr.  Morris  ! '  said  he,  '  you  must 
really  be  a  contributor.  We've  a  set  of  wild  fellows  about  us  ;  we 
are  in  want  of  a  few  sensible,  intelligent  writers,  like  you,  sir,  to 
counterbalance  them ;  and  then  what  a  fine  field  you  would  have 
in  Wales — quite  untouched — a  perfect  Potosi.  But  anything  you 
like,  sir,  only  do  contribute.  It  is  a  shame  for  any  man  that  dislikes 
vvhiggery  and  infidelity  not  to  assist  us.  Do  give  us  an  article, 
Doctor.'  "  l 

William  Blackwood,  then,  being  a  good  Tory,  and  being 
likewise  ambitious  of  emulating  Constable,  the  proprietor  and 
publisher  of  the  Edinburgh  Review,  established  in  April,  1817, 
the  Edinburgh  Monthly  Magazine,  under  the  joint  editorship 
of  Thomas  Pringle  (1789-1834)  and  James  Cleghorn 
(1778-1838),  both  of  whom,  by  a  curious  coincidence, 
"  skipped  upon  staves,"  or,  in  plain  English,  were  lame. 
The  Magazine,  during  the  opening  months  of  its  existence, 
grievously  disappointed  the  sanguine  expectations  of  its 
originator.2  Its  contents  were  eminently  commonplace  ;  the 
greatest  deference  was  paid  to  Whig  authority  ;  and  the 
venture  held  out  no  prospect  of  pecuniary  success.  A  change 
had  to  be  made  ;  the  editors  were  informed  that  the  periodical 
would  terminate  with  No.  6  ;  they  transferred  their'  services 
to  Constable  ;  and  in  October,  1817,  appeared  the  first 
number  of  Blackwood's  Edinburgh  Magazine — quantum  mutatus 
ab  illo  !  It  is  only  necessary  to  compare  Pringle  and 

1  From  Peter's  Letters,  vol.  ii.  p.  187. 

2  Lockhart's  language  in  the  extract  siipra  is  sufficiently  emphatic  and 
unambiguous    to   negative    Hogg's   characteristic  claim    to   being   "the 
beginner  and  almost   sole   instigator"   of   the  Magazine.      See   Hogg's 
Memoir  prefixed  to  The  Mountain  Bard,  3rd  ed.,  1821. 


502     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Cleghorn's  production  with  the  other  to  realise  how 
mediocrity  had  given  place  to  pre-eminent  talent ;  how  the 
fumbling  amateur  had  been  superseded  by  journalists  with 
a  grasp  of  "actuality"  and  of  their  business.  The  con- 
tributors to  the  new  series  of  the  Magazine  were  young 
and  inexperienced  ;  but  they  created  a  profound  sensation. 
The  opening  number  under  the  new  regime  was  assuredly 
not  dull.  It  contained  a  violent  attack  on  Coleridge,  now 
known  to  be  Wilson's,  and  the  first  of  a  series  of  pungent 
articles  on  the  Cockney  school  of  poetry,  suspected  of  being 
Lockhart's.  But  what  set  Edinburgh  in  a  blaze  was  the 
Translation  from  an  Ancient  Chaldee  Manuscript^  bearing  to 
be  "preserved  in  the  Library  of  Paris  (Salle  2nd,  No.  53, 
B.A.M.M.)."  Few  literary  jeux  a" esprit  have  had  such  a 
startling  success.  It  was  a  declaration  of  war  to  the  knife 
against  the  Whigs,  and  Whigs  and  weak-kneed  Tories  alike 
were  aghast  at  the  boldness  of  the  unexpected  attack.1  Read 
without  the  key  to  its  meaning,  and  without  a  proper  under- 
standing of  the  circumstances  of  the  time,  the  Chaldee  Manu- 
script must  seem  dull  except  in  so  far  as  it  is  scurrilous.  But 
the  key  is  now  readily  accessible,  and  he  must  indeed  be 
unversed  in  the  literary  history  of  the  period  who  has  still 

1  It  may  be  convenient  to  cite  Maga's  Apologia,  as  contained  in  the 
preface  to  vol.  xi.,  and  leave  the  reader  to  judge  of  its  validity  :  "  The 
simple  truth  of  the  affair  lies  in  a  nutshell.  For  a  series  of  years  the 
Whigs  in  Scotland  had  all  the  jokes  to  themselves.  They  laughed  and 
lashed  as  they  liked  : — and  while  this  was  the  case,  did  anybody  ever  hear 
them  say  that  either  laughing  or  lashing  were  (sic)  among  the  seven  deadly 
sins  ?  People  said  at  times,  no  doubt,  that  Mr.  Jeffrey  was  a  more 
gentlemanly  Whip  than  Mr.  Brougham,  that  Sydney  Smith  grinned  more 
good-humouredly  than  Sir  James  Mackintosh,  and  so  forth  ;  but  all  these 
were  satirists,  and  strange  to  say,  they  ALL  then  rejoiced  in  the  name. 
Indeed,  take  away  the  merit  of  clever  satire  from  most  of  them,  and  they 
shrink  to  pretty  moderate  dimensions.  Is  Mr.  Jeffrey  a  Samuel  Johnson  ? 
Is  Mr.  Brougham  an  Edmund  Burke  ?  Is  Sir  James  Mackintosh  a  Gibbon  ? 
These  men  were  all  satirists,  it  is  true ;  but  their  fame  does  not  rest 
altogether  on  satire. — Q.E.D."  It  may  be  mentioned  that  Tail's  Edinburgh 
Magazine,  founded  in  1832  in  the  advanced  liberal  interest  by  William  Tait 
(1793-1864),  a  well-known  bookseller  and  publisher,  expired  in  1846. 


RISE   OF  PERIODICAL   LITERATURE     503 

to  learn  that  "  the  man  who  was  crafty  "  is  Constable  ;  that 
"  the  man  clothed  in  plain  apparel,  whose  name  was  as  it  had 
been  the  colour  of  ebony,"  is  Blackwood ;  that  "  the  Scorpion 
who  delighteth  to  sting  the  faces  of  men  "  is  Lockhart ;  that 
"  the  great  wild  Boar  from  the  forest  of  Lebanon  "  is  Hogg  ; 
and  that  "  the  beautiful  Leopard  from  the  valley  of  the  palm- 
tree,  whose  going  forth  was  comely  as  the  greyhound,  and  his 
eyes  like  the  lightning  of  fiery  flame,"  was  Wilson.  The  best 
passage  in  the  piece  is  probably  the  account  of  the  plain  man's 
visit  to  Scott  in  search  of  assistance,  which  is  identical,  word 
for  word,  with  the  narrative  of  "  the  Crafty's "  visit  to 
Abbotsford  on  the  same  errand  :• — 

"  44.  Then  spake  the  man  clothed  in  plain  apparel  to  the  great 
magician  who  dwelleth  in  the  old  fastness,  hard  by  the  river  Jordan, 
which  is  by  the  Border.  And  the  magician  opened  his  mouth,  and 
said,  Lo  !  my  heart  wisheth  thy  good,  and  let  the  thing  prosper  which 
is  in  thy  hands  to  do  it. 

"  45.  But  thou  seest  that  my  hands  are  full  of  working,  and  my 
labour  is  great.  For  lo  I  have  to  feed  all  the  people  of  my  land, 
and  none  knoweth  whence  his  food  cometh,  but  each  man  openeth 
his  mouth,  and  my  hand  filleth  it  with  pleasant  things. 

"46.  Moreover,  thy  adversary  also  is  of  my  familiars. 

"  47.  The  land  is  before  thee,  draw  thou  up  thy  hosts  for  the  battle 
in  the  place  of  Princes,  over  against  thine  adversary,  which  hath  his 
station  near  the  mount  of  the  Proclamation ;  quit  ye  as  men,  and 
let  favour  be  shewn  unto  him  which  is  most  valiant. 

"48.  Yet  be  thou  silent,  peradventure  will  I  help  thee  some 
little."  < 

The  least  excusable  passage  in  the  Manuscript  is  the  refer- 
ence to  Sir  John  Graham  Dalyell  (1775-1851),  who  had  edited 
a  volume  of  old  Scottish  poems  (1801),  and  whose  claim  of 
damages  for  slander  Blackwood  settled  extrajudicially  rather 
than  go  into  Court.  But  every  one  was  up  in  arms  against 
the  audacity  and  licence  of  the  new  periodical.  Mackenzie 
and  Tytler  both  desired  that  the  Magazine  might  no  longer 

1  Blackwood's  Magazine,  vol.  ii.,  p.  91. 


504    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

be  supplied  to  them.  The  hubbub  was  deafening  ;  and  the 
offending  article  was  withdrawn  from  the  second  edition  of  the 
number  which  it  had  so  materially  assisted  to  sell.  What 
Black  wood  suffered  over  the  Manuscript ;,  however,  was  but  a 
foretaste  of  what  he  was  to  endure  for  several  years  to  come. 
His  "  young  men  "  were  incorrigible,  though  Lockhart,  at 
least,  professed  the  most  correct  sentiments,  and  deprecated  the 
extravagances  of  party  in  Peter's  Letters  and  in  the  very  pages 
of  the  Magazine  itself.  Mr.  Blackwood  exercised  a  good  deal 
of  editorial  supervision.  He  could  put  his  foot  down  upon 
occasion,  and  refuse  admittance  to  something  especially  out- 
rageous. But  his  chief  contributors  led  him  a  pretty  dance,  his 
remonstrances  were  frequently  disregarded,  and  the  only  drop 
of  consolation  in  his  cup  was  supplied  by  the  rapid  and 
consistent  growth  of  "  ma  Maga  "  (as  he  is  said  to  have  been 
in  the  habit  of  calling  it)  in  popular  favour. 

Throughout  these  years  of  stress  and  anxiety — years  in 
which  duels  and  actions  for  slander  were  constantly  in  the 
air — the  publisher  was  splendidly  loyal  to  his  contributors. 
Never  did  he  disclose  the  identity  of  the  author  of  any  article  ; 
and  the  difficulty  of  detecting  a  writer  was  enhanced  by  an 
elaborate  system  of  mystification  carried  on  with  the  aid 
of  pseudonyms.  Mr.  Wastle,  Dr.  Sternstare,  Baron  von 
Lauerwinkel,  and  Ensign  O'Doherty,  were  mythical  person- 
ages who  did  not  always  represent  the  same  human  being.  It 
would  be  rash  to  assume  that  the  three  first  were  always 
Lockhart  ;  and  we  know  that  the  last  was  originally  Captain 
Hamilton,  and  afterwards  Maginn.  The  system,  in  short,  of 
the  Magazine  was  that  most  attractive  and  piquant  species  of 
anonymity  which  allows  of  an  article  being  attributed  by  the 
intelligent  public  to  two  or  three  out  of  several  well-known 
hands,  but  precludes  the  possibility  of  absolutely  precise  identi- 
fication. None  knew  at  the  time  who  was  responsible  for 
which  verse  of  the  Chaldee  Manuscript;  and  no  one  knows  now. 
Hogg  pretends  to  have  suggested  it,  and  his  claim,  for  once, 


505 

may  pass.  Wilson  and  Lockhart  were,  in  all  likelihood,  the 
authors  of  the  best  parts  of  it.  Sir  William  Hamilton  is  said 
to  have  composed  one  verse,  at  the  cost  of  an  immoderate  fit 
of  laughter.  But  we  cannot  say,  this  was  Hogg's,  this  was 
Wilson's,  this  was  Lockhart's,  and  so  on.  It  was  a  joint- 
production  ;  finished,  probably,  tv  avfjuroaiq.  Even  so  we 
cannot  trace,  if  it  were  worth  while  to  try,  the  author- 
ship of  those  daring  articles  in  subsequent  numbers  which, 
however  good-nature  and  good  feeling  might  deplore  them, 
assuredly  did  no  harm  to  the  periodical.1 

The  politics  of  the  Magazine  were  strongly  Tory  ;  and  it 
combined  the  advocacy  of  Tory  principles  with  an  appeal  to 
the  Evangelical  party  in  the  Church  of  Scotland,  which  was 
daily  growing  in  numbers  and  influence,  and  which  the 
flippant  and  half-sceptical  tone  of  the  Edinburgh  was  little 
calculated  to  conciliate.  Thus,  instead  of  espousing  the 
Jacobite  or  Royalist  side  in  its  dealings  with  history,  it  was 
strongly  of  the  Covenanting  faction  ;  and,  though  the  form 
of  the  Chaldee  Manuscript  was  highly  displeasing  to  strict 
churchmen,  amends  were  made  by  subsequent  articles  in 
which  the  attitude  of  Constable's  publication  to  religion  was 
vigorously,  and  indeed  savagely,  attacked.  One  of  the  most 
notable  papers,  for  example,  in  the  early  numbers  of  the 
Magazine  was  an  extremely  unflattering  review  of  Sharpe's 
edition  of  Kirkton's  History  of  the  Church  of  Scotland 


1  Of  later  articles,  the  attack  on  Playfair  was  probably  the  least  justifi- 
able.    But  the  article  on  "  The  Sorrows  of  the  Stot  "  (J.  R.  M'Culloch)  is 
far  beyond  anything  which  the  etiquette  of  modern  journalism  would 
tolerate,  and  so  is  the  famous  Pilgrimage  to  the  Kirk  of  Shafts,  amusing 
as  it  is. 

2  Charles   Kirkpatrick   Sharpe   (1781-1851)  was  a  singular   character, 
with  an  unusual  appetite  for  all  manner  of  scandal  past  and  present,  and 
also  with  a  really  sound  knowledge  of  the  antiquarian  side  of  some  periods 
in  Scottish  history.     His  Ballad  Book  (1823)  was  reprinted  in  1880,  having 
been  edited  by  the  still  more  learned  and  industrious  David  Laing  (1793- 
1878),   who  had  been  secretary  to  the  Bannatyne  Club,  and   who   was 
Librarian  of  the  Signet  Library  for  many  years.     Sharpe  (whose  Cor- 


506    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

from  the  pen,  we  may  be  certain,  of  Lockhart.  The  editor's 
annotations  on  Kirkton,  which  are  certainly  diverting  enough, 
had  given  prominence  to  many  things  by  no  means  of  the  sort 
to  find  favour  with  a  strong  Presbyterian  ;  and  the  son  of  the 
manse  rebukes  the  derider  of  the  Covenanters  for  his  ribald 
commentary  with  some  dignity  and  no  small  asperity.  It  is 
interesting  to  note  the  very  different  tone  of  Scott's  review 
of  the  same  work  in  the  Quarterly  (January,  1818).  But 
neither  the  extreme  Presbyterian  proclivities  of  the  Magazine, 
nor  its  controversial  excesses,  at  which,  while  he  disapproved, 
he  was  fain  to  laugh,  prevented  Scott  from  countenancing, 
and  even  supporting,  the  new  venture.  We  have  seen  that, 
according  to  the  Chaldee  Manuscript,  the  Magician  had 
assumed  an  attitude  of  benevolent  neutrality  as  between 
Blackwood  and  Constable.  But  the  "  man  clothed  in  plain 
apparel "  had,  in  truth,  been  astute  enough  to  enlist  Scott's 
sympathy  by  requesting  William  Laidlaw  to  become  a  regular 
contributor,  and  had  thus  contrived  to  secure  Scott's  assistance, 
direct  and  indirect,  as  well. 

In  questions  of  literature  the  Magazine  was  able  to  take  up 
a  strong  position.  The  two  main  articles  of  its  creed  were 
faith  in  Wordsworth  and  the  "  Lakers,"  and  abhorrence  of  the 
"  Cockney  "  school,  which  included  every  one,  from  Keats  to 
Leigh  Hunt,  who  had  been  praised  in  a  Whig  journal,  or  who 
was  suspected  of  holding  Whig  principles.  From  the  former 
of  these  tenets  there  were  occasional  back-slidings,  such  as  the 
inexplicable  attack  on  Coleridge  in  the  first  number  of  the 
second  volume.  But  from  the  latter  it  never  swerved.  If  a 
Cockney  said  "  yes,"  that  was  reason  good  for  Maga  to  say 
"  no  "  ;  or,  as  Wilson  very  frankly  put  it  in  his  review  of 
Tennyson's  poems  (May,  1832),  "Were  the  Cockneys  to  go 
to  church,  we  should  be  strongly  tempted  to  break  the  Sabbath." 

respondence,  ed.  Allardyce,  was  published  in  two  volumes  in  1888)  excelled 
with  his  pencil  in  the  art  of  historical  caricature.  His  representation  of 
Queen  Elizabeth  dancing  is  a  masterpiece. 


RISE   OF  PERIODICAL   LITERATURE     507 

But,  perhaps,  the  best  stroke  of  luck  for  the  Magazine  came 
with  the  discovery  in  the  Noctes  Ambrosiance  of  a  new  and 
extraordinarily  effective  vehicle  for  the  expression  of  opinion 
on  every  variety  of  topic.  No  one  knows  who  invented  the 
Noctes,  though  Wilson  generally  gets  the  credit  of  it ;  and 
"  Christopher  North  "  and  "  Timothy  Tickler  "  were  familiar 
eidola  to  the  readers  of  the  Magazine  before  they  began  to 
meet  regularly  round  the  hospitable  board  of  Ambrose.  If  the 
whole  series,  which  began  in  March,  1822,  and  was  continued 
until  February,  1835,  could  be  adequately  indexed,  it  would 
probably  turn  out  that  there  is  scarcely  a  subject  in  heaven  or 
earth,  in  literature  or  life,  on  which  the  dramatis  persona  do 
not  state  their  views.  The  convention  had  its  day,  and  could 
not  now  be  revived  with  any  prospect  of  success.  The 
mannerisms,  the  nicknames,  the  stage  directions,  might  be 
faithfully  copied,  as  they  often  have  been  by  inferior  artists. 
But  the  haggis  would  prove  to  have  lost  its  flavour,  and  the 
oysters  their  sappiness ;  satiety  would  soon  come  of  the  bumpers 
of  whisky-toddy ;  and  all  the  mirth  and  gaiety  and  spirit  would 
be  found  to  have  evaporated  from  the  evening's  entertainment. 
The  outcome  of  such  a  stirring  of  the  dry  bones  would  be,  at 
the  best,  a  little  harmless  and  ineffectual  fooling  ;  at  the  worst, 
a  good  deal  of  inane  buffoonery.  Yet  for  several  years  the 
Noctes  were  the  most  prominent  and  popular  feature  in  current 
periodical  literature  ;  and  those  who  are  most  familiar  with 
them  will  be  the  least  apt  to  wonder  that  so  it  should  have 
been. 

To  write  "  a  Noctes "  was  the  summit  of  every  contributor's 
ambition  ;  and  even  to  assist  in  the  composition  of  one  was  a 
distinction  which  did  not  fall  to  every  contributor's  lot — it 
never,  for  example,  fell  to  Samuel  Warren's.  Many  heads  and 
many  hands  went  to  the  making  of  a  single  symposium,  and 
here  again  it  is  impossible  in  many  cases  to  attribute  to  each 
author  his  exact  share  in  the  singular  compound.  We  know, 
however,  that  the  chief  Noctes  men  were  Wilson,  Lockhart, 


So8     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Maginn,  and  Hogg,  of  whom  Maginn  does  not  fall  within  our 
scheme.  Tradition  has  always  assigned  to  Wilson  the  largest 
interest  in  the  series,  and,  since  we  are  probably  justified  in 
assuming  that  Professor  Ferrier  proceeded  upon  the  best  autho- 
rity in  including  certain  portions  of  the  Noctes  in  the  collected 
edition  of  his  father-in-law's  works,  where  they  occupy  four 
volumes,  it  would  seem  that  tradition  has,  for  once,  not  been 
far  out. 

John  Wilson  (1785-1854) *  was  a  native  of  Paisley,  and 
inherited  a  considerable  fortune,  amassed  by  his  father  in  the 
gauze-weaving  industry  of  that  town.  Educated  at  Magdalen 
College,  Oxford,  he  married  early,  and  settled  down  on  the 
banks  of  Windermere  to  a  life  of  cultured  ease  and  leisure.  The 
loss  of  his  fortune,  however,  placed  him  under  the  necessity  of 
earning  a  livelihood  by  his  own  exertions,  and  accordingly  he 
removed  to  Edinburgh,  where  he  passed  advocate  in  1815. 
But  the  work  of  the  bar,  and  the  systematic  habits  of  life 
which  it  imposes  for  a  considerable  period  of  the  year,  were 
uncongenial  to  Wilson.  He  gravitated  towards  literature,  in 
which  he  had  already  made  some  mark  with  a  poem  entitled 
The  Isle  of  Palms  (1812),  and  his  opportunity  came  (for  his 
politics  were  Tory)  with  Mr.  Blackwood's  establishment  of 
his  Magazine  upon  a  new  footing  in  the  latter  half  of  1817. 
Wilson,  from  the  very  beginning,  was  one  of  the  publisher's 
right-hand  men.  His  capacity  for  work  was  enormous, 
though  his  industry  was  fitful ;  his  physique  was  magnificent  ; 2 
his  animal  spirits  were  of  the  highest.  He  soon  became 
identified  in  the  public  mind  with  the  not  wholly  imaginary 

1  Works,  ed.  Ferrier,  12  vols.,  Edin.,  1855-58.     Memoir,  by  his  daughter 
Mrs.   Gordon,  1862  ;  reprinted  1870.     Mr.  Saintsbury  has  discussed  his 
work  fully  in  Essays  in  English  Literature,  1890. 

2  None  of  the  extant  portraits  of  Wilson  quite  come  up  to  Lockhart's 
graphic  picture  in  Peter's  Letters,  vol.  i.  p.  130  :  "  His  hair  is  of  the  true 
Sicambrian  yellow  ;  his  eyes  are  of  the  lightest,  and  at  the  same  time  of 
the  clearest  blue  ;  and  the  blood  glows  in  his    cheeks  with  as  firm  a 
fervour  as  it  did,  according  to  the  description  of  Jornandes,  in  those  of 
the  '  praelio  gaudentes,  praelio  ridentes  Teutones  '  of  Attila." 


OF  PERIODICAL   LITERATURE     509 

character  of  Christopher  North  ;  nay,  so  strong  was  his 
personal  ascendency,  and  so  striking  a  figure  did  he  make  in 
the  eyes  of  his  contemporaries,  that  he  was  commonly  sup- 
posed to  be  the  editor  of  Maga :  which  no  one  but  a  Black- 
wood  has  ever  been.  It  must  have  required  all  William  Black- 
wood's  patience  and  knowledge  of  character  to  work  with  a 
contributor  of  such  value  and  importance,  whose  judgment, 
nevertheless,  was  liable  to  be  distorted  by  sudden  impulse,  and 
whose  fits  of  boisterous  elation  were  almost  certain  to  be  fol- 
lowed by  periods  of  the  most  severe  depression. 

In  1820  occurred  the  great  event  of  Wilson's  life.  He  was 
selected  by  the  Town  Council  of  Edinburgh,  as  we  have 
already  noted,  in  preference  to  Sir  William  Hamilton,  to  fill 
the  vacant  chair  of  Moral  Philosophy  in  "  the  town's  college." 
The  appointment  turned  out  better  than  might  have  been 
expected.  Wilson  kept  up  the  tradition  of  "  eloquence,"  and 
if  he  failed  to  teach  his  class  a  great  deal,  he  at  least  entranced 
them  by  his  oratory.  His  philosophical  remains  have  never 
been  published.  But  his  professorship  brought  him  pro- 
minently before  the  public  ;  he  became  a  personage ;  and 
after  Scott's  death  he  was  regarded  as  the  chief  representative 
of  letters  in  Scotland.  He  was  in  great  request  on  all  those 
ceremonial  and  convivial  occasions  on  which  a  copious  pouring 
forth  of  glowing  sentiment  is  desiderated  :  we  can  imagine 
him  in  his  element  at  a  Burns  banquet,  where,  indeed,  Dr. 
Peter  Morris  first  made  his  acquaintance. 

But  there  is  nothing  easier  than  to  under-rate  Wilson's 
abilities,  and,  in  a  moment  of  exasperation,  to  believe  that  he 
was  no  more  than  a  superior  sort  of  Professor  Blackie.  The 
picture  presented  to  us  by  the  filial  piety  of  Mrs.  Gordon  has 
never  been  quite  accepted  as  wholly  convincing  ;  and  the 
attempt  to  make  a  hero  of  him  is  vain,  after  Mrs.  Oliphant's 
chapter  upon  him  in  her  Annals  of  the  house  of  Blackwood. 
He  was  a  creature  of  moods,  the  sport  of  contending  emotions, 
destitute  of  what  is  called  ballast  ;  and  his  mental  constitution 


5io    LITERARY  HISTORY   OF  SCOTLAND 

was  singularly  out  of  keeping  with  his  robust  physical  frame. 
It  is  not  an  edifying  spectacle,  that  of  Wilson,  after  some  more 
than  usually  violent  outburst  in  Maga,  exhorting  and  implor- 
ing old  Ebony  to  stand  firm  and  say  nothing,  while  himself  is 
shivering  with  apprehension  of  the  legal  or  physical  conse- 
quences of  his  identity  being  revealed.  All  these  failings,  we 
say,  are  so  conspicuous  as  to  throw  his  many  excellent  and 
admirable  qualities  into  the  background.  But  they  must  not 
blind  us  to  his  genius,  for  genius  he  unquestionably  had,  though 
of  an  irregular  and  spasmodic  kind. 

In  poetry  he  had  a  spark,  perhaps  more  than  a  spark,  of  the 
true  fire,  though  none  of  his  verse  has  passed  into  the  common 
stock  which  lingers  in  the  public  memory.  Many  a  worse 
poem  makes  more  noise  to-day  in  the  world  than  The  Isle  of 
Palms.  Not  wholly  free  from  conventionality,  (the  "new," 
not  the  time-honoured,  classical,  conventionality),  and  far  from 
satisfactory  as  a  whole,  it  contains  fine  passages  such  as  the 
closing  lines,  which  we  reproduce  : — 

"  O,  happy  parents  of  so  sweet  a  child, 
Your  share  of  grief  already  have  you  known  ; 
But  long  as  that  fair  spirit  is  your  own, 
To  either  lot  you  must  be  reconciled. 
Dear  was  she  in  yon  palmy  grove, 
When  fear  and  sorrow  mingled  with  your  love, 
And  oft  you  wished  that  she  had  ne'er  been  born  ; 
While  in  the  most  delightful  air 
The  angelic  infant  sang,  at  times  her  voice 
That  seemed  to  make  even  lifeless  things  rejoice, 
Woke,  on  a  sudden,  dreams  of  dim  despair, 
As  if  it  breathed,  '  For  me,  an  orphan,  mourn  ! ' 
Now  can  they  listen  when  she  sings 
With  mournful  voice  of  mournful  things, 
Almost  too  sad  to  hear  ; 
And  when  she  chants  her  evening  hymn, 
Glad  smile  their  eyes,  even  as  they  swim, 
With  many  a  gushing  tear. 
Each  day  she  seems  to  them  more  bright 
And  beautiful — a  gleam  of  light 


RISE   OF  PERIODICAL   LITERATURE     511 

That  plays  and  dances  o'er  the  shadowy  earth  ! 
It  fadeth  not  in  gloom  or  storm — 
For  Nature  chartered  that  aerial  form 
In  yonder  fair  Isle  when  she  blessed  her  birth  ! 
The  Isle  of  Palms  !  whose  forests  tower  again, 
Darkening  with  solemn  shade  the  face  of  heaven. 
Now  far  away  they  like  the  clouds  are  driven, 
And  as  the  passing  night-wind  dies  my  strain  !  "  * 

Neither  is  Wilson  at  his  best  in  ordinary,  sustained,  prose 
narrative.  The  Trials  of  Margaret  Lyndsay  (1823)  is  not  a 
great  work  ;  and  the  Lights  and  Shadows  of  Scottish  Life  (1822) 
represents  a  species  of  fiction  of  which  the  literature  of  Scot- 
land is  full  to  overflowing.  We  know  that  Elder's  Deathbed, 
we  know  that  Elder's  Funeral ;  and  we  would  willingly  deny 
ourselves  the  "  melancholy  pleasure  "  (as  the  ridiculous  phrase 
used  to  go)  of  attending  either  the  one  or  the  other.  Most  or 
the  Lights  and  Shadows,  in  short,  are  pure  "  Kailyard."  2 

In  criticism,  Wilson  is  an  extraordinary  mixture  of  perspi- 
cacity and  blindness,  of  the  sound  and  the  perverse,  of  the 
sagacious  and  the  wayward,  of  the  brilliant  and  the  provoking. 
The  review  of  Tennyson's  Poems  chiefly  Lyrical,  already  men- 
tioned, is  as  good  a  specimen  as  any  other  of  this  strange 
jumble  of  inconsistent  qualities.  The  good  ones  predominate 
beyond  all  question  ;  but  it  upsets  the  equanimity  of  a  reader 
— it  gets  "  on  his  nerves,"  as  the  modern  phrase  has  it — to  be 
interrupted  in  the  middle  of  a  really  luminous  and  suggestive 
piece  of  criticism  by  some  irrelevant  private  crotchet  of  the 
critic's,  or  some  wild  and  irresponsible  flight  of  paradox.  For 
those  who  care  for  a  minimum  of  tares  mingled  with  their 
wheat,  or  a  minimum  of  chaff  immixed  with  their  grain, 
Wilson  is  clearly  not  the  man,  nor  the  Essays  Critical  and 
Imaginative,  nor  yet  The  Recreations  of  Christopher  North,  the 
book. 

1  From  The  Isle  of  Palms,  canto  iv.,  Works,  vol.  xii. 

-  It  is  betraying  no  secret  to  mention  that  for  this  happy  nickname, 
which  has  attained  so  much  currency,  the  world  is  indebted  to  Mr.  W.  E. 
Henley  and  to  no  one  else. 


512     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

It  is  not  till  we  come  to  the  nondescript  sort  of  writing 
which  forms  part  of  the  contents  of  the  last-named  collection, 
as  it  constitutes  the  whole  of  the  Noctes,  that  we  find  Wilson 
in  his  glory — his  powers  extended  to  their  utmost  capacity,  his 
genius  running  riot  at  its  own  sweet  will.  It  may  be  said 
that  a  liking  for  the  Noctes  is  essentially  an  acquired  taste  ;  and 
it  is  certain  that,  if  this  be  so,  it  can  only  be  acquired  by 
assiduous  study.1  You  cannot  learn  to  love  your  Noctes  by 
reading  them  in  snippets.  But  the  taste  is  well  worth  taking 
a  good  deal  of  trouble  to  come  by.  Few  books  hold  out  the 
promise  of  such  inexhaustible  variety  ;  and  few  are  so  pene- 
trated with  a  lusty  joy  of  life.  Wilson  at  his  highest  is  like 
Rabelais  and  Diderot  rolled  into  one.  Is  it  character-drawing 
you  desire  ?  Nothing  better  can  be  wanted  than  the  Shepherd, 
a  creation  of  true  genius,  a  very  type  of  fiction  dexterously 
super-imposed  upon  fact — his  Scots  speech  the  very  acme  of  the 
vernacular — his  humour  that  happy  blend  of  the  national  with 
the  universal  which  we  remarked  in  Scott.  Is  it  the  feeling 
for  external  nature  ?  There  are,  not  merely  set  passages  in 
which  all  the  arts  of  rhetoric  are  pressed  into  the  service — 
"  full  dress "  descriptions  of  mountain  and  moor,  loch  and 
river,  hillside  and  plain,  only  to  be  surpassed  in  literature  of 
the  very  highest  rank — but  also  exquisite  vignettes  of  scenery, 
charming  snatches  of  landscape,  momentary  glimpses  of  the 
country,  which  are  even  more  truly  significant  of  the  obser- 
vant eye  and  the  recording  brain.  Whole  pages  of  enthusiasm 
might  be  written  on  the  pictures  of  active  outdoor  life — the 
bathing  scene  at  Portobello  occurs  to  us  as  not  the  least 
memorable  ;  and  whole  volumes  about  the  viands  and  the 
drink,  the  "  properties  "  of  this  unique  drama.  But  for  the 
queasy  and  dyspeptic,  the  mot  d'ordre  is  avaunt  !  nor  let  the 
unfortunates  who  "  can't  read  Pickwick  "  imagine  that  they 
can  read  the  Noctes. 

'  For  this  reason,  Sir  John  Skelton's  selection,  entitled,  The  Comedy  of 
the  Noctes  Ambrosiaiut  (Edin.,  1876)  had  better  be  eschewed  in  favour  of 
the  complete  work. 


RISE   OF  PERIODICAL   LITERATURE     513 

With  all  their  merits,  tfie  Noctes  do  not  lend  themselves 
readily  to  quotation,  and  I  have  therefore  gone  elsewhere 
for  a  couple  of  selections  to  illustrate,  in  so  far  as  such 
selections  can,  Wilson's  peculiar  gifts.  They  both,  as  I 
venture  to  think,  show  his  firm  grasp  of  detail  (or  wealth  of 
imagination,  if  the  reader  prefers  the  expression),  and  his 
amazing  power  of  producing  a  complete  and  finished  picture 
by  a  series  of  strokes  dashed  on  to  the  canvas  as  it  were,  with 
breathless  rapidity.  The  first  piece  also  discloses  his  vein  of 
social  satire,  for  its  subject  is  an  Edinburgh  dinner  party  in  the 
'twenties. 

"  We  were  some  half-hour  ago  speaking  of  the  Fashionable 
World — were  we  not — of  Edinburgh  ?  Why,  in  Edinburgh,  there 
is  par-excellence  no  fashionable  world.  We  are — as  the  King — 
God  bless  him — once  very  well  observed,  when  all  we  Sawnies 
happened  to  be  dressed  in  our  Sunday's  best — a  Nation  of  Gentle- 
men ;  and  in  a  Nation  of  Gentlemen,  you  have  no  notion  how 
difficult,  or  rather  how  impossible,  it  is  to  make  a  Fashionable 
World.  We  are  all  so  vastly  pleasant  and  polite — low-breeding 
among  us  is  so  like  high-breeding  in  any  other  less  distinguished 
district  of  the  globe,  that  persons  who  desire  to  be  conspicuous 
for  the  especial  elegance  of  their  manners,  or  the  especial  splendour 
of  their  blow-outs,  know  not  how  to  set  about  it, — and  let  the  highest 
among  them  be  as  fashionable  as  they  will,  they  will  hear  an  army 
of  chairmen  '  gurgling  Gaelic  half-way  down  their  throats,'  as  they 
keep  depositing  dowager  after  dowager,  matron  after  matron, 
mawsey  after  mawsey,  virgin  after  virgin,  all  with  feathers  '  swaling 
in  their  bonnets,'  and  every  father's  daughter  among  them  more 
fashionable  than  another,  in  the  gas-lighted  hall  of  a  palace  in 
Moray  Place  inhabited  by  a  most  fashionable  Doubleyou  Ess — 
about  a  dozen  of  whose  offspring,  of  various  sizes  and  sexes,  at 
each  new  arrival,  keep  glowering  and  guffawing  through  the  ban- 
nisters on  the  nursery  story,  the  most  fashionable  little  dirty  red- 
headed dears  that  ever  squalled  in  a  scrubbing-tub  on  the  Plotter's 
Saturday  Night ;  while  ever  and  anon  fashionable  servant-maids, 
some  in  female  curiosity — proof  of  an  enlightened  mind — and 
others,  of  whom  it  appears  that  '  the  house  affairs  do  call  them 
hence,'  keep  tripping  to  and  fro,  one  with  a  child's  nightcap  in 
her  hand,  and  another  with  something  else  equally  essential  to  its 
comfort  before  getting  into  bed — while  it  inspires  you  with  a  fine 

2K 


5H    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

dash  of  melancholy  to  behold,  on  such  a  night  of  fashionable 
festivities,  here  and  there  among  the  many  men  apparently 
butlers,  footmen,  valets,  waiters,  and  so  forth — many  of  them 
fashionably  powdered  with  oat  and  barley  meal  of  the  finest 
quality — some  in  and  some  out  of  livery,  blue  breeches  and  red, 
black  breeches  and  grey — you  are  inspired,  we  say,  with  a  fine 
spirit  of  melancholy  to  discern  among  '  these  liveried  angels 
lackeying  you,'  the  faces  of  Saulies,  well  known  at  fashionable 
funerals,  and  who  smile  upon  you  as  you  move  from  room  to 
room,  as  if  to  recall  to  your  remembrance  the  last  time  you  had 
the  satisfaction  of  being  preceded  by  them  into  that  place  of 
Fashionable  Resort — the  Greyfriars'  Churchyard."1 

The  second  is  even  more  remarkable,  and  presents,  by  the 
methods  of  the  "  lightning  artist,"  a  sketch  of  boyhood  and 
youth  which  cannot  be  matched  for  vivacity  and  animation. 

"  What  !  surely  if  you  have  the  happiness  of  being  a  parent,  you 
would  not  wish  your  only  boy — your  son  and  heir — the  blended 
image  of  his  mother's  loveliness  and  his  father's  manly  beauty — 
to  be  a  smug,  smooth,  prim,  and  proper  prig,  with  his  hair  always 
combed  down  on  his  forehead,  hands  always  unglaured,  and  without 
spot  or  blemish  on  his  white-thread  stockings  ?  You  would  not 
wish  him,  surely,  to  be  always  moping  and  musing  in  a  corner  with 
a  good  book  held  close  to  his  nose — botanising  with  his  maiden 
aunts — doing  the  pretty  at  tea-tables  with  tabbies,  in  handing  round 
the  short-bread,  taking  cups,  and  attending  to  the  kettle — telling 
tales  on  all  naughty  boys  and  girls — laying  up  his  penny-a-vveek 
pocket-money  in  a  penny-pig — keeping  all  his  clothes  neatly  folded 
up  in  an  untumbled  drawer — having  his  own  peg  for  his  uncrushed 
hat — saying  his  prayers  precisely  as  the  clock  strikes  nine,  while  his 
companions  are  yet  at  blind  man's  buff — and  puffed  up  every 
Sabbath  eve  by  the  parson's  praises  of  his  uncommon  memory 
for  a  sermon — while  all  the  other  boys  are  scolded  for  having  fallen 
asleep  before  Tenthly  ?  You  would  not  wish  him,  surely,  to  write 
sermons  himself  at  his  tender  years,  nay — even  to  be  able  to  give 
chapter  and  verse  for  every  quotation  from  the  Bible  ?  No.  Better 
far  that  he  should  begin  early  to  break  your  heart,  by  taking  no  care 
even  of  his  Sunday  clothes — blotting  his  copy — impiously  pinning 
pieces  of  paper  to  the  Dominie's  tail,  who  to  him  was  a  second 


From  Old  North  and  Young  North,  in  Works,  vol.  v.  p.  204. 


RISE   OF  PERIODICAL   LITERATURE     515 

father — going  to  the  fishing,  not  only  without  leave,  but  against 
orders — bathing  in  the  forbidden  pool,  where  the  tailor  was 
drowned — drying  powder  before  the  schoolroom  fire,  and  blowing 
himself  and  two  crack-skulled  cronies  to  the  ceiling — tying  kettles 
to  the  tails  of  dogs — shooting  an  old  woman's  laying  hen — galloping 
bare-backed  shelties  down  stony  steeps  —  climbing  trees  to  the 
slenderest  twig  on  which  bird  could  build,  and  up  the  tooth-of- 
time-indented  sides  of  old  castles  after  wallflowers  and  starlings — 
being  run  away  with  in  carts  by  colts  against  turnpike  gates — 
buying  bad  ballads  from  young  gypsy-girls,  who,  on  receiving 
a  sixpence,  give  ever  so  many  kisses  in  return,  saying,  '  Take  your 
change  out  of  that '  ; — on  a  borrowed,  broken-knee'd  pony,  with 
a  switch-tail — a  devil  for  galloping — not  only  attending  the  country 
races  for  a  saddle  and  collar,  but  entering  for  and  winning  the 
prize — dancing  like  a  devil  in  barns  at  kirns — seeing  his  blooming 
partner  home  over  the  blooming  heather,  most  perilous  adventure 
of  all  in  which  virgin-puberty  can  be  involved — fighting  with  a  rival 
in  corduroy  breeches,  and  poll  shorn  beneath  a  caup,  till  his  eyes 
just  twinkle  through  the  swollen  blue — and,  to  conclude  '  this 
strange  eventful  history,'  once  brought  home  at  one  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  God  knows  whence  or  by  whom,  and  found  by  the 
shrieking  servant,  sent  out  to  listen  for  him  in  the  moonlight,  dead- 
drunk  on  the  gravel  at  the  gate  I"1 

The  serious-minded  must  surely  have  received  a  sad  shock 
from  Mr.  North's  audacious  attempt  to  undermine  the  morals 
of  the  nation  ! 

The  second  of  the  Blackwood  trio,  and  Wilson's  co-equal 
in  importance,  was  John  Gibson  Lockhart  ( 1794-1854), 2  the 
son  of  the  Rev.  John  Lockhart,  minister  of  Cambusnethan. 
That  his  pedigree  was  long  and  his  blood  "  gentle  "  were  facts 
of  which  Lockhart  was  sometimes  even  too  conscious  ;  and  the 
tendency  to  sneer  at  an  opponent  as  his  inferior  in  birth 
and  breeding  —  which  was  all  very  well  in  a  provincial 
notary's  son  like  Voltaire — is  perhaps*  the  only  really  serious 
failing  in  his  methods  of  conducting  controversy.  After 

1  From  Christopher  in  His  Sporting  Jacket,  in  Works,  vol.  ix.  p.  15. 

2  Life    and  Letters,  by  A.  Lang,    2  vols.,    1896.     Article  in  Quarterly 
Review,  by  G.  R.  Gleig,  October,  1864.      See  also  Saintsbury,  in  Essays 
in  English  Literature,  1890. 


Si6     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

being  at  the  Glasgow  High  School  and  Glasgow  College, 
Lockhart  proceeded  to  Balliol  upon  the  Snell  exhibition 
at  the  age  of  fourteen  ;  and  he  quitted  Oxford  five  years 
later,  having  obtained  a  "  first "  in  the  schools.  While  at 
Balliol  he  became  a  close  friend  of  Sir  William  Hamilton, 
but  their  intimacy  was  broken  off  in  after  years,  owing  to 
some  unfortunate  difference,  in  all  probability  political.  Lock- 
hart's  destination  in  life  was  the  Scottish  bar,  and  a  portion 
of  the  interval  which  elapsed  before  his  safe  arrival  there 
in  1816  was  passed  in  an  expedition  to  Germany,  the 
funds  for  which  were  generously  supplied  by  William  Black- 
wood  on  the  faith  of  a  promised  translation  of  Schlegel's 
History  of  Literature.  This  trip  or  "  jaunt  "  marks  an  im- 
portant stage  in  Lockhart's  intellectual  development  ;  and 
to  it  we  owe  the  introduction  of  the  imaginary  German 
contributors1  to  the  earlier  volumes  of  BlackwoocTs  Magazine, 
from  whom  Carlyle  (always  a  friend  and  admirer  of  Lockhart's) 
may  not  have  disdained  to  borrow  a  hint.2 

Lockhart  never  made  much  of  his  nominal  profession.  He 
possessed  no  gift  of  speech,  and  was  afflicted  with  a  dulness 
of  hearing  which,  no  doubt,  accentuated  the  "  hidalgo  airs  " 
which  he  was  accused  of  assuming  in  his  intercourse  with 
his  fellow-men.  Like  Wilson,  then,  he  betook  himself  to 
literature  ;  like  Wilson  he  found  his  opportunity  in  Maga ; 
and,  having  a  notorious  turn  for  satire,  he  was  credited  with 
more  than  his  fair  share  of  the  "  laughing  and  lashing  "  which 

1  Here  is  one  of  the  most  elaborate  of  the  titles  of  bogus-books  which 
Maga  professed  to  review  :  "  Urstoffe  der  Allgemeine  Sparsamkeit,  oder 
Einleitung  zur  Edlere  Wissenschaft  der  Aschensiebungslehre.     Von  Pro- 
fessor Gunthred  Bumgroschen.     Leipsig  :  Bei  Wolfgang  Dummkopf  und 
Sohn.     November,  1822."     This  is  quite  in  the  Carlylean  vein. 

2  Another  Edinburgh  and  Black-wood  man,  who  began  his  career  with 
translations  from  the  German,  was  George  Moir  (1800-70).    He  contributed 
the  treatises  on  Poetry  and  Modern  Romance  to  the  7th  ed.  of  the  Britannica, 
and  these  were  republished  along  with  a  similar  article  on  Rhetoric,  by 
William  Spalding,  in  1839.     Moir's  taste  was  refined  and  discriminating, 
and  his  style  graceful  and  correct. 


RISE   OF  PERIODICAL   LITERATURE     517 

so  scandalised  the  Whigs.  There  was  no  trace  in  Lockhart's 
literary  or  personal  manner  of  that  virtue,  so  dear,  when 
possessed  by  other  people,  to  the  average  Scot,  and  known 
as  "  geniality."  He  was  reserved  and  proud  ;  he  made  no 
secret  of  his  aversions,  which  were  tolerably  strong ;  and 
hence  he  has  had  to  do  penance  in  reputation  for  the  faults 
of  others,  as  well  as  for  his  own.  As  a  practitioner  in  "  the 
gentle  art  of  making  enemies"  Lockhart  excelled.  You 

O  O 

instinctively  feel  that  he  was  not  a  man  to  be  trifled  with, 
and  that  he  was  exceptionally  well  fitted  to  "  take  care 
of  himself."  His  native  gift  of  insolence  has,  in  truth, 
seldom  been  surpassed,  nor  did  he  scruple  to  employ  it 
freely  if  he  thought  the  occasion  suitable.  But  whatever 
misdeeds  may  be  laid  to  his  account,  at  least  he  was  never 
guilty  of  anything  approaching  in  magnitude  to  the  three 
faux  pas  of  Wilson:  the  attacks  on  Coleridge  (1817), 
Wordsworth  (1825),  and  Scott  (1829). 

In  1820  Lockhart  married  Scott's  eldest  daughter,  and  five 
years  later,  to  Southey's  intense  disgust,  he  became  editor 
of  the  Quarterly  Review^  and  moved  to  London.  His  duties 
in  Albemarle  Street  prevented  him  from  adding  to  the  novels 
he  had  already  published,  to  wit,  Valerius  (1821),  Adam  Blair 
(1822),  Reginald  Dalton  (1823),  and  Matthew  Wald  (1824). 
But  he  found  time  for  an  admirable  Life  of  Burns  (1828), 
and  for  an  abridgement  of  his  father-in-law's  Life  of  Napoleon 
(1829).  The  greater  part  of  the  next  decade  was  devoted 
to  the  composition  of  the  Life  of  Sir  Walter  Scott  (1837-8), 
and  thenceforth  no  great  work  came  from  Lockhart's  pen. 
He  wrote  frequently  for  the  Quarterly  during  his  editorship, 
and  every  now  and  then  would  send  Blackwood  a  Nodes. 
The  notice  of  Theodore  Hook  has  alone  among  his  Quarterly 
contributions  been  reprinted  ;  and,  exceptionally  high  as  is  the 
standard  of  the  others,  his  theory  of  the  reviewer's  craft,  which 
he  systematically  carried  into  practice,  would  probably  preclude 
the  chance  ot  any  selection  from  them  making  an  effective 


5i8    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

or  popular  book.  In  Lockhart's  opinion,  it  is  the  business 
of  a  reviewer  to  review,  and  not  to  use  the  title  of  a  book 
as  a  mere  peg  on  which  to  hang  an  independent  essay. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  imagine  a  greater  dissimilarity  than 
that  which  existed  between  Wilson  and  Lockhart  ;  as  in 
external  appearance,  so  in  temperament  and  idiosyncrasy. 
They  represent  two  essential  distinct,  and  even  conflicting, 
types  of  mind  ;  and  one  need  make  no  scruple  about  owning 
that  the  Lockhart  type  is,  in  one's  own  view,  of  a  much  higher 
order  than  the  Wilson.  What  Wilson  was  like,  I  have 
already  attempted  to  indicate  ;  and  in  almost  everything  his 
friend  and  colleague  was  his  antithesis.  Lockhart  had  no 
"brusts"  of  eloquence;  his  intellect  partook  of  the  classical 
calmness  and  repose  to  which  the  Professor's  was  a  stranger. 
Wilson,  to  employ  a  not  wholly  novel  metaphor,  wielded 
the  bludgeon  with  astonishing  energy ;  but  a  thrust  from 
Lockhart's  keen  and  polished  rapier  caused  much  more  ex- 
quisite agony,  and  inflicted  a  much  more  deadly  wound.  A 
single  sneering  sentence  of  Lockhart's  was  harder  to  bear 
than  a  torrent  of  obloquy  from  the  other.  Lockhart's 
scholarship  was  the  more  accurate  and  profound  ;  his  taste 
the  more  fastidious  and  refined  ;  and  both  scholarship  and 
taste,  combined  with  temperament,  find  their  expression  in 
a  singularly  well-finished  and  beautiful  style.  Fire  and 
warmth  may  be  lacking ;  bogus-fire  and  bogus-warmth  most 
certainly  are  ;  but  his  statuesque  and  finely-chiselled  sen- 
tences are  models  of  good  English,  and  when  an  irre- 
pressible strain  of  tender  emotion  penetrates  the  barrier 
of  habitual  reticence  and  self-restraint,  the  effect  is  in- 
describably touching  and  impressive. 

Lockhart's  first  original  work  was  Peter's  Letters x  which 
had  been  heralded  by  some  preliminary  flourishes  in  Blackwood^ 
and  which  created  almost  as  great  a  sensation  as  the  Chaldee 

1  Peter's  Letters  to  his  Kinsfolk,  and  ed.,  3  vols.,  Edin.,  1819.  There 
never  was  a  first  edition. 


RISE   OF  PERIODICAL   LITERATURE     519 

Manuscript.  It  professes  to  consist  of  letters  written  to  his 
friends  in  Wales  by  a  certain  Dr.  Peter  Morris,  who  has  come 
to  Scotland  on  a  tour  ;  and  the  Doctor  is  made  the  vehicle  of 
a  great  deal  of  extremely  free,  pungent,  and  even  personal, 
criticism  of  the  most  prominent  men  in  Edinburgh.  Every 
profession  yields  up  its  victims  ;  the  distinctive  peculiarities  of 
advocates,  professors,  and  ministers  are  minutely  and  candidly 
described  ;  and  commentary  sometimes  follows  them  from  the 
forum  or  the  pulpit  into  the  privacy  of  their  own  homes.  One 
passage  which  gave  particular  umbrage  to  the  Whigs  was  the 
description  of  an  imaginary  dinner  at  Craigcrook,  at  which  all 
the  guests,  including  the  most  solemn  and  dignified  Edinburgh 
reviewers,  are  represented  as  enjoying  the  diversion  of  leaping 
over  a  stick.  We  cannot  imagine  such  a  publication  as  Peter's 
Letters  appearing  in  our  own  day.  But  at  this  distance  or 
time  we  can  hardly  be  too  grateful  for  so  bold  and  skilful  a 
picture  of  the  social  life  of  the  age  in  Scotland.  The  book  is 
far  from  being  composed  of  mere  persiflage.  It  abounds  in 
valuable  and  solid  reflections  on  manners  and  institutions,  and 
for  a  man  of  five-and-twenty  it  must  be  owned  that  Lockhart's 
comments  and  remarks  are  surprisingly  sagacious  and  mature. 
Yet  the  salt  of  the  work  is  the  satire  ;  and  during  his  residence 
in  Glasgow  before  passing  at  the  bar,  as  well  as  his  residence  in 
Edinburgh  after,  Lockhart  had  acquired  ample  material  for 
indulging  his  propensity  to  raillery.  The  sting  of  the  scorpion 
must  have  been  painful  to  those  who  were  its  objects  ;  but  for 
posterity  it  "  kitchens  "  the  dish  to  an  astonishing  degree  of 
piquancy.  There  were  few  classes  of  his  countrymen  of 
whom  Lockhart  had  not  some  knowledge,  and  the  following 
brief  excerpt  from  one  of  the  chapters  on  the  General 
Assembly  will  show  that  he  could  turn  his  knowledge  to  good 
account  : — 

"  Those  [i.e.,  the  gentlemen  in  black  coats]  seem,  in  passing 
along,  to  be  chiefly  occupied  in  recognising  and  shaking  hands  with 
each  other — and  sometimes  with  old  acquaintances  among  the 


520    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

citizens  of  the  place.  Their  greetings  seem  to  be  given  and 
returned  with  a  degree  of  heartiness  and  satisfaction  which  inspires 
a  favourable  idea  of  all  parties  concerned.  I  observed  only  this 
minute  a  thin,  hardy-looking  minister,  in  a  blue  spencer  over  his 
sables,  arrested  immediately  under  my  window  by  a  jolly-looking 
burgher,  who,  to  judge  by  his  obesity,  may  probably  be  in  the 
magistracy,  or  council  at  least.  '  Hoo  d'ye  do,  Mr.  Such-a-thing  ? ' 
said  the  cit  (for  I  could  not  help  lifting  the  glass  an  inch  or  two), 
'  and  hoo  did  ye  leave  all  at  Auchtertirloch  Manse  ?  You  must  come 
and  take  your  broth  with  us.'  To  which  the  man  in  black  replies, 
with  a  clerical  blandness  of  modulation,  '  Most  certainly,  you  are 
exceedingly  good  ;  and  hoo  fares  it  with  your  good  leddy  ?  You 
have  lately  had  an  addition  to  your  family.'  '  I  understand  from  a 
friend  in  the  North,'  cries  the  other,  '  that  you  are  not  behind  me 
in  that  particular — twins,  Doctor  !  O,  the  luck  of  a  manse  ! '  A 
loud  cachinnation  follows  from  both  parties,  and  after  a  bow  and  a 
scrape — '  You  will  remember  four  o'clock  on  Tuesday,  Dr. 
Macalpine.' 

"  In  the  course  of  an  hour  or  two,  I  have  had  an  opportunity  of 
witnessing  several  other  encounters  of  the  same  kind,  and  I  feel 
a  sort  of  contemplative  pleasure  in  looking  upon  them,  as  so  many 
fortuitous  idyllia  presenting  themselves  amidst  the  common 
thoroughfare  of  the  streets.  I  saw,  among  the  rest,  one  huge 
ecclesiastical  figure,  of  an  apoplectic  and  lethargic  aspect,  moving 
slowly  along,  with  his  eyes  goggling  in  his  head,  and  his  tongue 
hanging  out  of  his  mouth.  He  was  accosted  by  an  old  lawyer, 
whom  I  had  often  remarked  in  the  Parliament  House,  and  seemed 
to  delight  in  reviving  their  juvenile  remembrances  by  using  the 
broadest  Scots  dialect.  Among  other  observations  I  heard,  '  Hech 
man  !  I  never  think  the  yill  so  good  noo  as  when  we  war  young  '- 
and  after  some  further  interchange  of  sentiments,  '  You  would  hear 
that  auld  George  Piper  had  pappit  aft,'  &c.,  &c.,  &c.  But  I  see 
Mr.  Wastle's  old  yellow  chariot  at  the  door — and  besides,  my  fingers 
won't  serve  me  for  a  longer  epistle."  1 

Lockhart  suffered  from  acute  fits  of  compunction  for  his 
"  escapades "  in  Blackwood,  with  which,  of  course,  Peter's 
Letters  were  closely  connected.  He  had  a  prolonged  attack  of 
depression  after  Christie's  duel  with  John  Scott,  and  another 

1  From  Peter's  Letters,  vol.  Hi.,  p.  6.  How  excellent,  by  the  bye,  is  the 
description  of  one  of  the  characters  in  Adam  Blair  as  "one  of  that 
numerous  division  of  the  human  species  which  may  be  shortly  and 
accurately  described  as  answering  to  the  name  of  Captain  Campbell "  ! 


RISE   OF  PERIODICAL   LITERATURE     521 

after  the  death  of  his  wife.  But  remorse  was  not,  I  think,  his 
feeling  in  calmer  moments  ;  for  to  Maga  he  always  returned, 
even  after  Mr.  Murray  had  taken  him  away  from  Edinburgh. 
Few  literary  men,  when  they  come  to  middle  life,  can  find 
nothing  to  regret  in  their  youthful  performances.  But  Lockhart 
had  little  to  be  seriously  ashamed  of ;  and  nothing  which  ('bating 
the  article  of  ability)  could  not  be  paralleled  in  the  journalism 
of  the  other  side.  He  had  his  fling  ;  he  enjoyed  it  ;  and  but 
for  his  experience  on  Blackwood  we  may  well  doubt  whether, 
at  the  not  very  ripe  age  of  thirty-one,  he  would  have  been 
invited  to  fill  so  honourable  and  lucrative  a  post  as  that  of 
editor  of  the  Quarterly  Review.  The  detestation  of  the 
Whigs  was  not  a  very  formidable  per  contra  in  the  account. 

A  rapid  glance  through  the  first  dozen  volumes  of  Black- 
wood's  Magazine  is  sufficient  to  disclose  a  large  mass  of  verse 
both  grave  and  gay  in  every  kind  of  metre,  in  which  it  is 
impossible  to  doubt  that  Lockhart  had  a  considerable  hand. 
Ease  is  not  one  of  the  characteristics  of  his  prose  ;  but  his 
facility  in  versification  was  exceptional,  and  there  is  a  sense 
of  mastery  in  his  handling  of  every  measure  from  the  simple  to 
the  elaborate.  Nor  is  his  ingenuity  in  rhyme  less  remarkable, 
as  a  screed  of  many  verses  bears  witness,  in  every  one  of  which 
he  invents  a  new  rhyme  to  "  Blackwood,"  not  a  very  manage- 
able word  for  rhyming  purposes.  In  some  of  his  more 
ambitious  flights  his  achievement  hardly  answers  his  effort. 
The  poem  on  Napoleon  *  for  example,  though  by  no  means 
amiss,  is  not  all  that,  considering  the  subject,  it  might  have 
been.  Nor  are  the  graver  passages  of  The  Mad  Banker  of 
Amsterdam,  in  the  Don  yuan  stanza,  so  successful  as  the  jocular 
ones.  Here  is  one  of  the  latter  : — 

"  They're  pleased  to  call  themselves  The  Dilettanti, 
The  President's  the  first  I  chanced  to  show  'em  ; 
He  writes  more  malagrugrously  than  Dante, 
The  City  of  the  Plague's  a  shocking  poem  ; 


1  Blackwood's  Magazine,  July,  1821. 


522     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

But  yet  he  is  a  spirit  light  and  jaunty, 
And  jocular  enough  to  those  who  know  him. 
To  tell  the  truth,  I  think  John  Wilson  shines 
More  o'er  a  bowl  of  punch  than  in  his  lines."  ' 

But  by  far  his  finest  performance  in  humorous  poetry,  with 
an  undercurrent  of  pathos,  is  the  inimitable  Captain  Paten's 
Lament,  for  a  few  verses  of  which  room  must  be  found  : — 


"  Touch  once  more  a  sober  measure,  and  let  punch  and  tears  be  shed, 
For  a  prince  of  good  old  fellows,  that,  alack-a-day  !  is  dead  ; 
For  a  prince  of  worthy  fellows,  and  a  pretty  man  also, 
That  has  left  the  Saltmarket  in  sorrow,  grief,  and  wo. 
Oh  !  we  ne'er  shall  see  the  like  of  Captain  Paton  no  mo  ! 


Now  and  then  upon  a  Sunday  he  invited  me  to  dine, 
On  a  herring  and  a  mutton  chop,  which  his  maid  dressed  very  fine  ; 
There  was  also  a  little  Malmsey  and  a  bottle  of  Bordeaux, 
Which  between  me  and  the  Captain  passed  nimbly  to  and  fro. 
Oh  !  I  ne'er  shall  take  pot-luck  with  Captain  Paton  no  mo  ! 

Or  if  a  bowl  was  mentioned,  the  Captain  he  would  ring, 
And  bid  Nellie  run  to  the  West  Port  and  a  stoup  of  water  bring  ; 
Then  he  would  mix  the  genuine  stuff  as  they  made  it  long  ago, 
With  limes  that  on  his  property  in  Trinidad  did  grow. 

Oh  !  we  ne'er  shall  see  the  like  of  Captain  Paton's  punch  no  mo  ! 


But  at  last  the  Captain  sickened,  and  grew  worse  from  day  to  day, 
And  all  missed  him  in  the  coffee-room  from  which  now  he  stayed 

away  ; 

On  Sabbaths,  too,  the  Wee  Kirk  made  a  melancholy  show, 
All  for  wanting  of  the  presence  of  our  venerable  beau. 
Oh  !  we  ne'er  shall  see  the  like  of  Captain  Paton  no  mo  ! 


1  The  verse  about  Lockhart  as  to  which  Mrs.  Gordon  tells  a  story 
contradicted  by  Gleig  will  be  found  in  Lang's  Life  of  Lockharl,  vol.  i. 
P-  329- 


RISE   OF  PERIODICAL  LITERATURE    523 

And  in  spite  of  all  that  Cleghorn  and  Corkindale  could  do, 

It  was  plain  from  twenty  symptoms  that  death  was  in  his  view  ; 

So  the  Captain  made  his  test'ment  and  submitted  to  his  foe, 

And  we  layed  him  by  the  Rams-horn-kirk — 'tis  the  way  we  all  must 

go- 
CD  !  we  ne'er  shall  see  the  like  of  Captain  Paton  no  mo  !  "  ' 

Some  of  the  poems  collected  and  published  in  the  Ancient 
Spanish  Ballads  (1823)  originally  appeared  in  the  Magazine^ 
and  it  was  this  volume  which  first  of  all  made  the  public  take 
Lockhart  seriously  as  a  man  of  letters.  They  deservedly 
enjoyed  enough  currency  to  make  two  Blackwood  men  of  a 
later  generation  parody  them  in  the  Bon  Gaultier  Ballads^  and 
though  they  are  comparatively  neglected  now  save  by  the 
student  (as  a  vast  deal  of  good  literature  is),  they  possess  at 
their  best  that  combination  of  perfection  of  form  with  fervour 
and  sincerity  of  sentiment  by  which  poetry  ought  to  be 
distinguished.  The  Song  of  the  Galley  and  that  of  The 
Wandering  Knight  are  conspicuous  instances  of  what  Lockhart 
could  accomplish  in  this  field.  He  surpassed  himself,  however, 
in  the  exquisite  verses,  "  When  youthful  faith  has  fled," 2 
some  of  which  he  had  sent  to  Carlyle  in  an  hour  of  bereave- 
ment, and  which  probably  represent  the  innermost  thoughts  of 
his  soul  more  openly  than  anything  else  he  wrote,  except  a 
sentence  or  two,  here  and  there,  in  the  Life  of  Scott. 

For  his  novels  Lockhart  was  liberally  paid,  but  they  never 
really  caught  the  public  fancy.  Valerius  has,  perhaps,  been 
something  "  lightlied  "  by  the  critics.  It  is  true  that,  with 
reminiscences  of  Becker's  Gallus  comparatively  fresh  in  our 
minds,  we  approach  with  some  misgiving  a  novel  of  Roman 
life  and  manners.  But  Valerius  is  far  from  justifying  such 
natural  apprehensions,  being  by  no  means  pedantic,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  surprisingly  fresh  and  spirited.  Boto,  the  British 
slave,  who  accompanies  his  master  to  Rome,  is  capital  fun,  and 

1  From  Blackwood's  Magazine,  September,  1819. 

2  See  Mr.  Lang's  Life  of  Lockhart,  ii.  398. 


524    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

so  is  the  "  led "  stoic  philosopher.  Reginald  Dalian^  it  is 
generally  agreed,  would  be  of  little  interest  but  for  the  pictures 
it  contains  of  life  at  Oxford,  and  there  seems  no  reason  to 
dissent  from  the  accepted  view,  unless  we  put  in  a  word 
for  Mackenzie,  the  writer  to  the  signet,  whose  appearance  at  a 
fashionable  dejeuner  is  amusing  enough.  There  is  a  similar 
consensus  of  opinion,  which  again  may  be  admitted  to  be  well 
founded,  to  the  effect  that  Some  Passages  in  the  Life  of  Mr. 
Adam  Blair  contains  Lockhart's  finest  work  in  fiction.  It  is 
curious  that  in  an  age  like  our  own  which  pretends  to  like  the 
delineation  of  "  passion  "  and  remorse,  a  work  in  which  that 
theme  is  so  superlatively  well  handled,  should  not  have  been 
resuscitated.  But,  no  doubt,  Lockhart's  correct  and  beautiful 
English  stands  in  the  way.  Matthew  Wald,  which,  as  Mr. 
Lang  points  out,  is  also  "  powerful,"  in  the  cant  sense  of  the 
term,  is  a  manifestly  inferior,  as  well  as  a  more  diffuse, 
production. 

It  was  in  his  Life  of  Burns  that  Lockhart  first  essayed  the 
form  of  prose  writing  in  which  he  was  destined  to  win  im- 
mortality. Different  as  it  is  in  scale  from  the  Life  of  Scott,  we 
cannot  reasonably  doubt  that  its  composition  taught  Lockhart 
many  lessons  of  great  value  to  a  biographer.  Certainly  when 
he  came  to  his  great  task,  he  proved  that  he  had  little 
to  learn  in  his  craft.  There  was  already  in  existence  a 
specimen  of  biography  on  an  extended  plan,  which  had  been 
generally  recognised  (as  it  still  is)  for  a  masterpiece.  Lockhart 
was  careful  to  frame  his  work  upon  an  entirely  different  model ; 
he  was  alert  to  disclaim  "  Boswellising "  ;  and  the  result  of 
his  labours  is  no  less  a  masterpiece  than  the  other.  This  is  not 
to  deny  that  the  narrative  gains  in  interest  when  the  biographer 
himself  appears  upon  the  stage.  It  would  be  indeed  a  poor 
biography  of  which  that  could  not  be  affirmed.  But  Lockhart 
never  thrusts  himself  forward  so  as  to  obscure  our  view  of  the 
hero  ;  and  no  feature  in  his  conduct  of  the  work — not  even 
the  masterly  character  sketches  of  the  two  Ballantynes — is  more 


RISE   OF  PERIODICAL   LITERATURE     525 

remarkable  than  the  skilful  grouping  of  the  subordinate  per- 
sonages round  the  protagonist,  and  the  nicely  calculated 
proportion  of  prominence  which  is  assigned  to  each  of  them. 
As  regards  Scott  himself,  it  is  superfluous  to  say  that  the  Life 
has  none  of  the  peculiarities  which  we  are  now  so  well 
accustomed  to  associate  with  the  "  official "  biography  from 
the  pen  of  a  relation.  We  feel  that  we  are  gazing  upon  the 
figure  of  a  real  man,  and  not  of  a  stuffed  poet  and  novelist. 
Yet  critics  used  to  complain  that  Lockhart  had  been  pur- 
posely unjust  to  his  father-in-law  to  enhance  his  own  merit ! 
Lockhart,  indeed,  makes  little  secret  of  his  views  when  they 
differed  from  Scott's.  The  account  of  the  royal  visit  to 
Edinburgh  in  1822,  for  example,  is  written  in  his  best  vein 
of  sarcasm,  and  plainly  shows  what  he  thought  of  the 
Highland  complexion  imparted  to  the  ceremonial  on  that 
occasion.  Also,  we  may  guess  that  he  scarcely  shared  Scott's 
sentiments  of  friendship  for  Terry.  But  there  it  ends,  and  the 
famous  remark  attributed  to  Rogers  may  surely  be  set  down  as 
a  supreme  instance  of  the  imbecility  into  which  malice  may 
decline  when  it  has  overshot  its  mark. 

Our  first  extract  shall  exhibit  one  of  those  beautiful  scenes 
of  domestic  happiness  which  Lockhart  could  portray  with  so 
delicate  and  sympathetic  a  brush  : — 

"  There  [at  Chiefswood]  my  wife  and  I  spent  this  summer  and 
autumn  of  1821 — the  first  of  several  seasons  which  will  ever  dwell 
on  my  memory  as  the  happiest  of  my  life.  We  were  near  enough 
Abbotsf ord  to  partake  as  often  as  we  liked  of  its  brilliant  society ; 
yet  could  do  so  without  being  exposed  to  the  worry  and  exhaustion 
of  spirit  which  the  daily  reception  of  newcomers  entailed  upon  all 
the  family  except  Sir  Walter  himself.  But,  in  truth,  even  he  was 
not  always  proof  against  the  annoyances  connected  with  such  a  style 
of  open-house-keeping.  Even  his  temper  sunk  sometimes  under  the 
solemn  applauses  of  learned  dulness,  the  vapid  raptures  of  painted 
and  periwigged  dowagers,  the  horse-leech  avidity  with  which  under- 
bred foreigners  urged  their  questions,  and  the  pompous  simpers  of 
condescending  magnates.  When  sore  beset  at  home  in  this  way,  he 
would  every  now  and  then  discover  that  he  had  some  very  particular 


526    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

business  to  attend  to  on  an  outlying  part  of  his  estate,  and 
craving  the  indulgence  of  his  guests  overnight,  appear  at  the  cabin 
in  the  glen  before  its  inhabitants  were  astir  in  the  morning.  The 
clatter  of  Sibyl  Grey's  hoofs,  the  yelping  of  Mustard  and  Spice,  and 
his  own  joyous  shout  of  reveillce  under  our  windows,  were  the  signal 
that  he  had  burst  his  toils,  and  meant  for  that  day  to  '  take  his  ease 
in  his  inn.'  On  descending,  he  was  to  be  found  seated  with  all  his 
dogs  and  ours  about  him,  under  a  spreading  ash  that  overshadowed 
half  the  bank  between  the  cottage  and  the  brook,  pointing  the  edge 
of  his  woodman's  axe  for  himself  and  listening  to  Tom  Purdie's 
lecture  touching  the  plantation  that  most  needed  thinning.  After 
breakfast,  he  would  take  possession  of  a  dressing-room  upstairs,  and 
write  a  chapter  of  The  Pirate ;  and  then  having  made  up  and 
despatched  his  packet  for  Mr.  Ballantyne,  away  to  join  Purdie 
wherever  the  foresters  were  at  work — and  sometimes  to  labour 
among  them  as  strenuously  as  John  Swanston  himself — until  it  was 
time  either  to  rejoin  his  own  party  at  Abbotsford,  or  the  quiet  circle 
of  the  cottage.  When  his  guests  were  few  and  friendly,  he  often 
made  them  come  over  and  meet  him  at  Chiefswood  in  a  body  towards 
evening  ;  and  surely  he  never  appeared  to  more  amiable  advantage 
than  when  helping  his  young  people  with  their  little  arrangements 
upon  such  occasions.  He  was  ready  with  all  sorts  of  devices  to 
supply  the  wants  of  a  narrow  establishment ;  he  used  to  delight  par- 
ticularly in  sinking  the  wine  in  a  well  under  the  brae  ere  he  went 
out,  and  hauling  up  the  basket  just  before  dinner  was  announced — 
this  primitive  process  being,  he  said,  what  he  had  always  practised 
when  a  young  housekeeper,  and  in  his  opinion  far  superior  in  its 
results  to  any  application  of  ice  ;  and,  in  the  same  spirit,  whenever 
the  weather  was  sufficiently  genial,  he  voted  for  dining  out  of  doors 
altogether,  which  at  once  got  rid  of  the  inconvenience  of  very  small 
rooms,  and  made  it  natural  and  easy  for  the  gentlemen  to  help  the 
ladies,  so  that  the  paucity  of  servants  went  for  nothing.  Mr.  Rose 
used  to  amuse  himself  by  likening  the  scene  and  the  party  to  the 
closing  act  of  one  of  those  little  French  dramas,  where  '  Monsieur 
le  Comte '  and  '  Madame  la  Comtesse  '  appear  feasting  at  a  village 
bridal  under  the  trees  ;  but  in  truth,  our  '  Monsieur  le  Comte '  was 
only  trying  to  live  over  again  for  a  few  simple  hours  his  own  old  life 
of  Lasswade. 

"  When  circumstances  permitted,  he  usually  spent  one  evening  at 
least  in  the  week  at  our  little  cottage  ;  and  almost  as  frequently  he 
did  the  like  with  the  Fergussons,  to  whose  table  he  could  bring  chance 
visitors  when  he  pleased,  with  equal  freedom  as  to  his  daughter's. 
Indeed,  it  seemed  to  be  much  a  matter  of  chance,  any  fine  day  when 


RISE   OF  PERIODICAL   LITERATURE     527 

there  had  been  no  alarming  invasion  of  the  Southron,  whether  the 
three  families  (which  in  fact  made  but  one)  should  dine  at  Abbots- 
ford,  Huntly  Burn,  or  at  Chief swood  ;  and  at  none  of  them  was  the 
party  considered  quite  complete  unless  it  included  also  Mr.  Laidlaw. 
Death  has  laid  a  heavy  hand  upon  that  circle — as  happy  a  circle,  I 
believe,  as  ever  met.  Bright  eyes  now  closed  in  dust,  gay  voices  for 
ever  silenced,  seem  to  haunt  me  as  I  write.  With  three  exceptions 
they  are  all  gone.  Even  since  the  last  of  these  volumes  was  finished, 
she  whom  I  may  now  sadly  record  as,  next  to  Sir  Walter  himself,  the 
chief  ornament  and  delight  at  all  those  simple  meetings — she  to 
whose  love  I  owed  my  place  in  them — Scott's  eldest  daughter,  the 
one  of  all  his  children  who  in  countenance,  mind,  and  manners  most 
resembled  himself,  and  who  indeed  was  as  like  him  in  all  things  as  a 
gentle  innocent  woman  can  ever  be  to  a  great  man  deeply  tried  and 
skilled  in  the  struggles  and  perplexities  of  active  life — she  too  is  no 
more.  And  in  the  very  hour  that  saw  her  laid  in  her  grave,  the  only 
other  female  survivor,  her  dearest  friend  Margaret  Fergusson, 
breathed  her  last  also.  But  enough — and  more  than  I  intended — I 
must  resume  the  story  of  Abbotsford."  * 

Our  next  shall  conduct  us  to  a  more  jovial  company,  whose 
revels  are  brought  before  us  with  incomparable  spirit  : — 

"  The  feast  was,  to  use  one  of  James's  own  favourite  epithets, 
gorgeous ;  an  aldermanic  display  of  turtle  and  venison,  with  the 
suitable  accompaniments  of  iced  punch,  potent  ale,  and  generous 
Madeira.  When  the  cloth  was  drawn,  the  burley  preses  arose,  with 
all  he  could  muster  of  the  port  of  John  Kemble,  and  spouted  with  a 
sonorous  voice  the  formula  of  Macbeth — 

'  fill  full ! 
I  drink  to  the  general  joy  of  the  whole  table  !  ' 

This  was  followed  by  '  The  King  !  God  bless  him  ! '  and  second 
came,  '  Gentlemen,  there  is  another  toast  which  never  has  been  nor 
shall  be  omitted  in  this  house  of  mine — I  give  you  the  health  of 
Mr.  Walter  Scott  with  three  times  three  ! '  All  honour  having  been 
done  to  this  health,  and  Scott  having  briefly  thanked  the  company 
with  some  expressions  of  warm  affection  to  their  host,  Mrs.  Ballan- 
tyne  retired  ;  the  bottles  passed  round  twice  or  thrice  in  the  usual 


1  Lockhart,  Life  of  Scott,  ch.  xxv.,  ed.  1893,  p.  462. 


way  ;  and  then  James  rose  once  more,  every  vein  on  his  brow 
distended,  his  eyes  solemnly  fixed  upon  vacancy,  to  propose,  not  as 
before  in  his  stentorian  key,  but  with  '  bated  breath,'  in  the  sort  of 
whisper  by  which  a  stage  conspirator  thrills  the  gallery — '  Gentlemen, 
a  bumper  to  the  immortal  author  of  Waverley ! '  The  uproar  of 
cheering,  in  which  Scott  made  a  fashion  of  joining,  was  succeeded 
by  deep  silence,  and  then  Ballantyne  proceeded — 

'  In   his  Lord-Burleigh  look,  serene  and  serious, 
A  something  of  imposing  and  mysterious ' — 

to  lament  the  obscurity  in  which  his  illustrious  but  too  modest  corre- 
spondent still  chose  to  conceal  himself  from  the  plaudits  of  the  world 
— to  thank  the  company  for  the  manner  in  which  the  nominis  umbra 
had  been  received — and  to  assure  them  that  the  author  of  Waverley 
would,  when  informed  of  the  circumstance,  feel  highly  delighted — 
'  the  proudest  hour  of  his  life,'  &c.,  &c.  The  cool,  demure  fun  of 
Scott's  features  during  all  this  mummery  was  perfect ;  and  Erskine's 
attempt  at  gay  nonchalance  was  still  more  ludicrously  meritorious. 
Aldiborontiphoscophornio,  however,  bursting  as  he  was,  knew  too 
well  to  allow  the  new  novel  to  be  made  the  subject  of  discussion. 
Its  name  was  announced,  and  success  to  it  crowned  another  cup  ; 
but  after  that,  no  more  of  Jedediah.  To  cut  the  thread  he  rolled  out 
unbidden  some  one  of  his  many  theatrical  songs,  in  a  style  that  would 
have  done  no  dishonour  to  almost  any  orchestra — The  Maid  of  Lodi, 
or  perhaps  The  Bay  of  Biscay,  oh !  or  The  sweet  little  cherub  that  sits  up 
aloft.  Other  toasts  followed,  interspersed  with  ditties  from  other 
performers ;  old  George  Thomson,  the  friend  of  Burns,  was  ready 
for  one  with  the  Moorland  Wedding,  or  Willie  brew'd  a  peck  o  maut ; 
and  so  it  went  on,  until  Scott  and  Erskine,  with  any  clerical  or  very 
staid  personage  that  had  chanced  to  be  admitted,  saw  fit  to  with- 
draw. Then  the  scene  was  changed.  The  claret  and  olives  made 
way  for  broiled  bones  and  a  mighty  bowl  of  punch  ;  and  when  a  few 
glasses  of  the  hot  beverage  had  restored  his  powers,  James  opened 
ore  rotunda  on  the  merits  of  the  forthcoming  romance.  '  One  chapter 
— one  chapter  only  ' — was  the  cry.  After  '  Nay,  by  'r  Lady,  nay,'  and 
a  few  more  coy  shifts,  the  proof-sheets  were  at  length  produced,  and 
James,  with  many  a  prefatory  hem,  read  aloud  what  he  considered  as 
the  most  striking  dialogue  they  contained. 

"  The  first  I  heard  so  read  was  the  interview  between  Jeanie  Deans, 
the  Duke  of  Argyle,  and  Queen  Caroline,  in  Richmond  Park  ;  and 
notwithstanding  some  spice  of  the  pompous  tricks  to  which  he  was 
addicted,  I  must  say  that  he  did  the  inimitable  scene  great  justice. 
At  all  events,  the  effect  it  produced  was  deep  and  memorable,  and 


RISE   OF  PERIODICAL   LITERATURE     529 

no  wonder  that  the  exulting  typographer's  '  One  bumper  more  to 
Jedediah  Cleishbotham  '  preceded  his  parting  stave,  which  was 
uniformly  The  last  Words  of  Marmion,  executed  certainly  with  no 
contemptible  rivalry  of  Braham."  ' 

Our    last    shall   present   the  closing   scene,   as   described   in 
Loclchart's  memorable  and  impressive  though  simple  words  :  — 

"  As  I  was  dressing  on  the  morning  of  Monday,  the  iyth  of  Sep- 
tember, Nicholson  came  into  my  room  and  told  me  that  his  master 
had  awoke  in  a  state  of  composure  and  consciousness,  and  wished  to 
see  me  immediately.  I  found  him  entirely  himself,  though  in  the 
last  extreme  of  feebleness.  His  eye  was  clear  and  calm,  every  trace 
of  the  wild  fire  of  delirium  extinguished.  '  Lockhart,'  he  said,  '  I 
may  have  but  a  moment  to  speak  to  you.  My  dear,  be  a  good  man 
—  be  virtuous  —  be  religious  —  be  a  good  man.  Nothing  else  will  give 
you  any  comfort  when  you  come  to  lie  here.'  He  paused,  and  I 
said,  '  Shall  I  send  for  Sophia  and  Anne  ?  '  '  No,'  said  he,  '  don't 
disturb  them.  Poor  souls  !  I  know  they  were  up  all  night  —God 
bless  you  all.'  With  this  he  sunk  into  a  very  tranquil  sleep,  and, 
indeed,  he  scarcely  afterwards  gave  any  sign  of  consciousness, 
except  for  an  instant  on  the  arrival  of  his  sons.  They,  on  learning 
that  the  scene  was  about  to  close,  obtained  new  leave  of  absence 
from  their  posts,  and  both  reached  Abbotsford  on  the  iQth.  About 
half  -past  one  p.m.  on  the  2ist  of  September  Sir  Walter  breathed  his 
last,  in  the  presence  of  all  his  children.  It  was  a  beautiful  day  —  so 
warm  that  every  window  was  wide  open  —  and  so  perfectly  still  that 
the  sound  of  all  others  most  delicious  to  his  ear,  the  gentle  ripple  of 
the  Tweed  over  its  pebbles,  was  distinctly  audible  as  we  knelt  around 
the  bed,  and  his  eldest  son  kissed  and  closed  his  eyes."  No 
sculptor  ever  modelled  a  more  majestic  image  of  repose  :  —  «tro 
peyoXttOTi,  XtXaofikvoQ  iinroavvdwv."  ~ 


The  third  member  of  the  triumvirate  was  James  Hogg 
(i  770-1  835  ),3  commonly  known  as  "the  Ettrick  Shepherd," 
and  pronounced  by  Ferrier  to  be  the  greatest  poet,  after  Burns, 
that  had  ever  "  sprung  from  the  bosom  of  the  people."  Hogg's 

1  Lockhart,  Life  of  Scott,  ch.  xli.  ed.  cit.  p.  373. 

2  Ibid.,  ch.  Ixxxiii.,  ed.  cit.  p.  753. 

3  Works,  ed.  Thomson,  2  vols.,  1865.     Memorials,  by  his  daughter,  Mrs. 
Garden,  2nd  ed.,  Paisley,  1887  ;  Saintsbury,  Essays  in  English  Literature, 
1890. 

2  L 


530    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

early  life  was,  in  truth,  passed  in  circumstances  of  the  utmost 
poverty,  and,  unlike  Burns,  he  had  practically  no  education  at 
all.  In  course  of  time,  however,  his  literary  attempts,  par- 
ticularly an  excellent  patriotic  song,  Donald  Macdonald^  brought 
him  into  notice.  He  made  the  acquaintance  of  Scott  in  con- 
nection with  the  Border  Minstrelsy  ;  and,  if  his  worldly  pros- 
perity was  never  established  upon  a  solid  footing,  it  was  not  for 
want  of  zealous  and  powerful  friends  to  render  him  assistance 
in  the  matter  of  taking  and  stocking  hill  farms.  The  chief 
flaw  in  his  character  was  an  inherent  and  egregious  vanity  of 
which  he  owns  that  he  could  never  divest  himself,  and  it  is  to 
be  regretted  that  so  common  and  innocent  a  failing  should  have 
led  him  to  publish  his  brochure  on  The  Domestic  Manners  and 
Private  Life  of  Sir  Walter  Scott  (1834),  a  performance  which 
deservedly  provoked  the  wrath  of  the  hitherto  well-disposed 
and  friendly  Lockhart. 

The  precise  nature  of  the  Boar's  relations  with  BlackwoocCs 
Magazine  is  more  difficult  to  determine  than  that  of  either 
the  Leopard's  or  the  Scorpion's.  By  his  own  account,  of 
course,  he  was  the  "  tongue  of  the  trump  "  ;  and  the  pro- 
minence assigned  to  the  shepherd  in  the  Noctes  might  seem  to 
bear  out  this  view.  There  is  much  of  the  real  Hogg  in  the 
Noctes  beyond  question,  more,,in  all  probability,  than  there  is  of 
the  original  "  Pulltuski  "  in  "  the  Odontist."  But,  if  one  thing 
be  clear  about  Hogg,  it  is  that  he  was  easily  "  drawn,"  in  the 
slang  signification  of  the  word  ;  and  the  character  of  the 
shepherd  was  used  by  his  two  lively  young  friends,  who  were 
extremely  fond  of  the  pastime,  as  a  means  of  "  drawing  "  him 
in  that  sense  of  the  word  as  well  as  in  another.1  Thus  Hogg's 
feelings  were  divided  between  vexation  at  being  held  up  before 
the  public  in  an  undignified  and  ridiculous  light,  and  pride  at 
occupying  so  much  space  in  the  most  popular  periodical  of  the 

1  It  will  be  remembered  that  Lockhart,  when  endeavouring  to  procure 
a  pension  from  the  Literary  Fund  for  Hogg,  protested  against  his  being 
supposed  to  be  the  "boozing  buffoon  "  of  the  Noctes. 


RISE   OF  PERIODICAL   LITERATURE     531 

day.  That  he  contributed  a  good  deal  to  the  Magazine  and  to 
the  Noctes  is  certain  ;  but  where  the  real  shepherd  ends  and 
the  "  idol  shepherd  "  begins  it  is  scarcely  possibly  to  decide. 

Hogg  was  a  most  prolific  author,  and  his  collected  writings 
fill  two  large  and  cumbrous  volumes,  printed  in  double  columns, 
in  which,  by  the  by,  does  not  appear  his  first  serious  prose 
work.1  The  novels,  such  as  the  Brownie  of  Bodsbeck  (1817), 
and  the  tales  such  as  those  collected  under  the  title  of  The 
Shepherd's  Calendar  (1829),  contain  some  good  material,  but  it 
is  not  very  dexterously  used.  The  one  piece  of  prose  fiction 
from  Hogg's  pen  that  is  really  of  any  account  is  The  Private 
Memoirs  and  Confessions  of  a  ^Justified  Sinner ',  which  appeared 
anonymously  (like  Lockhart's  and  most  other  novels  of  that 
age)  in  1824.  It  is  a  study  in  religious  fanaticism,  or,  rather, 
mania,  and  the  tale  is  told  partly  in  an  editorial  narrative,  partly 
by  the  fanatic  himself.  This  unhappy  wretch  is  advised  in  all 
his  doings  and  misdeeds  by  a  mysterious  counsellor,  whose 
identity  it  is  not  difficult  to  trace  for  anyone  who  recollects  his 
Wodrow.  The  style  is  so  much  superior  to  Hogg's  ordinary 
prose,  and  the  character  of  the  hero  so  well  and  consistently 
sustained,  that  some  have  suspected  the  work  to  be  Lockhart's. 
But  there  is  no  external  evidence  to  contradict  tradition,  and 
internal  evidence  on  a  point  of  this  sort  is  notoriously  dangerous 
to  trust  to.  Meanwhile,  I  extract  a  passage  which  may  help 
to  give  some  notion  of  the  character  of  the  hero's  "  illustrious 
friend  "  :- 

"  For  several  days  the  subject  of  Mr.  Blanchard's  doubts  and 
doctrines  formed  the  theme  of  our  discourse.  My  friend  depre- 
cated them  most  devoutly  ;  and  then  again  he  would  deplore  them, 
and  lament  the  great  evil  that  such  a  man  might  do  among  the 
human  race.  I  joined  with  him  in  allowing  the  evil  in  its  fullest 


1  The  Shepherd's  Guide ;  being  a  practical  treatise  on  the  diseases  of  sheep, 
their  causes,  and  the  best  means  of  preventing  them ;  with  obscn*ations  on  the 
most  suitable  farm  stocking  for  the  various  climates  of  this  country, 
Edin.,  1807. 


532    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

latitude  ;  and  at  length,  after  he  thought  he  had  fully  prepared  my 
nature  for  such  a  trial  of  its  powers  and  abilities,  he  proposed  calmly 
that  we  two  should  make  away  with  Mr.  Blanchard.  I  was  so  shocked 
that  my  bosom  became  as  it  were  a  void,  and  the  beatings  of  my 
heart  sounded  loud  and  hollow  in  it ;  my  breath  cut,  and  my  tongue 
and  palate  became  dry  and  speechless.  He  mocked  at  my 
cowardice,  and  began  a-reasoning  on  the  matter  with  such  powerful 
eloquence,  that  before  we  parted  I  felt  fully  convinced  that  it  was 
my  bounden  duty  to  slay  Mr.  Blanchard  ;  but  my  will  was  far,  very 
far  from  consenting  to  the  deed. 

"  I  spent  the  following  night  without  sleep,  or  nearly  so  ;  and  the 
next  morning,  by  the  time  the  sun  arose,  I  was  again  abroad,  and  in 
the  company  of  my  illustrious  friend.  The  same  subject  was  resumed, 
and  again  he  reasoned  to  the  following  purport  :  That  supposing  me 
placed  at  the  head  of  an  army  of  Christian  soldiers,  all  bent  on  put- 
ting down  the  enemies  of  the  church,  would  I  have  any  hesitation  in 
destroying  and  rooting  out  these  enemies  ?  None  surely.  Well  then, 
when  I  saw  and  was  convinced  that  here  was  an  individual  who  was 
doing  more  detriment  to  the  church  of  Christ  on  earth  than  tens  of 
thousands  of  such  warriors  were  capable  of  doing,  was  it  not  my 
duty  to  cut  him  off  and  save  the  elect  ?  'He  who  would  be  a 
champion  in  the  cause  of  Christ  and  His  Church,  my  brave  young 
friend,'  added  he,  '  must  begin  early,  and  no  man  can  calculate  to 
what  an  illustrious  eminence  small  beginnings  may  lead.  If  the  man 
Blanchard  is  worthy,  he  is  only  changing  his  situation  for  a  better 
one  ;  and  if  unworthy,  it  is  better  that  one  fall  than  that  a  thousand 
souls  perish.  Let  us  be  up  and  doing  in  our  vocations.  For  me,  my 
resolution  is  taken ;  I  have  but  one  great  aim  in  this  world,  and  I 
never  for  a  moment  lose  sight  of  it.' 

"  I  was  obliged  to  admit  the  force  of  his  reasoning  ;  for  though  I 
cannot  from  memory  repeat  his  words,  his  eloquence  was  of  that 
overpowering  nature,  that  the  subtility  of  other  men  sunk  before  it ; 
and  there  is  also  little  doubt  that  the  assurance  I  had  that  these  words 
were  spoken  by  a  great  potentate,  who  could  raise  me  to  the  highest 
eminence  (provided  that  I  entered  into  his  extensive  and  decisive 
measures)  assisted  mightily  in  dispelling  my  youthful  scruples  and 
qualms  of  conscience  ;  and  I  thought  moreover  that,  having  such  a 
powerful  back  friend  to  support  me,  I  hardly  needed  to  be  afraid  of 
the  consequences.  I  consented  !  But  begged  a  little  time  to  think 
of  it.  He  said  the  less  one  thought  of  a  duty  the  better  ;  and  we 
parted. 

"  But  the  most  singular  instance  of  this  wonderful  man's  power 
over  my  mind  was,  that  he  had  as  complete  influence  over  me  by 


RISE   OF  PERIODICAL   LITERATURE     533 

night  as  by  day.  All  my  dreams  corresponded  exactly  with  his 
suggestions  ;  and  when  he  was  absent'  from  me,  still  his  arguments 
sunk  deeper  in  my  heart  than  even  when  he  was  present.  I  dreamed 
that  night  of  a  great  triumph  obtained,  and  though  the  whole  scene 
was  but  dimly  and  confusedly  denned  in  my  vision,  yet  the  overthrow 
and  death  of  Mr.  Blanchard  was  the  first  step  by  which  I  attained 
the  eminent  station  I  occupied.  Thus,  by  dreaming  of  the  event  by 
night,  and  discoursing  of  it  by  day,  it  soon  became  so  familiar  to  my 
mind  that  I  almost  conceived  it  as  done.  It  was  resolved  on  :  which 
was  the  first  and  greatest  victory  gained  ;  for  there  was  no  difficulty 
in  finding  opportunities  enow  of  cutting  off  a  man  who,  every  good 
day,  was  to  be  found  walking  by  himself  in  private  grounds.  I  went 
and  heard  him  preach  for  two  days,  and  in  fact  I  held  his  tenets 
little  short  of  blasphemy  ;  they  were  such  as  I  had  never  heard  before, 
and  his  congregation,  which  was  numerous,  were  turning  up  their 
ears  and  drinking  in  his  doctrines  with  the  utmost  delight ;  for  O, 
they  suited  their  carnal  natures  and  self-sufficiency  to  a  hair  !  He 
was  actually  holding  it  forth,  as  a  fact,  that  '  it  was  every  man's  own 
blame  if  he  was  not  saved  ! '  What  horrible  misconstruction  !  And 
then  he  was  alleging,  and  trying  to  prove  from  nature  and  reason, 
that  no  man  ever  was  guilty  of  a  sinful  action,  who  might  not  have 
declined  it  had  he  so  chosen  !  '  Wretched  controvertist  ! '  thought  I 
to  myself  an  hundred  times,  '  shall  not  the  sword  of  the  Lord  be 
moved  from  its  place  of  peace  for  such  presumptuous  testimonies 
as  these  ! "'  i 

Hogg's  verse,  considerable  in  bulk,  is  most  unequal  in 
quality.  His  longest  effort  is  The  Queen's  Wake  (1813),  the 
greater  part  of  which  is  an  echo,  and  not  a  bad  echo,  of 
Scott's  octosyllabics  : 

"When  ceased  the  minstrel's  crazy  song 
His  heedful  glance  embraced  the  throng," 

and  so  forth  :  all  showing  an  accurate  ear  and  considerable 
power  of  versification.  But  the  gem  of  the  Queen's  Wake 
is  Bonny  Kilmeny,  perhaps  the  best  thing  Hogg  ever  penned, 
and  almost  a  justification  of  his  well  known  boast  to  Scott,  to 
the  effect  that  whereas  Scott  was  king  of  the  school  of 
chivalry,  he  (Hogg)  was  the  king  of  the  mountain  fairy 

1  The  Private  Memoirs  and  Confessions  of  a  Justified  Sinner,  1824,  p.  201. 


534    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

school,  which,  he  was  good  enough  to  add,  "is  a  far  higher 
one  than  yours."  Ignoring  the  addition,  we  may  say  that 
Hogg  was  right  in  regarding  an  unusual  felicity  in  handling 
that  branch  of  the  supernatural  as  his  peculiar  excellence.  In 
the  ballad,  or  at  least  the  imitation  of  the  old  ballad,  he  was 
less  uniformly  successful  than  industrious.  Performances  like 
Sir  David  Graeme  or  The  Pedlar,  do  not  inspire  enthusiasm  : 
Gilmanscleugh  is  certainly  rather  better  ;  and,  best  of  all,  is 
The  Witch  of  Fife  in  the  Queen's  Wake.  But  the  finest  of  his 
ballads  is  inferior  to  his  good  lyrics,1  and  the  best  of  his  lyrics 
are  those  in  which  the  humorous  element  is  given  fair  play. 
Gani  ye  by  Athole  is  doubtless  first-rate,  and  moreover  is  curious 
as  showing  how  this  borderer  of  borderers  had  swallowed  the 
Highland-Jacobite  legend,  which  Scott  had  dressed  up  with 
such  amazing  skill.  But  we  suspect  that  we  get  more  of 
the  genuine  shepherd,  and  catch  more  of  the  ring  of  sincerity 
in  either  of  the  songs  from  which  the  following  verses  are 
extracted  : — 


"Come  all  ye  jolly  shepherds 

That  whistle  through  the  glen, 
I'll  tell  ye  of  a  secret 

That  courtiers  dinna  ken  ; 
What  is  the  greatest  bliss 

That  the  tongue  o'  man  can  name  ? 
'Tis  to  woo  a  bonny  lassie 
When  the  kye  comes  hame. 

When  the  kye  comes  hame, 
When  the  kye  comes  hame 
'Tween  the  gloaming  and  the  mirk 
When  the  kye  comes  hame. 


1  The  Mountain  Bard,  1807,  3rd  ed.  with  Memoir,  1821,  The  Forest 
Minstrel,  1810,  and  The  Jacobite  Relics  of  Scotland,  1819-21,  contain, 
with  other  matter,  his  chief  songs.  The  last  named  is  an  extraordinary, 
but  most  interesting,  specimen  of  the  art,  traditional  in  the  Scottish 
minstrel's  trade,  of  "  vamping." 


RISE   OF  PERIODICAL   LITERATURE     535 

'Tis  not  beneath  the  coronet, 

Nor  canopy  of  state, 
'Tis  not  on  couch  of  velvet, 

Nor  arbour  of  the  great — 
'Tis  beneath  the  spreading  birk, 

In  the  glen  without  the  name, 
Wi'  a  bonnie,  bonnie  lassie 

When  the  kye  conies  hame. 

When  the  kye  comes  hame,  &c. 

There  the  blackbird  bigs  his  nest 

For  the  mate  he  lo'es  to  see, 
And  on  the  topmost  bough, 

Oh,  a  happy  bird  is  he ; 
Where  he  pours  his  melting  ditty, 

And  love  is  a'  the  theme, 
And  he'll  woo  his  bonnie  lassie 

When  the  kye  comes  hame, 

When  the  kye  comes  hame,  &c."  ' 

"  I  lately  lived  in  quiet  ease 

An'  never  wished  to  marry,  O  ; 
But  when  I  saw  my  Peggy's  face, 

I  felt  a  sad  quandary,  O. 
Though  wild  as  ony  Athol  deer, 

She  has  trepanned  me  fairly,  O, 
Her  cherry  cheeks  an'  een  sae  clear 
Torment  me  late  an'  early,  O. 
O,  love,  love,  love  ! 

Love  is  like  a  dizziness  ! 
It  wanna  let  a  poor  body 
Gang  about  his  business  ! 

Were  Peggy's  love  to  hire  the  job, 

An'  save  my  heart  frae  breaking,  O, 
I'd  put  a  girdle  round  the  globe, 

Or  dive  in  Corryvrekin,  O  ; 
Or  howk  a  grave  at  midnight  dark, 

In  yonder  vault  sae  eerie,  O  ; 
Or  gang  an'  spier  for  Mungo  Park 

Through  Africa  sae  dreary,  O. 
O  love,  love,  love  !  &c. 


From  When  the  Kye  comes  hame. 


536     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Nae  man  can  tell  what  pains  I  prove, 

Or  how  severe  my  pliskie,  O  ; 
I  swear  I'm  sairer  drunk  wi'  love, 

Than  e'er  I  was  wi'  whisky,  O. 
For  love  has  raked  me  fore  an'  aft, 

I  scarce  can  lift  a  leggie,  O  ; 
I  first  grew  dizzy,  then  gaed  daft, 

An'  soon  I'll  dee  for  Peggy,  O. 
O,  love,  love,  love  !  &c."  ' 

Of  the  Magazine  in  later  years  we  shall  have  to  say  some- 
thing in  connection  with  Aytoun.  Of  the  Magazine  to-day, 
it  is  superfluous  to  say  anything.  It  is  there  to  speak  for  itself. 

The  Edinburgh  Review,  then,  and  Blackwood's  Magazine 
were  the  pioneers  of  that  periodical  literature  in  Great 
Britain  which  has  now  swollen  to  such  extraordinary  dimen- 
sions. They  grew  out  of  the  periodical  literature  which 
preceded  them,  and  retained  for  some  time  one  or  two  of  the 
features  which  distinguished  reviews  and  magazines  at  a  time 
when  there  was  no  daily  press,  and  when  the  weekly  newspaper 
was  expensive  and  jejune.  But  they  were  infinitely  superior  to 
any  of  their  predecessors  ;  they  cemented  if  they  did  not 
create  the  bond  between  the  better  class  of  journalism  and 
literature  ;  and  they  served  at  once  to  stimulate  and  satisfy 
an  intellectual  curiosity  among  the  educated  classes  at  least  as 
strong  as  any  that  exists  at  the  present  day. 

But  while  they  met  the  requirements  of  an  important 
section  of  the  public,  there  was  another,  growing  in  conse- 
quence as  well  as  in  numbers,  which  had  no  less  eager  an 
appetite  for  information  and  entertainment,  though  it  could 
not  afford  half-a-crown  a  month,  or  six  shillings  a  quarter,  to 
gratify  its  passion.  This  fact,  as  we  have  seen,  had  been 
realised  by  Constable,  though  circumstances  had  prevented  his 
taking  advantage  of  it.  Numerous  ventures  had  been  set  on 
foot  both  in  Edinburgh  and  elsewhere,  during  the  earlier  years 

1  From  Love  is  like  a  Dizziness. 


RISE   OF  PERIODICAL   LITERATURE     537 

of  the  century,  to  cater  for  the  mental  needs  of  this  class. 
The  most  successful  of  those  was  probably  The  Cheap  Magazine 
(1813),  which,  at  the  price  of  fourpence,  is  said  to  have  had  at 
one  time  a  circulation  of  20,000  a  month.  Its  founder  was 
George  Miller, J  a  bookseller  and  printer  in  Haddington,  who 
also  published  The  Monthly  Monitor,  and  who  may  be  con- 
sidered as  the  pioneer  of  popular  literature  in  Scotland. 

But  the  most  celebrated  names  in  this  connection  are  those 
of  William  Chambers  (1800-83)  and  his  younger  brother 
Robert  (1802-71).  2  Of  the  two,  William  had  the  better 
head  for  business,  and  Robert  the  better  head  for  litera- 
ture. The  pair  in  alliance  formed  a  powerful  combination, 
and  the  firm  they  founded  deservedly  enjoyed,  as  it  still 
continues  to  do  in  the  third  generation,  great  prosperity. 
Robert  Chambers  began  his  career  by  opening  a  bookstall  in 
Leith  Walk,  and  by  the  time  he  was  twenty,  had  published  his 
Illustrations  of  the  Author  of  Waverley  (1822).  In  rapid  suc- 
cession he  produced  his  Traditions  of  Edinburgh  (1823),  a 
History  of  the  Rebellion  of  1745  (1828),  and  a  collection  of 
Scottish  Ballads  and  Songs  (1829).  His  pen  was  never  idle, 
and  whatever  he  wrote  was  a  happy  mixture  of  the  utile  and 
the  duke.  His  Domestic  Annals  of  Scotland  (1859-61)  and 
his  Book  of  Days  (1862-64)  were  at  one  time  to  be  met  with 
in  every  Scottish  household  ;  while  the  Encyclopaedia  of  the 
firm,  as  well  as  its  Cyclopaedia  of  English  Literature  (of  which 
a  new  edition  is  at  present  in  the  course  of  appearing),  have 
attained  even  wider  celebrity.  Robert  Chambers's  chef  d'ceuvre^ 
however,  was  his  anonymous  Vestiges  of  the  Natural  History  of 
the  Creation  (1844),  which  in  some  sort  paved  the  way  for  the 
reception  of  the  Darwinian  theory  of  the  origin  of  species,  and 

1  His  son,  James  Miller  (1792-1865),  continued  his  father's  business  for 
some  years,  and  wrote  a  well-known  work  on  the  history  of  the  county, 
entitled  The  Lamp  of  Lothian  (Haddington,  1844).    See  Dundee  Advertiser, 
May  2,  1901,  and  Glasgow  Herald,  April  n,  1903. 

2  See  William   Chambers,  Memoir  of  William  and  Robert  Chambers, 
1872, 13th  ed.  1884,  for  an  account  of  their  early  struggles. 


538     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

whose  merits  were  recognised  by  Mr.  Darwin  himself.  The 
secret  of  the  authorship,  though  often  suspected,  was  not 
disclosed  until  after  William's  death. 

In  1832,  the  two  brothers  founded  Chambers1  s  Edinburgh 
'Journal  at  the  price  of  i^d.  a  week,  at  which  it  commanded 
what  was  then  considered  an  enormous  sale.  It  must  be 
owned  that  for  many  years  the  journal  had  little  more  than  a 
bowing  acquaintance  with  literature  in  the  higher  sense  of  the 
term.  Its  tone  was  of  the  " Diffusion  of  Useful  Knowledge" 
kind,  and  though  some  authors  who  subsequently  attained  fame 
were  allowed  to  try  their  'prentice  hand  on  its  readers,  no  very 
noteworthy  work  was  given  to  the  public  through  its  interven- 
tion. The  editorship  of  James  Payn  (whose  Lost  Sir  Massing- 
bird  had  appeared  in  its  pages)  was  one  perpetual  struggle 
between  the  literary  instinct,  as  represented  by  him,  and  the 
business  instinct,  as  represented  by  William  Chambers.  It  is 
needless  to  say  which  prevailed,  but,  in  more  recent  years,  the 
literary  quality  of  the  contents  of  the  "Journal  has  much  im- 
proved. Instead  of  descending  to  the  level  of  its  competitors — 
more  numerous  and  formidable  than  of  yore — it  has  raised  its 
standard,  and,  without  sacrificing  any  of  the  characteristic 
features  which  endeared  it  to  its  old  clientele,  has  added  new 
ones  which  appear  to  be  appreciated  by  its  readers  at  least  as 
much  as  interviews  with  actresses  and  aeronauts,  or  zinco- 
photographic  reproductions  of  diseased  turnips. 


CHAPTER   X 

THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY  :     1801-48 

THE  opening  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century  is  remarkable 
in  the  literature  of  Scotland,  not  only  for  the  phenomena  to 
which  we  have  already  adverted,  but  also,  for  the  first  appear- 
ance of  the  female  author  in  prose.  England  had  had  her 
Behn,  her  Haywood,  her  Macaulay,  her  Hannah  More,  her 
Mrs.  RadclifFe  ;  but  Scotland  had  hitherto  wanted  for  any 
worthy  representative  of  their  sex  except  in  verse.1  The 
deficiency  was  now  to  be  supplied  by  several  ladies,  of  whom 
the  earliest  comer  was  Anne  M'Vicar  (1755-1838),  better 
known  as  Mrs.  Grant  "  of  Laggan,"  2  that  being  the  parish  of 
which  her  husband  was  for  some  time  minister.  Born  in 
Glasgow,  she  naturally  followed  her  father  when  military 
duties  called  him  to  Fort  Augustus,  whence  she  wrote  to  a 
friend  those  Letters  from  the  Mountains  which  were  collected 
and  published  in  1806. 3  This  was  not  her  first  attempt  in 
literature,  a  volume  of  Poems  having  preceded  it  by  three  years. 

1  Mackenzie  seldom  or  never  animadverts  in  the  Mirror  or  the  Lounget 
on  female  pedants   and  blue-stockings.     Whence  we  may   infer,  not  so 
much  that  he  liked  them,  as  that  they  were  not  very  numerous  in  general 
society. 

2  Memoirs  and  Correspondence,  ed.  Grant,  3  vols.,  1844. 

3  Sixth  ed.,  2  vols.,  1845. 

539 


540    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

But  it  is  the  Letters  which  in  some  sort  preserve  her  name,  and 
which  do  her  abilities  most  credit. 

We  need  not  suppose  that  this  correspondence  was  "touched 
up"  or  altered  to  any  serious  extent  before  being  sent  to  press. 
Personal  allusions  which  might  cause  needless  pain  were  sup- 
pressed ;  but  otherwise  there  is  nothing  to  suggest  that  the  letters 
were  not  originally  written  much  as  they  are  printed.  They 
contain  a  good  deal  about  the  Highlands  and  their  inhabitants 
which,  to  the  reader  of  that  day,  was  doubtless  novel  and 
curious.  But  to  a  later  generation  their  importance  would 
appear  to  consist  wholly  in  the  unconscious  revelation  of  the 
author's  personality.  Miss  M'Vicar  was  probably  not  very 
different  from  any  other  young  lady  of  the  period,  except  in  so 
far  as  she  possessed  unusual  intelligence  ;  and  it  is  interesting 
to  watch  the  schoolgirl,  with  her  rhapsodies  of  enthusiasm, 
gradually  merging  in  the  mature  and  experienced  matron. 
The  dash  of  "sensibility"  which  no  self-respecting  young 
woman  of  her  generation  could  have  afforded  to  dispense  with, 
she  never  wholly  lost ;  but  it  was  qualified  by  close  observation, 
a  considerable  power  of  judging  character,  and  a  sufficiency  of 
common  sense.  She  did  not  take  kindly  to  new  "movements" 
and  crazes,  and  her  comments  on  Mrs.  Shelley's  Vindication 
illustrate  aptly  enough  her  shrewdness  and  her  gift  of  vigorous 
expression.  "Nothing,"  she  says,  "can  be  more  specious  and 
plausible,  for  nothing  can  delight  Misses  more  than  to  tell 
them  they  are  as  wise  as  their  masters.  Though,  after  all, 
they  will  in  every  emergency  be  like  Trinculo  in  the  storm 
when  he  crept  under  Caliban's  gaberdine  for  shelter."  I  We 
may  also  remember  her  comparison  of  Scott  and  his  wife  to 
the  burning-glass,  which  is  unaffected  by  the  rays  of  the  sun, 
and  the  bit  of  paper  beside  it,  which  presently  bursts  into  a 
blaze.2 

Elizabeth  Hamilton  (1758-1816),  though  no  more  than 
three  years  younger  than  Mrs.  Grant,  found  a  medium  for 

1  Letters,  vol.  ii.  p.  66.  2  Lockhart,  Life  of  Scott,  ed.  1893,  p.  154. 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY:    1801-48     54' 

expressing  her  ideas  in  the  novel.  She  was  strongly  imbued 
with  that  optimistic  belief  in  the  possibility  of  an  appreciable 
and  speedy  amelioration  in  the  human  race  which  the  experi- 
ence of  another  century  has  led  most  people  to  question.  In 
1813  she  published  A  series  of  popular  Essays  illustrative  of 
Principles  essentially  connected  with  the  Improvement  of  the 
Understanding,  the  Imagination,  and  the  Heart.  But,  five  years 
before,  she  had  ventilated  in  another  shape  her  views  upon  a 
practical  branch  of  reform  which  had  for  long  been  neglected 
in  Scotland.  The  Cottagers  of  Glenburnie  (1808)  contains  an 
admirably  realistic  picture  of  the  "through-other"  Scots  family 
of  the  small-farmer  class,  whose  motto  is,  "  the  clartier,  the 
cosier,"  and  whose  presence  in  the  village  of  to-day  is  much 
less  frequently  indicated  by  external  signs  than  it  was  a  century 
ago.  That  the  M'Clarty  household  is,  in  the  long  run, 
redeemed  from  unnecessary  dirt  and  squalor  was  probably  to 
the  writer  the  cardinal  feature  in  the  book  ;  but  it  is  in  their 
unregenerate  state  that  they  awaken  the  interest  of  the  modern 
reader.  Less  consciously  and  avowedly  philanthropic,  but 
no  less  fundamentally  good  and  amiable  than  Miss  Hamilton, 
was  Mary  Brunton  ( 1773-1 8  iS),1  a  Balfour  from  Orkney  by 
birth,  and  consort  by  marriage  of  Dr.  Brunton,  Professor  of 
Hebrew  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  Her  life  was 
uneventful ;  and  of  her  character  and  tastes  we  know  no  more 
than  what  a  memoir,  prefixed  to  a  posthumous  fragment  of 
her  work,  vouchsafes  to  tell  us.  Thence  we  learn  that  the 
demonstration  by  reductio  ad  absurdum  was  highly  distasteful  to 
her,  and  that  "  her  ear  was  peculiarly  gratified  by  the  music  of 
Dr.  Robertson's  style."  Her  own  is  not  distinguished,  though 
enlivened  here  and  there  by  strokes  of  quiet  and  unobtrusive 
humour,  like  the  remark  :  "Finding  it  impossible  to  derive 
from  himself  or  his  ancestors  sufficient  consequence  to  satisfy 
his  desires,  he  was  obliged  to  draw  for  means  upon  posterity  by 
becoming  the  founder  of  a  family."  Self-control  was  published 
1  See  an  article  in  the  National  Observer,  March  31, 1894. 


542    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

in  1811,  and  Discipline  in  1814.  Both  attained  a  fair  measure 
of  success  ;  but  the  latter,  in  which  there  was  an  attempt  to 
portray  Highland  manners,  was  eclipsed  by  Waverley.  Mrs. 
Brunton's  good  people  are  prigs,  and  her  bad  people  outrage- 
ously villanous.  Yet  Emmeline,  which  appeared  in  1819,  holds 
out  a  promise  of  better  things,  which,  had  the  writer  been 
spared,  might  have  raised  her  to  a  higher  position  than  she 
actually  occupies  in  the  rank  of  novelists. 

Far  superior  to  either  Miss  Hamilton  or  Mrs.  Brunton  was 
Susan  Edmonstone  Ferrier  (1782— 1 854),*  tne  Scottish  member 
of  an  illustrious  trio  to  which  Ireland  supplied  Miss  Edgeworth 
and  England  supplied  Miss  Austen.  There  is  little  of  moment 
in  her  private  life  to  note  :  the  account  given  by  Loclchart 2 
of  her  visit  to  Abbotsford  in  1831  conveys  as  favourable  an 
idea  of  an  essentially  sterling  and  excellent  nature  as  any  other 
recorded  episode. 

Miss  Ferrier  was  the  author  of  three  novels  :  Marriage 
(1818),  The  Inheritance  (1824),  and  Destiny  (1831).  They 
all  possess  much  the  same  merits  and  much  the  same  defects. 
The  plots  are  neither  plausible  nor  interesting.  There  are 
long  hortatory  digressions,  in  which  the  views  of  contemporary 
evangelicalism  are  enforced  with  more  zeal  than  discretion. 
The  heroes  and  heroines  are  insipid  and  unattractive.  Mr. 
Lyndsay,  the  good  angel  of  The  Inheritance,  is,  frankly,  a  bore : 
the  sort  of  bore  who  predicts  that  "  the  profane  and  licentious 
works  of  Lord  B.  will  live  only  in  the  minds  of  the  profane 
and  impure,  and  will  soon  be  classed  among  other  worthless 
dross,"  whereas  his  other  writings  will  be  treasured  by  posterity. 
Not  a  very  happy  effort  in  vaticination,  one  may  note,  though 
professional  critics  have  often  gone  as  far  astray  as  this  amateur. 
Colonel  Delmour,  the  man  of  ton,  who  trifles  with  the  heroine's 
affections,  is  conventional  and  incredible  ;  so  is  Lewiston,  the 

1  Miss  Ferrier's  works  were  reprinted  in  6  vols.  (Bentley)  1882,  and 
(Dent)  1894.     See  also  Memoir  and  Correspondence,  ed.  Doyle,  1898. 

2  Life  of  Scott,  ed.  cit.,  724. 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY:   1801-48     543 

heavy  villain  of  the  piece.  But  all  these  features  may  be  elimi- 
nated, and  yet  leave  a  large  balance  of  substantial  excellences 
in  Miss  Ferrier's  favour  ;  the  faculty  of  keen  observation,  and 
a  gift  of  satirical  and  unsparing  humour  in  handling  almost  all 
classes  of  her  countrymen,  but  especially  those  of  the  lower 
middle  order  who  have  a  decided  tinge  of  vulgarity. 

We  do  not  mean  that  her  pictures  of  high  society  are  bad. 
Lord  Rossville  is  very  nearly  perfect,  and  the  fine  ladies  and 
gentlemen  for  whom  Dr.  Redgill  prescribes  in  Marriage  are 
far  superior  to  those  of  the  average  novelist.  In  a  somewhat 
lower  rank  of  life,  again,  old  Glenfern,  with  his  three  sisters 
and  his  five  rubicund  daughters,  is  admirable  :  a  picture  of  the 
old-fashioned  laird  of  small  means  and  homely  manners,  who 
flourished  in  Scotland  during  the  eighteenth  century.  The 
Misses  Jacky,  Nicky,  and  Grizzy  Douglas,  indeed,  are  almost 
as  far  beyond  praise  as  the  incomparable  Miss  Pratt,  with  her 
incessant  talk  of  Anthony  Whyte.  But  it  is  when  she  gets 
down  to  an  inferior  stratum  of  society  still,  that  Miss  Ferrier 
is  seen  in  her  most  characteristic  mood.  She  positively  revels 
in  depicting  the  affectations  of  the  would-be  genteel  ;  and  their 
speech  and  modes  of  thought  are  reproduced  with  so  essential  a 
fidelity  that  her  sketches  are  as  true  to  life  to-day  as  they  were 
eighty  years  ago.  Here,  no  doubt,  we  become  sensible  of  the 
defects  of  Miss  Ferrier's  quality.  She  "  takes  sides "  too 
openly.  Infinitely  more  brilliant,  though  no  less  didactic,  than 
Miss  Edgeworth,  she  has  none  of  the  serene  impartiality  or 
Miss  Austen.  The  sun,  if  she  had  her  way,  would  no  longer 
shine  on  the  just  and  the  unjust.  The  objectionable  person- 
ages must  be  "  warmed  up  to  rights,"  and  her  treatment  of 
them  is  like  nothing  more  than  the  treatment  of  a  rat  by  a 
terrier,  so  unmercifully  are  the  luckless  wretches  used.  Every 
detail  in  the  matter  of  personal  appearance  and  environment — 
and  Miss  Ferrier's  command  of  detail  was  almost  as  great  as 
that  of  Smollett  or  Dickens — is  pressed  into  the  service  against 
them,  and  nothing  is  omitted  which  can  assist  in  holding  up 


544    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

the  offending  character  to  ridicule  and  contempt.  Every  now 
and  then  there  is  no  venom  on  the  weapon  ;  Mrs.  Goodwilly's 
excellent  letter  to  Miss  Becky  Duguid  is  free  from  malice 
prepense.  But  personal  animosity  is  the  note  of  many  of  her 
best  passages,  and  what  is  really  to  be  admired  is  the  accuracy  of 
aim  with  which  that  somewhat  unmanageable  passion  is  usually 
directed.  Take  this  excerpt  from  the  account  of  the  Fairbairn 
menage : — 

"  The  children  of  this  happy  family  always  dined  at  table,  and  their 
food  and  manner  of  eating  were  the  only  subjects  of  conversation. 
Alexander  did  not  like  mashed  potatoes,  and  Andrew  Waddell  could 
not  eat  broth,  and  Eliza  could  live  upon  fish,  and  William  Pitt  took 
too  much  small  beer,  and  Henry  ate  as  much  meat  as  his  papa  ;  and 
all  these  peculiarities  had  descended  to  them  from  some  one  or 
other  of  their  ancestors.  The  dinner  was  simple  on  account  of  the 
children,  and  there  was  no  dessert,  as  Bobby  did  not  agree  with  fruit. 
But  to  make  amends,  Eliza's  sampler  was  shown,  and  Henry  and 
Alexander's  copy-books  were  handed  round  the  table,  and  Andrew 
Waddell  stood  up  and  repeated,  '  My  name  is  Norval,'  from 
beginning  to  end,  and  William  Pitt  was  prevailed  upon  to  sing  the 
whole  of  '  God  save  the  King,'  in  a  little  squeaking  mealy  voice, 
and  was  bravoed  and  applauded,  as  though  he  had  been  Braham 
himself." ' 

First  rate,  must  be  the  verdict,  of  its  kind  ;  but  perhaps  a 
little  cruel.  No  man  could  have  barbed  the  dart  so  cunningly. 
Miss  Ferrier's  triumphs  in  her  own  method  of  character 
painting  are  probably  the  Rev.  Duncan  M'Dow,  in  Destiny, 
and  the  Black  family  in  The  Inheritance.  The  spice  of 
vindictiveness,  and  the  consequent  exaggeration,  in  the  minister 
are  beyond  denial.  We  almost  find  it  in  our  heart  to  be 
sorry  for  the  reverend  gentleman,  especially  when  he  and 
"  mammaw  "  take  little  Marjory  Muckle  M'Dow  to  pay  an 
unsolicited  visit  to  Sir  Reginald  at  his  Richmond  villa.  Miss 
Ferrier  got  a  "  cast  of  grace  "  at  some  period  or  other  of  her 
life,  and  the  consequences  are  apparent  in  the  metaphorical 

1  From  The  Inheritance,  ch.  xxvii,  ed.  1882,  i.  p.  241. 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY:   1801-48     545 

mauling  and  pummelling  to  which  this  Moderate,  who  cares 
more  for  his  "  augmentation  "  than  for  the  spiritual  interests  of 
his  parishioners,  is  consistently  subjected.  A  passage  from 
the  description  of  a  luncheon-party  at  the  manse  will  help  to 
show  how  formidable  a  person  Miss  Ferrier  must  have  been  to 
people  whom  she  happened  not  to  like  : — 

"  This  sentiment  uttered,  a  grace  was  hurried  over ;  and  the 
company  seated  themselves  at  table,  which  was  literally  covered 
with  dishes,  all  close  huddled  together.  In  the  middle  was  a  tureen 
of  leek-soup,  alias  cocky-leeky,  with  prunes  ;  at  one  end,  a  large  dish 
of  innumerable  small  clammy  fresh-water  trouts  ;  at  the  other,  two 
enormous  fat  ducks,  stuffed  to  the  throat  with  onions,  and  decorated 
with  onion  rings  round  their  legs  and  pinions.  At  the  corners  were 
minced  collops  and  tripe,  confronted  with  a  dish  of  large,  old  peas, 
drowned  (for  they  could  not  swim)  in  butter  ;  next,  a  mess  of  mashed 
potatoes,  scored  and  rescored  with  the  marks  of  the  kitchen-knife — 
a  weapon  which  is  to  be  found  in  all  kitchens,  varying  in  length  from 
one  to  three  feet ;  and  in  uncivilised  hands  used  indiscriminately  to 
cut  meat,  fish,  fowl,  onions,  bread,  and  butter.  Saucers  full  of  ill- 
coloured  pickles  filled  up  the  interstices. 

" '  I  ordered  merely  a  slight  refreshment,'  said  Mr.  M'Dow, 
surveying  his  banquet  with  great  complacency ;  '  I  think  it 
preferable  to  a  more  solid  mail  in  this  weather.  Of  all  good  Scotch 
dishes,  in  my  opinion,  there's  none  equal  to  cocky-leeky  ;  as  a  friend 
of  mine  said,  it's  both  nectar  and  ambrosia.  You'll  find  that 
uncommonly  good,  Miss  Lucy,  if  you'll  just  try  it ;  for  it's  made  by  a 
receipt  of  my  mother's,  and  she  was  always  famous  for  cocky-leeky  ; 
the  prunes  are  a  great  improvement ;  they  give  a  great  delicacy  to 
the  flavour  ;  my  leeks  are  not  come  to  their  full  strength  yet ;  but 
they  are  extremely  sweet ;  you  may  help  me  to  a  few  more  of  the 
broth,  Captain,  and  don't  spare  the  leeks.  I  never  see  cocky-leeky 
without  thinking  of  the  honest  man  who  found  a  snail  in  his  :  '  Tak' 
ye  that  snack,  my  man,'  says  he,  'for  looking  sae  like  a  plum-damy' ; 
hach,  hach,  ho  !  There's  a  roasted  hare  coming  to  remove  the  fish, 
and  I  believe  you  see  your  refreshment ;  there's  merely  a  few  trifles 
coming.' 

"  Lucy  had  accepted  one  of  Mr.  Dugald's  muddy  little  trouts.  as  the 
least  objectionable  article  of  the  repast ;  and  while  Mr.  M'Dow's 
mouth  was  stuffed  with  prunes  and  leeks,  silence  ensued.  But 
having  despatched  a  second  plateful,  and  taken  a  bumper  of  wine,  he 
began  again,  '  I  can  answer  for  the  ducks,  Miss  Lucy,  if  you'll  do  me 

2M 


546    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

the  favour  to  try  them.  A  clean  knife  and  fork,  Jess,  to  Mr.  Dugald 
to  cut  them.  I  prefer  ducks  to  a  goose  ;  a  goose  is  an  inconvenient 
sort  of  bird,  for  it's  rather  large  for  one  person,  and  it's  not  big 
enough  for  two.  But  my  stars,  Jess  !  what  is  the  meaning  of  this  ? 
The  ducks  are  perfectly  raw  ! '  in  an  accent  of  utter  despair.  '  What 
is  the  meaning  of  it  ?  You  must  take  it  to  the  brander  and  get  it 
done  as  fast  as  you  can.  How  came  Eppy  to  go  so  far  wrong,  I 
wonder  ? ' 

"Jess  here  emitted  some  of  her  guttural  sounds,  which,  being 
translated,  amounted  to  this,  that  the  jack  had  run  down,  and 
Eppy  couldn't  set  it  going  again. 

" '  That's  most  ridiculous  ! '  exclaimed  Mr.  M'Dow,  indignantly  ; 
'  when  I  was  at  the  pains  to  show  her  myself  how  to  manage  her. 
She's  the  Auchnagoil  jack,  which  I  bought,  and  a  most  famous  goer. 
But  you  see  how  it  is,  Miss  Lucy  ;  you  must  make  allowance  for  a 
bachelor's  house — there's  a  roasted  hare  coming.  Jess,  take  away 
the  fish  and  bring  the  hare  to  me.'  The  hare  was  herewith  intro- 
duced, and  flung,  rather  than  placed,  before  her  master.  '  Oh,  this  is 
quite  intolerable  !  There's  really  no  bearing  this !  The  hare's 
burnt  to  a  perfect  stick  !  The  whole  jice  is  out  of  its  body ! ' 

" '  Your  cook's  not  a  good  hare-dresser,  that's  all  that  can  be  said,' 
quoth  Mr.  Dugald. 

" '  Very  well  said — extremely  good,'  said  Mr.  M'Dow,  trying  to 
laugh  off  his  indignation  ;  '  and  after  all  I  believe  it's  only  a  little 
scowthered.  Do  me  the  favour  to  try  a  morsel  of  it,  Miss  Lucy,  with 
a  little  jeelly.  Jess,  put  down  the  jeelly.  Oh,  have  you  nothing  but 
a  pig  to  put  it  in  ? '  demanded  he,  in  a  most  wrathful  accent,  as  Jess 
clapped  down  a  large  native  jelly-pot  upon  the  table.  'Where's  the 
handsome  cut  crystal  jeelly-dish  I  bought  at  the  Auchnagoil  roup  ?' 

"  Jess's  face  turned  very  red,  and  a  downcast  look  of  conscious 
guilt  told  that  the  'handsome  cut  crystal  jelly-dish  '  was  no  more. 

" '  O,  this  is  really  beyond  all  bearing  !  quite  insufferable  ! '  This 
was  uttered  in  a  tone  at  once  expressive  of  rage,  anguish,  and 
revenge." ' 

Delightful  as  Mr.  M'Dow  is,  he  must,  however,  yield  the 
pas  as  gracefully  as  he  can,  to  Miss  Bell  Black,  afterwards  Mrs. 
Major  Waddell  (the  Major,  if  we  mistake  not,  was  a  nephew 
of  Waddell  of  Waddell  Mains,  and  a  cousin  of  Bog  of  Boghall), 
in  The  Inheritance.  We  doubt  whether  in  the  whole  range  of 
fiction  there  is  a  more  exquisitely  finished  study  of  sheer 

1  Destiny,  ch.  xviii.  ed.  1882,  i.  147. 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY:    1801-48     547 

vulgarity  :  even  Mrs.  Elton  must  admit  a  sister  to  her  throne. 
But  to  know  how  good  Mrs.  Major  Waddell  is,  you  must 
know  something  of  Scotland  and  of  life  in  the  country  towns 
of  Scotland.  The  following  extract,  which  necessities  of  space 
have  compelled  us  to  retrench,  will,  it  is  hoped,  convey  some 
notion  of  this  immortal  female  : — 

"  '  Bless  me,  Major  ! '  exclaimed  the  lady  in  a  tone  of  alarm,  '  is  it 
possible  that  you  have  been  walking  ?  And  the  roads  are  quite  wet ! 
Why  did  you  not  tell  me  you  were  going  out,  and  I  would  have 
ordered  the  carriage  for  you,  and  have  gone  with  you,  although  I 
believe  it  is  the  etiquette  for  a  married  lady  to  be  at  home  for  some 
time  ; '  then  observing  a  spot  of  mud  on  his  boot,  '  And  you  have  got 
your  feet  quite  wet ;  for  Heaven's  sake,  Major,  do  go  and  change 
your  boots  directly  !  I  see  they  are  quite  wet  ! ' 

"The  Major  looked  delighted  at  this  proof  of  conjugal  tenderness, 
but  protested  that  his  feet  were  quite  dry,  holding  up  a  foot  in  appeal 
to  the  company. 

" '  Now,  how  can  you  say  so,  Major,  when  I  see  they  are  quite  damp  ? 
Do,  I  entreat  you,  put  them  off ;  it  makes  me  perfectly  wretched  to 
think  of  your  sitting  with  wet  feet ;  you  know  you  have  plenty  of 
boots.  I  made  him  get  a  dozen  pairs  when  we  were  at  York,  that  I 
might  be  quite  sure  of  his  always  having  dry  feet.  Do,  my  love,  let 
Cajsar  help  you  off  with  these  for  any  sake  ! — for  my  sake,  Major.  I 
ask  it  as  a  personal  favour.' 

"  This  was  irresistible  ;  the  Major  prepared  to  take  the  suspected 
feet  out  of  company  with  a  sort  of  vague,  mixed  feeling  floating  in 
his  brain,  which,  if  it  had  been  put  into  words,  would  have  been  thus 
rendered — 

" '  What  a  happy  dog  am  I  to  be  so  tenderly  beloved  by  such  a 
charming  girl  ;  and  yet  what  a  confounded  deal  of  trouble  it  is  to  be 
obliged  to  change  one's  boots  every  time  my  wife  sees  a  spot  of  mud 
on  them  ! ' 

"  '  Now,  you  won't  be  long,  Major  ? '  cried  the  lady,  as  the  Major 
went  off,  attended  by  Caesar.  '  The  Major  is  so  imprudent,  and  takes 
so  little  care  of  himself,  he  really  makes  me  quite  wretched  ;  but  how 
do  you  think  he  looks  ? ' 

"  At  that  moment  the  Major  entered,  with  a  very  red  face  and  a 
pair  of  new  boots,  evidently  too  tight. 

"  '  You  see  what  it  is  to  be  under  orders,'  said  he,  pointing  to  his 
toes,  and  trying  to  smile  in  the  midst  of  his  anguish. 


548     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

"'It's  lucky  for  you,  Major,  I'm  sure,  that  you  are  ;  for  I  don't 
believe  there  ever  was  anybody  on  earth  so  careless  of  themselves  as 
you  are.  What  do  you  think  of  his  handing  Lady  Fairacre  to  her 
carriage  yesterday  in  the  midst  of  the  rain,  and  without  his  hat,  too  ? 
But  I  hope  you  changed  your  stockings  as  well  as  your  boots, 
Major  ?' 

" '  I  assure  you,  upon  my  honour,  my  dear,  neither  of  them  were 
the  least  wet.' 

'"Oh  !  now,  Major,  you  know  if  you  haven't  changed  your  stockings 
I  shall  be  completely  wretched,'  cried  the  lady,  all  panting  with 
emotion.  '  Good  gracious  !  To  think  of  your  keeping  on  your  wet 
stockings — I  never  knew  anything  like  it ! ' 

"  '  I  assure  you,  my  dear  Bell,' began  the  Major. 

'"Oh  !  now,  my  dearest  Major,  if  you  have  the  least  regard  for  me, 
I  beseech  you  put  off  your  stockings  this  instant.  Oh  !  I  am  certain 
you've  got  cold  already — how  hot  you  are,'  taking  his  hand  ;  '  and 
don't  you  think  his  colour  very  high  ?  Now  I'm  quite  wretched 
about  you.' 

"  In  vain  did  the  poor  Major  vow  and  protest  as  to  the  state  of  his 
stockings — it  was  all  in  vain  ;  the  lady's  apprehensions  were  not  to 
be  allayed,  and  again  he  had  to  limp  away  to  pull  off  boots  which 
the  united  exertions  of  himself  and  Cassar  had  with  difficulty  got  on. 

"  '  I  really  think  my  wife  will  be  for  keeping  me  in  a  bandbox,'  said 
he,  with  a  sort  of  sardonic  smile,  the  offspring  of  flattered  vanity  and 
personal  suffering. 

"The  poor  Major  once  more  made  his  appearance  re-booted,  and 
trying  to  look  easy  under  the  pressure  of  his  extreme  distress. 

" '  Now,  are  you  quite  sure  you  changed  your  stockings,  Major  ? 
Are  you  not  cheating  me  ?  Cassar,  did  the  Major  change  his 
stockings  ? ' 

"Caesar,  with  a  low  bow,  confirmed  the  important  fact,  and  that 
interesting  question  was  at  length  set  at  rest."1 

Again  the  touch  of  animosity  and  exaggeration  is  obvious  ; 
but,  again,  the  tone,  the  manner,  above  all,  the  language,  are 
suggested  with  consummate  success.  The  speech  of  the  class 
which,  despising  the  vernacular,  has  not  yet  mastered  the 
English  idiom,  has  never  been  reproduced  with  half  the  truth 
and  vivacity  of  Miss  Ferrier. 

1  From  The  Inheritance,  ch.  xlvii,  ed.  1882,  i.  413. 


THE   NINETEENTH  CENTURY:    1801-48     549 

The  most  prolific  of  the  lesser  novelists  of  this  period  was  un- 
questionably John  Gait  (1779-1839),  a  native  of  Irvine.  The 
sum  of  his  literary  production  is  said  to  amount  to  sixty  volumes, 
besides  plays  and  contributions  to  periodicals  ;  yet  he  was  by 
way  of  being  a  man  of  commerce  rather  than  of  letters.  From 
his  early  youth  he  was  a  great  projector,  and  all  his  mercantile 
schemes  ended  in  disaster,  which  he  bore  with  exemplary 
fortitude.  Canada  was  the  scene  of  his  chief  attempt  at 
making  a  fortune,  and  many  years  previously  he  had  cruised 
on  the  same  errand  in  the  Levant,  where  he  had  met  Hobhouse 
and  Byron.  His  biography  of  the  latter  has  never  been  very 
highly  esteemed. 

Gait,  then,  had  had  a  larger  experience  of  the  world  than 
often  falls  to  clerks  in  H.M.  Customs.  But,  from  the  point 
of  view  of  literature,  he  turned  it  to  comparatively  poor 
account.  None  of  his  novels *  deserve  to  be  read  save  those 
of  which  the  material  is  what  he  collected  in  Ayrshire  in  his 
early  years,  and  stored  in  a  singularly  retentive  memory.  Some 
people  have  read  Laurie  Todd  (1830),  and  others  have  read 
Ringan  Gilhaize  (1823),  an  historical  romance,  in  which  the 
Covenanters  are  vindicated  from  the  strictures  of  Scott.  But 
no  one  living  (so  far  as  I  am  aware)  has  ever  read  Bogle 
Corbet  (1831)  or  Stanley  Buxton  (1832).  Of  his  numerous 
writings,  perhaps  the  only  one  which  might  deservedly  be 
more  accessible  than  it  is,  is  The  Member  (1832),  and  even 
that  can  have  no  charms  for  those  who  despise  "  ancient 
history." 

Gait's  most  ambitious  effort  was  his  anonymous  Omen  (1825), 
which  was  at  first  (by  Scott,  amongst  others)  attributed  to 
Lockhart.  Careless,  as  a  rule,  about  the  niceties  of  style,  he 
obviously  took  great  pains  about  this  book,  and  polished  and 

1  An  excellent  edition  of  Gait's  best  novels  is  published  by  Blackwood 
in  6  vols.  (Edin.,  1895-97).  The  same  publishers,  it  is  believed,  keep  The 
Omen  in  print.  Quoad  ultra,  see  Gait's  Autobiography,  2  vols.,  and  the 
Memoir  by  D.  M.  Moir  ("  Delta  "). 


550    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

repolished  it  until,  if  it  were  in  mortals  to  command  success, 
success  had  assuredly  been  his.  Yet,  somehow  or  other,  it 
lacks  the  breadth  of  handling  and  impressiveness  of  treatment 
which  are  present  in  great  works,  and  absent  in  works  not 
great.  He  was,  in  truth,  much  more  in  his  element  in  a 
miscellany  like  The  Steamboat,  which  purports  to  recount  the 
adventures  of  Mr.  Duffle,  a  haberdasher,  on  his  voyage  to  the 
coronation,  and  in  which  a  sketch,  entitled  The  Wearyfu 
IWoman,  has  attained  some  celebrity.  The  masterpiece  of  the 
collection,  however,  as  I  venture  to  think,  is  Mr.  Gauze's 
story  of  King  Charles  and  the  Witches. 

It  was  Mr.  Blackwood,  who,  by  accepting  The  Ayrshire 
Legatees  (1820-21)  for  his  Magazine,  first  encouraged  Gait  to 
exercise  his  talents  in  the  sphere  to  which  they  were  peculiarly 
adapted.  The  thread  of  plot  is  thin  enough,  and  the  device  of 
indifferent  spelling  is  not  very  artistically  employed.  But  Dr. 
Pringle  and  his  wife,  together  with  their  daughter  and  their 
son,  Mr.  Andrew,  the  young  advocate,  form  an  excellent 
group  ;  while  the  respective  recipients  of  their  letters  at  home 
—Miss  Mally  Glencairn,  Mr.  Snodgrass,  Mr.  Micklewham, 
Miss  Isabella  Todd,  and  the  rest — are  sketched  with  even 
greater  felicity.  In  the  Legatees^  as  in  the  Annals,  we  have 
something  of  the  ecclesiastical  flavour  which  has  always  been 
so  popular  with  Scottish  humorists  ;  but  Gait  never,  like  some 
of  his  would-be  successors,  infuses  it  with  too  generous  a  hand. 

The  Annals  of  the  Parish  (1821)  had  been  written  three 
years  before  the  appearance  of  Waverley,  and  had  been  refused 
by  Constable  as  being  too  Scotch  and  provincial  for  the  taste  of 
the  public.  The  fashion  changed  with  a  vengeance  in  the 
ensuing  decade,  and  the  success  of  the  Legatees  induced  Gait 
and  his  publisher  to  bring  out  the  work  which  had  for  long 
been  lying  neglected  and  forgotten.  The  Annals  is,  indeed, 
one  of  Gait's  very  finest  performances.  Its  scheme  is  simple 
in  the  extreme,  and  there  is  nothing  that  can  be  strictly  called 
a  plot.  Yet  the  record  of  Mr.  Micah  Balwhidder,  minister  of 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY:    1801-48     551 

the  parish  of  Dalmailing,  forms  an  absolutely  delightful  narrative. 
Mr.  Balwhidder  and  his  three  successive  wives  are  triumphs  of 
character-drawing  by  means  of  slight  touches,  and  there  is  not 
a  personage  or  an  incident  in  the  work  which  is  not  germane 
to  the  matter.  Gait's  observation  was  minute  and  compre- 
hensive ;  no  trait  of  the  lower  middle  classes  of  his  native  land 
escaped  his  eye  ;  and  thus  the  story  of  this  country  clergyman's 
fifty  years'  ministry  becomes  really  an  epitome  of  the  social 
history  of  Scotland  during  the  reign  of  George  III.  We  see 
the  change  from  a  squalid  and  poverty-stricken  to  a  prosperous 
and  busy  country  proceeding  under  our  eyes  ;  factories,  cotton 
mills,  and  "  works "  of  every  description,  spring  up  in  all 
directions  ;  a  new  spirit  enters  into  and  animates  the  whole 
community.  As  the  industrial  begins  to  vie  with  the  agri- 
cultural interest,  as  the  operative  becomes  an  equally  familiar 
figure  with  the  ploughman,  so  the  poorer  members  of  the 
landed  class  are  squeezed  out  by  more  prosperous  men — by 
nabobs,  or,  perhaps,  by  their  heritable  creditors.  All  this  is  set 
down  in  the  Annals  of  the  Parish  with  great  accuracy  and  with 
abounding  humour.  Mr.  Balwhidder  is  no  unworthy  match 
for  Dr.  Primrose,  and  his  simplicity  and  "  canny  "  good  nature 
are  well  illustrated  in  the  following  passages  : — 

"Another  thing  happened  in  this  year  [1795],  too  remarkable  for 
me  not  to  put  on  record,  as  it  strangely  and  strikingly  marked  the 
rapid  revolutions  that  were  going  on.  In  the  month  of  August,  at 
the  time  of  the  fair,  a  gang  of  play-actors  came,  and  hired  Thomas 
Thacklan's  barn  for  their  enactments.  They  were  the  first  of  that 
clanjamfrey  who  had  ever  been  in  the  parish  ;  and  there  was  a 
wonderful  excitement  caused  by  the  rumours  concerning  them. 
Their  first  performance  was  Douglas  Tragedy  and  the  Gentle 
Shepherd ;  and  the  general  opinion  was  that  the  lad  who  played 
Norval  in  the  play  and  Patie  in  the  farce  was  an  English  lord's  son, 
who  had  run  away  from  his  parents  rather  than  marry  an  old 
cracket  lady  with  a  great  portion.  But,  whatever  truth  there  might 
be  in  this  notion,  certain  it  is  the  whole  pack  was  in  a  state  of 
perfect  beggary  ;  and  yet,  for  all  that,  they  not  only  in  their 
parts  (as  I  was  told)  laughed  most  heartily,  and  made  others 


552     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

the  same, — for  I  was  constrained  to  let  my  daughter  go  to  see 
them,  with  some  of  her  acquaintances,  and  she  gave  me  such 
an  account  of  what  they  did  that  I  would  have  liked  to  have 
gotten  a  keek  at  them  myself.  At  the  same  time,  I  must  own  this 
was  a  sinful  curiosity,  and  I  stifled  it  to  the  best  of  my  ability. 
Among  other  plays  that  they  did  was  one  called  Macbeth  and  the 
Witches,  which  the  Miss  Cayennes  had  seen  performed  in  London, 
when  they  were  there  in  the  winter-time  with  their  father,  for  three 
months,  seeing  the  world,  after  coming  from  the  boarding-school. 
But  it  was  no  more  like  the  true  play  of  Shakespeare  the  poet, 
according  to  their  account,  than  a  duddy  betherel,  set  up  to  fright 
the  sparrows  from  the  peas,  is  Hke  a  living  gentleman.  The  hungry 
players,  instead  of  behaving  like  guests  at  the  royal  banquet,  were 
voracious  on  the  needful  feast  of  bread,  and  the  strong  ale  that 
served  for  wine  in  decanters.  But  the  greatest  sport  of  all  was 
about  a  kail-pot,  that  acted  the  part  of  a  caldron,  and  should  have 
sunk  with  thunder  and  lightning  into  the  earth  ;  however,  it  did 
quite  as  well,  for  it  made  its  exit,  as  Miss  Virginia  said,  by  walking 
quietly  off,  being  pulled  by  a  string  fastened  to  one  of  its  feet.  No 
scene  of  the  play  was  so  much  applauded  as  this  one  ;  and  the  actor 
who  did  the  part  of  King  Macbeth  made  a  most  polite  bow  of 
thankfulness  to  the  audience  for  the  approbation  with  which  they 
had  received  the  performance  of  the  pot." ' 

"  In  the  course  of  the  summer,  just  as  the  roof  was  closing  in  of 
the  school-house,  my  lord  came  to  the  castle  with  a  great  company, 
and  was  not  there  a  day  till  he  sent  for  me  to  come  over,  on  the 
next  Sunday,  to  dine  with  him.  But  I  sent  him  word  that  I  could 
not  do  so,  for  it  would  be  a  transgression  of  the  Sabbath ;  which 
made  him  send  his  own  gentleman  to  make  his  apology  for  having 
taken  so  great  a  liberty  with  me,  and  to  beg  me  to  come  on  the 
Monday.  This  I  did  accordingly,  and  nothing  could  be  better 
than  the  discretion  with  which  I  was  used.  There  was  a  vast 
company  of  English  ladies  and  gentlemen,  and  his  lordship,  in  a  most 
jocose  manner,  told  them  all  how  he  had  fallen  on  the  midden,  and 
how  I  had  clad  him  in  my  clothes,  and  there  was  a  wonder  of 
laughing  and  diversion.  But  the  most  particular  thing  in  the 
company  was  a  large  round-faced  man  with  a  wig,  a  dignitary  in 
some  great  Episcopalian  church  in  London,  who  was  extraordinary 
condescending  towards  me,  drinking  wine  with  me  at  the  table,  and 


From  Annals  of  the  Parish,  vol.  i.  p.  212. 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY:    1801-48     553 

saying  weighty  sentences,  in  a  fine  style  of  language,  about  the 
becoming  grace  of  simplicity  and  innocence  of  heart  in  the  clergy 
of  all  denominations  of  Christians ;  which  I  was  pleased  to  hear,  for, 
really,  he  had  a  proud  red  countenance,  and  I  could  not  have 
thought  he  was  so  mortified  to  humility  within,  had  I  not  heard 
with  what  sincerity  he  delivered  himself,  and  seen  how  much 
reverence  and  attention  was  paid  to  him  by  all  present,  particularly 
by  my  lord's  chaplain,  who  was  a  pious  and  pleasant  young  divine, 
though  educated  at  Oxford  for  the  Episcopalian  persuasion. 

"  One  day  soon  after,  as  I  was  sitting  in  my  closet  conning  a 
sermon  for  the  next  Sunday,  I  was  surprised  by  a  visit  from  the  dean 
(as  the  dignitary  was  called).  He  had  come,  he  said,  to  wait  on  me 
as  rector  of  the  parish — for  so  it  seems  they  call  a  pastor  in  England 
— and  to  say  that,  if  it  was  agreeable,  he  would  take  a  family  dinner 
with  us  before  he  left  the  castle.  I  could  make  no  objection  to  his 
kindness  ;  but  said  that  I  hoped  my  lord  would  come  with  him,  and 
that  we  would  do  our  best  to  entertain  them  with  all  suitable 
hospitality.  About  an  hour  or  so  after  he  had  returned  to  the 
castle,  one  of  the  flunkeys  brought  a  letter  from  his  lordship,  to 
say  that  not  only  he  would  come  with  the  dean,  but  that  they  would 
bring  his  other  guests  with  them ;  and  that,  as  they  could  only 
drink  London  wine,  the  butler  would  send  me  a  hamper  in  the 
morning,  assured  (as  he  was  pleased  to  say)  that  Mrs.  Balwhidder 
would  otherwise  provide  good  cheer. 

"This  notification,  however,  was  a  great  trouble  to  my  wife,  who 
was  only  used  to  manufacture  the  produce  of  our  glebe  and  yard  to 
a  profitable  purpose,  and  not  used  to  the  treatment  of  deans  and 
lords,  and  other  persons  of  quality.  However,  she  was  determined 
to  stretch  a  point  on  this  occasion,  and  we  had,  as  all  present 
declared,  a  charming  dinner.  For  fortunately  one  of  the  sows  had 
a  litter  of  pigs  a  few  days  before,  and,  in  addition  to  a  goose  (that  is 
but  a  boss  bird),  we  had  a  roasted  pig  with  an  apple  in  its  mouth, 
which  was  just  a  curiosity  to  see.  My  lord  called  it  a  tithe  pig  ;  but 
I  told  him  it  was  one  of  Mrs.  Balwhidder's  own  decking,  which 
saying  of  mine  made  no  little  sport  when  expounded  to  the  dean. 

"  But  och  how  !  this  was  the  last  happy  summer  that  we  had  for 
many  a  year  in  the  parish  ;  and  an  omen  of  the  dule  that  ensued 
was  in  a  sacrilegious  theft  that  a  daft  woman,  Jenny  Gaffaw,  and 
her  idiot  daughter  did  in  the  kirk,  by  tearing  off  and  stealing  the 
green  serge  lining  of  my  lord's  pew  to  make,  as  they  said,  a  hap  for 
their  shoulders  in  the  cold  weather.  Saving,  however,  the  sin,  we 
paid  no  attention  at  the  time  to  the  mischief  and  tribulation  that  so 
unheard-of  a  trespass  boded  to  us  all.  It  took  place  about  Yule, 


554    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

when  the  weather  was  cold  and  frosty,  and  poor  Jenny  was  not  very 
able  to  go  about  seeking  her  meat  as  usual.  The  deed,  however, 
was  done  mainly  by  her  daughter,  who,  when  brought  before  me, 
said  '  her  poor  mother's  back  had  mair  need  of  claes  than  the  kirk- 
boards  ' ;  which  was  so  true  a  thing  that  I  could  not  punish  her, 
but  wrote  anent  it  to  my  lord,  who  not  only  overlooked  the  offence, 
but  sent  orders  to  the  servants  at  the  castle  to  be  kind  to  the  poor 
woman  and  the  natural,  her  daughter." ' 

No  one  not  a  Scot  can  adequately  appreciate  the  delicacy  of 
Gait's  strokes.  It  were  vain  to  expect  for  him  the  great 
popularity  in  England  which  Scott  achieved,  despite  an  un- 
familiar dialect,  by  his  merits,  and  more  modern  writers  have 
won  by  their  defects. 

The  following  year  (1822)  produced  what  is  perhaps  the 
best,  and  also  what  is  certainly  the  poorest,  of  all  Gait's 
remembered  and  readable  work.  The  'Provost  is,  as  some  think, 
superior  even  to  the  Annals.  Mr.  Pawkie,  who  tells  the 
tale  of  his  own  rise  to  civic  honours,  is  not  essentially  different 
in  character  from  Mr.  Balwhidder,  but  what  differences  there 
may  be  between  them  are  dexterously  accentuated,  and  there 
is  no  hint  of  repetition  in  a  work  which  does  for  a  burgh  what 
the  other  accomplished  for  a  landward  parish.  The  Provost 
presents  us  with  Scottish  municipal  life  in  a  nutshell.  Here 
again  fashions  change,  as  they  were  changing  even  during  Mr. 
Pawkie's  official  career.  But  though  town  councils  have  been 
reformed,  though  the  councillors  and  the  guildry  no  longer 
vote  themselves  tacks  of  the  "  common  good  "  at  a  ridiculously 
low  rent,  and  though  the  methods  of  persuasion  are  much 
more  subtle  and  much  less  overt,  the  spirit  and  tone  of  to-day 
are  indistinguishable  from  those  of  a  century  ago.  The 
magistracy  of  our  royal  and  other  burghs  abounds  with  Provost 
Pawkies  in  esse ;  the  councils  are  full  of  them  in  posse;  and 
parallels  can  doubtless  be  found  without  much  difficulty  for 
Bailie  M'Lucre  and  Mr.  Peevie. 

1  From  Annals  of  the  Parish,  vol.  i.  p.  98. 


THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY:    1801-48     555 

The  Provost  contains  some  of  Gait's  best-known  episodes, 
such  as  the  Execution,  the  "  Windy  Yule  "  (a  fine  piece  of 
description),  and  the  tale  of  Mr.  M'Lucre's  visit  to  London, 
which  is  well  worth  reproducing  : — 

"  '  Ye  ken  weel,  Mr.  Pawkie,  what  I  did  at  the  'lection  for  the 
member,  and  how  angry  ye  were  yoursel  about  it,  and  a'  that.  But 
ye  were  greatly  mista'en  in  thinking  that  I  got  ony  effectual  fee  at 
the  time,  over  and  above  the  honest  price  of  my  potatoes,  which  ye 
were  as  free  to  bid  for  had  ye  liket,  as  either  of  the  candidates.  I'll 
no  deny,  however,  that  the  nabob,  before  he  left  the  town,  made 
some  small  presents  to  my  wife  and  daughter  ;  but  that  was  no  fault 
o'  mine.  Howsever,  when  a'  was  o'er,  and  I  could  discern  that  ye 
were  mindet  to  keep  the  guildry,  I  thought,  after  the  wreck  o'  my 
provision  concern,  I  might  throw  mair  bread  on  the  water  and  not 
find  it  than  by  a  bit  jaunt  to  London  to  see  how  my  honourable 
friend,  the  nabob,  was  coming  on  in  his  place  in  parliament,  as  I 
saw  none  of  his  speeches  in  the  newspaper. 

"  '  Well,  ye  see,  Mr.  Pawkie,  I  ga'ed  up  to  London  by  a  trader  from 
Leith  ;  and  by  the  use  of  a  gude  Scotch  tongue,  the  whilk  was  the 
main  substance  o'  a'  the  bairns'  part  o'  gear  that  I  inherited  from 
my  parents,  I  found  out  the  nabob's  dwelling,  in  the  west  end  o'  the 
town  of  London  ;  and,  finding  out  the  nabob's  dwelling,  I  went  and 
rappit  at  the  door,  which  a  bardie  flunkie  opened,  and  speer't  what 
I  wantit,  as  if  I  was  a  thing  no  fit  to  be  lifted  off  a  midden  with  a 
pair  of  iron  tongs.  Like  master,  like  man,  I  thought  to  myself  ;  and 
thereupon,  taking  heart  no  to  be  put  out,  I  replied  to  the  whipper- 
snapper — "  I'm  Bailie  M'Lucre  o'  Gudetown,  and  maun  ha'e  a  word 
wi'  his  honour." 

" '  The  cur  lowered  his  birsses  at  this,  and  replied  in  a  mair 
ceeveleezed  style  of  language,  "  Master  is  not  at  home." 

" '  But  I  kent  what  "  not  at  home  "  means  in  the  morning  at  a  gentle- 
man's door  in  London  ;  so  I  said,  "Very  weel,  as  I  hae  had  a  long 
walk,  I'll  e'en  rest  myself,  and  wait  till  he  come  "  ;  and  with  that,  I 
plumpit  down  on  one  of  the  mahogany  chairs  in  the  trance. 

"  '  The  lad,  seeing  that  I  wasna  to  be  jookit,  upon  this  answered  me 
by  saying  he  would  go  and  inquire  if  his  master  would  be  at  home 
to  me;  and  the  short  and  the  long  o't  was  that  I  got  at  last  an 
audience  o'  my  honourable  friend. 

" '  "  Well,  bailie,"  said  he,  "  I'm  glad  to  see  you  in  London,"  and  a 
hantle  o'  ither  courtly  glammer  that's  no  worth  a  repitition  ;  and, 
from  less  to  mair,  we  proceeded  to  sift  into  the  matter  and  end  of 
my  coming  to  ask  the  help  o'  his  hand  to  get  me  a  post  in  the 


556    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

government.  But  I  soon  saw  that,  wi'  a'  the  phraseology  that  lay  at 
his  tongue  end  during  the  election,  about  his  power  and  will  to  serve 
us,  his  ain  turn  ser't,  he  cared  little  for  me.  Howsever,  after  some 
time,  and  going  to  him  every  day,  at  long  and  last  he  got  me  a  tide- 
waiter's  place  at  the  Custom-house — a  poor  hungry  situation,  no 
worth  the  grassum  at  a  new  tack  of  the  warst  land  in  the  town's 
aught. 

"  '  But  minnows  are  better  than  nae  fish,  and  a  tide-waiter's  place 
was  a  step  towards  a  better,  if  I  could  have  waited.  Luckily,  how- 
ever, for  me,  a  flock  of  fleets  and  ships  frae  the  East  and  West 
Indies  came  in  a'  thegither  ;  and  there  was  sic  a  stress  for  tide- 
waiters  that  before  I  was  sworn  in  and  tested,  I  was  sent  down  to  a 
grand  ship  in  the  Malabar  trade  frae  China,  loaded  with  tea  and 
other  rich  commodities,  the  captain  whereof,  a  discreet  man,  took 
me  down  to  the  cabin,  and  gave  a  dram  of  wine,  and  when  we  were 
by  oursels  said  to  me — 

" ' "  Mr.  M'Lucre,  what  will  you  take  to  shut  your  eyes  for  an 
hour  ? " 

"  '  "  I'll  no  take  a  hundred  pounds,"  was  my  answer. 

"  '  "  I'll  make  it  guineas,"  quoth  he. 

" '  Surely,  thought  I,  my  eyne  maun  be  worth  pearls  and  diamonds 
to  the  East  India  Company  ;  so  I  answered  and  said — 

"  '  "Captain,  no  to  argol-bargol  about  the  matter  "  (for  a'  the  time 
I  thocht  upon  how  I  had  not  been  sworn  in) — "  what  will  ye  gie  me 
if  I  take  away  my  eyne  out  of  the  vessel  ? " 

" ' "  A  thousand  pounds,"  cried  he. 

"'"A  bargain  be't,"  said  I.  I  think,  however,  had  I  stood  out  I 
might  hae  got  mair.  But  it  doesna  rain  thousands  of  pounds  every 
day  ;  so  to  make  a  long  tale  short,  I  gote  a  note  of  hand  on  the 
Bank  of  England  for  the  sum,  and,  packing  up  my  ends  and  my 
awls,  left  the  ship. 

"  '  It  was  my  intent  to  have  come  immediately  home  to  Scotland  ; 
but  the  same  afternoon  I  was  summoned  by  the  Board  at  the  Custom- 
house for  deserting  my  post,  and  the  moment  I  went  before  them, 
they  opened  upon  me  like  my  lord's  pack  of  hounds,  and  said  they 
would  send  me  to  Newgate. 

"  '  "  Cry  a'  at  ance,"  quoth  I  ;  "  but  I'll  no  gang." 

"  '  I  then  told  them  how  I  was  na  sworn,  and  under  no  obligation  to 
serve  or  obey  them  mair  than  pleasured  myself — which  set  them  a' 
again  a  barking  worse  than  before,  whereupon,  seeing  no  likelihood 
of  an  end  to  their  stramash,  I  turned  mysel'  round,  and,  taking  the 
door  on  my  back,  left  them,  and  the  same  night  came  off  on  the  fly 
to  Edinburgh.  Since  syne  they  have  been  trying  every  grip  an' 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY:    1801-48     557 

wile  o'  the  law  to  punish  me  as  they  threatened  ;  but  the  laws  of 
England  are  a  great  protection  to  the  people  against  arbitrary  power, 
and  the  letter  that  I  have  got  to-day  frae  the  nabob  tells  me  that  the 
commissioners  have  abandoned  the  plea.'  "  ' 

But  the  virtue  of  The  Provost  consists,  not  in  the  detached  scenes, 
however  vivid  and  true  to  nature  these  may  be,  so  much  as  in 
the  total  effect  which  is  produced  by  their  combination.  As  a 
picture  of  everyday  burghal  life  in  Scotland,  the  life  of  which  the 
external  aspects  are  displayed  in  the  columns  of  the  provincial 
press — it  has  no  rival.  The  details  with  which  it  is  concerned 
may  seem  trivial  in  themselves,  but  Gait's  fine  sense  of  humour 
prevents  him  from  stringing  together  a  chance  collection  of 
irrelevant  incidents,  as  the  manner  of  the  modern  realist  is, 
who  boasts  about  his  "scientific  methods."  In  the  juxta- 
position of  the  pathetic  and  the  humorous,  the  tragic  and  the 
commonplace,  which  we  meet  with  so  frequently  in  the  world, 
Gait  has  something  of  Scott's  judgment  and  dexterity. 
Nothing  could  be  narrated  with  more  simple  and  genuine 
pathos  than  the  fate  of  Jean  Gaisling  who  is  hanged  for  child- 
murder.  All  the  incidents,  from  the  "  dreadful  wally-waeing  " 
of  her  trollope  of  a  mother  to  the  erection  of  the  scaffold  by 
Thomas  Gimlet  at  a  handsome  profit,  are  gravely  and  solemnly 
set  forth,  with  no  attempt  either  to  enhance  or  extenuate  the 
horror  of  the  closing  scene  : — 

"  When  the  awful  act  was  over,  and  the  stir  was  for  the  magis- 
trates to  return,  and  the  body  to  be  cut  down,  poor  Willy  [Jean's 
brother]  rose,  and,  without  looking  round,  went  down  the  steps  of 
the  scaffold  ;  the  multitude  made  a  lane  for  him  to  pass,  and  he 
went  on  through  them  hiding  his  face,  and  gaed  straight  out  of  the 
town." 

You  expect  the  chapter  to  end  with  some  sombre  and  gloomy 
reflection  ;  some  hit,  it  may  be  at  capital  punishment.  Not 
so.  Here  is  what  immediately  follows  : — 

'  From  The  Provost,  ch.  vii.  p.  32. 


558     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

"  As  for  the  mother,  we  were  obligated,  in  the  course  of  the  same 
year,  to  drum  her  out  of  the  town  for  stealing  thirteen  choppin 
bottles  from  William  Gallon's,  the  vintner's,  and  selling  them  for 
whisky  to  Maggy  Picken,  that  was  tried  at  the  same  time  for  the 
reset." 


This  is  quite  in  the  vein  of  Alick  Polwarth. 

Compared  with  The  Provost^  Sir  Andrew  Wylu  is  indeed 
deplorable  enough  stuff,  though  it  embodies  Gait's  practical 
ideal  in  a  sense  in  which  none  of  his  other  works  can  be  said 
to  do  so.  It  is  a  sort  of  epic  of  "  getting  on  in  the  world," 
and  thus  embodies  the  national  ideal  in  one  of  its  most 
prominent  aspects.  The  theme  of  the  story  is  the  rise  of  a  lad 
from  obscurity  and  poverty  to  fame  and  affluence  by  no  other 
agency  than  his  own  shrewdness  and  perseverance.  In  the 
abstract,  we  cannot  help  admiring  the  qualities  which  effect 
this  transformation.  In  the  concrete,  they  are  apt  to  be  a 
little  trying,  and,  frankly,  Sir  Andrew  Wylie,  with  his  com- 
bination of  independence  and  servility,  of  shrewdness  and 
buffoonery,  is  neither  a  very  convincing  nor  a  very  attractive 
type  of  the  self-made  man.  The  sketches  of  high  society  are 
conventional  and  absurd,  and  though,  where  the  scene  is  trans- 
ferred from  London  back  to  Scotland,  the  artist's  hand  regains 
something  of  its  old  mastery,  the  book  is  manifestly  a  failure 
compared  with  the  Annals  or  the  Entail. 

The  Entail  (1823)  is,  in  some  respects,  Gait's  most  ambitious 
work.  The  intrigue  is  complicated,  and  for  a  layman  it  can 
be  no  joke  to  follow  its  progress  through  intricate  mazes  of 
the  law  of  entail,  so  deliberately  and,  I  believe,  accurately 
threaded  by  the  author.  The  ridiculous  trial  for  murder  in 
Sir  Andrew^  in  which  the  jury,  "  as  if  actuated  by  some  sublime 
impulse,"  proclaim  the  prisoner's  innocence,  is  more  than  atoned 
for  by  the  cognition  of  Watty  on  a  brieve  of  idiotry  in  the 
Entail.  But  a  novelist's  reputation  cannot  in  the  long  run 
depend  upon  the  depth  of  his  reading  in  Erskine  or  Blackstone, 
and,  as  regards  the  Entail^  Gait  has  something  more  substantial 


THE   NINETEENTH  CENTURY:    1801-48     559 

to  build  upon.  The  book  may  be  said  to  be  little  else  than  a 
study  of  acquisitiveness  through  three  generations  of  the 
Walkinshaws  of  Kittlestonheugh,  and  Balzac  need  not  have 
felt  disgraced  by  the  grim  realism  with  which  Gait  has  carried 
out  his  purpose.  Rarely  have  the  passions  of  avarice  and 
family  pride  been  more  powerfully  presented  than  in  the 
character  of  the  old  Laird  Grippy  ;  and  the  old  Leddy  Grippy, 
though  perhaps  in  her  ultimate  developments  an  afterthought, 
and  therefore  less  consistent,  is  vigorous  and  racy  in  a  very 
high  degree.  The  constructive  faculty  had  not  been  vouch- 
safed to  Gait  in  any  very  ample  measure.  But  he  made 
amends  for  his  deficiency  by  a  shrewd  eye  for  character,  and  a 
complete  command  up  to  a  certain  point  of  the  vernacular. 
True  eloquence  in  the  Scots  dialect,  such  as  Scott,  as  we  have 
seen,  excelled  in,  he  hardly  so  much  as  essayed  ;  but  in  more 
prosaic  flights  he  is  at  once  nervous  and  idiomatic.  Nowhere 
does  he  show  to  better  advantage  (in  spite  of  a  little  unnecessary 
bad  spelling)  than  in  the  episode  of  bonnie  Annie  Daisie,  which 
is  the  real  gem  of  The  Last  of  the  Lairds  (1826). 

Somewhat  akin  to  the  work  of  Gait  in  tone  and  method  is 
the  Autobiography  of  Ma nsie  Waugh  (1828),  from  the  pen  of 
an  amiable  and  accomplished  medical  practitioner  at  Mussel- 
burgh,  David  Macbeth  Moir  (1798-1851).  The  hero  of  the 
book  is  a  tailor  in  Dalkeith,  and  many  of  the  episodes  through 
which  he  passes  are  described  with  a  richness  of  humour  which 
approaches  more  closely  to  caricature  than  anything  in  Gait. 
The  best  known  scene  is  perhaps  that  which  describes  the 
first  introduction  of  the  magistrates  and  town  councillors  of 
a  provincial  burgh  to  that  new  form  of  tobacco,  the  "segar." 
The  Youth  and  Manhood  of  Cyril  Thornton  (1827),  by  Thomas 
Hamilton  (1789-1842),  a  soldier-brother  of  Sir  William's,  is 
concerned  with  persons  who  usually  move  on  a  much  more 
lofty  plane  of  society  than  that  of  municipal  dignitaries,  but 
the  portions  of  it  which  still  live  are  those  which  present 
a  lively  picture  of  Glasgow  manners  and  customs  at  the 


56o    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Hamilton,  upon  whose 
style  and  view  of  life  the  influence  of  Lockhart  is  perceptible, 
is  sometimes  a  little  malicious  in  his  satire,  and  the  "  tobacco- 
lords  "  come  ofF  with  something  less  than  their  due,  but  he  is 
spirited  and  amusing,  and  his  sketch,  if  it  tends  to  exaggerate 
the  peculiarities  of  its  subject,  is  substantially  true  to  life. 
The  zest  which  pervades  the  following  passage  on  the  subject 
of  the  composition  of  a  bowl  of  Glasgow  punch  holds  out  no 
delusive  promise  of  the  entertainment  which  the  inquirer  will 
occasionally  find  : — 

"The  office  of  mingling  the  discordant  elements  of  punch  into 
one  sweet  and  harmonious  whole,  is  perhaps  the  only  one  which 
calls  into  full  play  the  sympathies  and  energies  of  a  Glasgow 
gentleman.  You  read  in  the  solemnity  of  his  countenance  his  sense 
of  the  deep  responsibility  which  attaches  to  the  duty  he  discharges. 
•He  feels  there  is  an  awful  trust  confided  to  him.  The  fortune  of 
the  table  is  in  his  hands.  One  slight  miscalculation  of  quantity — one 
exuberant  pressure  of  the  fingers — and  the  enjoyment  of  a  whole 
party  is  destroyed.  With  what  an  air  of  deliberate  sagacity  does 
he  perform  the  functions  of  his  calling  !  How  knowingly  he 
squeezes  the  lemons,  and  distinguishes  between  Jamaica  rum  and 
Leeward  Island,  by  the  smell  !  No  pointer  ever  nosed  his  game 
with  more  unerring  accuracy.  Then  the  snort,  and  the  snifter,  and 
the  smacking  of  the  lips,  with  which  the  beverage,  when  completed, 
is  tasted  by  the  whole  party  !  Such  a  scene  is  worthy  of  the 
pencil  of  George  Cruickshank,  and  he  alone  could  do  justice  to  its 
unrivalled  ridicule."  r 

It  is  remarkable  that,  while  the  novel  of  character  and 
manners  was  thus  assiduously  practised,  the  historical  novel 
should  have  languished  in  the  country  of  its  birth.  No  such 
writers  as  James  or  Ainsworth  sprang  up  to  satiate  the  craving 
which  Scott  had  so  successfully  appealed  to,  and  the  only 
historical  romance  which  need  here  be  mentioned  is  The  Wolf 
of  Badenoch  (i827),2  by  Sir  Thomas  Dick  Lauder  (1784- 
1848).  The  Wolf  is  a  work  of  great  industry,  and  is  a 
tolerable  enough  specimen  of  its  kind.  The  characters  speak 
1  From  Cyril  Thornton,  vol.  i.  p.  77.  "  Reprinted,  Edinburgh,  1886. 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY:    1801-48     561 

the  most  scrupulously  archaic  language,  and  cry  you  mercy 
or  invoke  a  murrain  on  ye  with  a  praiseworthy  fidelity  to  the 
notorious  conventions  of  the  Middle  Ages.  But  they  lack  the 
breath  of  life,  and  the  book,  though  obviously  the  production 
of  a  man  of  taste,  refinement,  and  learning,  is  not  redeemed 
from  mediocrity  or  tediousness  by  much  of  the  true  gift  of 
the  story-teller.  In  striking  contrast  is  the  same  author's 
Account  of  the  Great  Floods  in  Moray  shire  z  (1830),  which  in 
its  own  way  is  a  classic,  and  which  constitutes  a  worthy 
memorial  of  a  certain  series  of  extraordinary  natural  pheno- 
mena. Here,  everything  is  vivacious  and  interesting,  and  the 
vernacular  is  handled  with  remarkable  freedom  and  effect.2 

The  one  successful  novelist  (Sir  Walter  being  out  of  the 
question)  who  went  farther  afield  than  the  domestic  life  of 
Scotland,  was  Michael  Scott  (1789-1835).  He,  like  Gait, 
and  Moir,  and  Hamilton,  was  one  of  Mr.  Blackwood's  men, 
and  it  was  in  the  Magazine  that  Tom  Cringle's  Log  (1833) 
made  its  bow  to  the  public.  His  other  work,  The  Cruise  of  the 
Midge  (1836),  though  no  less  admirable  in  many  respects,  was 
scarcely  so  great  a  favourite  as  its  predecessor.  But  both 
overflow  with  life  and  energy.  At  his  best,  Scott  must  be 
pronounced  superior  to  Marryat,  even  in  Marryat's  own  de- 
partment, and  Tom  Cringle  is  a  locus  classicus  as  regards  the 
condition  of  our  West  Indian  Colonies  at  the  period  with 
which  it  deals.  Scott,  in  effect,  is  a  sort  of  link  between 
Smollett  and  Marryat.  He  sees  the  humours  of  seafaring  life 
as  clearly,  and  depicts  them  as  boldly,  as  either  ;  and  he  does 
not  shrink  from  scenes  of  horror  which  Smollett,  who  stuck  at 
nothing,  would  not  have  disowned,  and  which  Marryat  has 
had  the  courage  to  emulate  in  only  two  or  three  passages, 
of  which  the  most  noteworthy  occurs  in  Snar/eyow.3 

1  3rd  ed.,  Elgin,  1873. 

-  See,  for  example,  the  account  of  the  experiences  of  John  Geddes,  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Rothes,  ed.  cit.,  p.  231,  et.  seq. 

3  The  reminiscences  of  naval  life  and  speech  in  the  Memoirs  0}  an 
Aristocrat  (1838)  by  George  Hume  are  the  sole  merit  of  a  singular  work 

2  N 


562    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

As  regards  the  poetry  of  the  age  now  in  question  we  may  say 
that  there  was  much  cry,  but  very  little  wool.1  Verse  was 
turned  out  in  profusion,  but  very  little  of  it  would  deserve 
commemoration  even  in  a  rag-bag  of  literature.  William 
Tennant  (1784-1848),  a  minister  who  in  middle  life  was 
appointed  to  the  Chair  of  Oriental  Languages  in  St.  Mary's 
College,  St.  Andrews,  won  some  celebrity  by  means  of  his 
Anster  Fair2  (1811).  The  poem  is  in  the  Don  yuan  metre, 
far-fetched  rhymes  and  all,  with  the  exception  that  the  last 
line  of  the  octave  is  an  alexandrine.  Its  dialect  is  English, 
and,  although  its  name  is  still  so  far  remembered  as  to  be 
considered  legitimately  available  for  an  acrostic  light,  the  poem 
is  really  of  little  note. 

Moir,3  who  has  already  been  noticed  as  the  author  of 
Mansie  Waugh,  was  a  fluent  and  industrious  poet,  and,  under 
the  pseudonym  of  Delta,  which  veiled  his  identity  in  Blackwood, 
achieved  some  reputation  in  his  day.  But  there  is  more  of 
facility  in  his  versification  than  of  distinction  or  impressiveness, 
and  it  is  difficult  to  make  allowances  for  the  temperament 
which  permitted  him  not  only  to  compose,  but  to  publish 
verses  upon  the  series  of  bereavements  which  he  sustained 
in  his  own  domestic  circle.4  A  stave  from  Allan  Cunningham 
(1784-1842)  is  indeed  refreshing  after  the  tenderness  of 

the  publication  of   which  was   restrained   by   interdict  of   the  Court  of 
Session. 

1  Thomas  Campbell  (1777-1844)  went  to  London  at  a  comparatively 
early  age,  and,  none  of  his  writings  being  in  the  vernacular,  is  not  for  us. 
The  Pleasures  of  Hope  (1799)  and  Gertrude  of  Wyoming  (1809)  may  be 
forgotten,  but  Campbell  will  always  be  remembered  with  pride  by  his 
countrymen,  in  conjunction  with  Thomson,  as  the  bard  of  a  truly  national, 
as  opposed  to  a  merely  provincial,  patriotism.     Ye  Mariners  of  England 
and  Of  Nelson  and  the  North  are  worthy  sequels  to  Rule  Britannia.     Of 
James   Montgomery   (1771-1854)   we   are,   on  similar  principles,  to  say 
nothing. 

2  Reprinted,  Edinburgh,  1871.  3  Poetical  Works,  ed.  Aird,  1852. 

4  See  his  Domestic  Verses,  1843,  thoroughly  bond  fide  in  intention,  but, 
in  effect,  scarce  superior  to  the  In  Memoriam  column  in  a  halfpenny 
evening  paper. 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY:    1801-48     563 

Delta.  Not  that  Allan  is  always  to  be  depended  upon,  either 
as  an  editor  of  ballads,  or  as  an  original  ballad-monger.  I 
have  never  ventured  to  disturb  the  dust  that  reposes  upon 
Sir  Marmaduke  Maxwell :  a  dramatic  poem  (1822)  ;  but  every 
Scotsman  knows  that  his  version  of  My  am  Countree  is  an 
excellent  good  song,  and  every  Briton  can  appreciate  A  wet 
sheet  and  a  flowing  sea. 

William  Motherwell z  (1797-1835),  like  Allan  Cunningham, 
was  a  collector  of  popular  poetry,  and  his  Harp  of  Renfrew- 
shire (1819)  and  Minstrelsy  (1827)  are  not  without  value.  As 
regards  his  own  performances,  we  may  venture  to  disregard 
his  Renfrewshire  Characters  and  Scenery  (1824),  and  we  may 
pronounce  his  jfeanie  Morrison  to  be  thoroughly  maudlin,  and 
grossly  over-rated.  His  excursions  into  the  Scandinavian 
style,  such  as  the  Battle-flag  of  Sigurd^  have  a  strong  resem- 
blance to  every  other  member  of  what  seems  to  some  a  not 
very  inviting  family.  But  in  The  Madman's  Love  Motherwell 
produced  something  which  stands  out  beyond  all  his  other 
work  much  as  Smart's  Song  to  David  surpasses  his  "  crib  "  to 
Horace.  It  is,  in  truth,  an  extremely  striking  and  powerful 
poem,  from  which  if  we  extract  but  a  single  verse,  it  must  by 
no  means  be  supposed  that  the  whole  is  less  worthy  of 
attention. 

"  Ho  !  Flesh  and  Blood  !  Sweet  Flesh  and  Blood 

As  ever  strode  on  earth  ! 
Welcome  to  Water  and  to  Wood — 

To  all  a  Madman's  mirth. 
This  tree  is  mine,  this  leafless  tree, 

That's  writhen  o'er  the  linn  ; 
The  stream  is  mine  that  fitfully 

Pours  forth  its  sullen  din. 
Their  lord  am  I  ;  and  still  my  dream 
Is  of  this  tree — is  of  that  stream." 


1  Poetical  Works,  ed.  M'Conechy,  Glasgow,  1846.     Reprinted,  Paisley, 
1881. 


564    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Thomas  Aird x  (1802-76),  a  native  of  the  hamlet  of 
Bowden  in  Roxburghshire,  enjoyed  some  celebrity  as  a  poet  in 
his  day.  But  his  verse  seems  to  have  little  of  the  quality  of 
permanence  about  it,  and  even  The  Devil's  Dreamy  in  which  he 
was  supposed  to  have  put  his  best  foot  foremost,  no  longer 
charms  the  imagination  of  the  reader.  Henry  Glassford  Bell 
(1803—74)  had  a  commanding  personality,  and  was  excellently 
qualified  to  fill  the  office  of  Sheriff  of  Lanarkshire.  His  prose 
is  a  little  too  "eloquent,"  but  at  least  one  of  his  efforts  in 
verse,  the  Mary  Queeen  of  Scots,  used  to  be  a  prime  favourite  in 
every  respectable  schoolroom,  and  deserved  to  be  so.  William 
Nicholson  (1783-1849)  and  James  Hislop  (1798-1827),  both 
South-country  men,  attained  a  fleeting  renown,  the  former  by 
his  Brownie  of  Blednock,  the  other  by  his  Cameraman's  Dream. 
The  remainder  of  the  poetical  record  for  the  'twenties, 
'thirties,  and  'forties  is  made  up  of  the  names  of  men  who 
wrote  in  the  vernacular,  but  were,  as  a  rule,  more  successful  in 
emulating  the  weaknesses  of  Burns's  character  and  work  than 
in  calling  to  mind  his  excellences.  Among  such  men  were 
William  Thorn  (1788-1848),  author  of  The  Mitherless  Bairn; 
William  Miller  (1810-72),  author  of  Wee  Willie  Winkie ; 
Alexander  Rodger  (1784-1846),  and  Robert  Gilfillan  (1798- 
1850).  Their  work  is  garnered  in  Whistle  Binkie ;  a  collection 
of  Songs  for  the  Social  Circle2  (1846),  wherein  the  vernacular 
muse  appears  at  her  very  worst,  oscillating  between  extrava- 
gant sentimentality  and  intoxicated  but  cheerless  mirth.  To 
maunder  over  domestic  bereavements  and  to  celebrate  the 
glories  of  inebriety  are  the  two  alternatives  which  seem  to 
present  themselves  to  the  bard,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to 
decide  which  is  the  more  offensive.  There  are  few  things 
worth  preserving  in  Whistle  Binkie^  and  most  of  these  are  the 
work  of  James  Ballantines  (1808-77),  who,  though  not 

1  Poems,  1848,  5th  ed.,  with  Life  by  Jardine  Wallace,  1878. 

2  For  an   interesting  account  of    Whistle  Binkie  and  the  contributors 
thereto,  see  Charles  Mackay,  Through  the  Long  Day,  1887,  vol.  i.  p.  185. 

3  See  his  Gaberlunzic's  Wallet,  1843,  a  rather  obvious  imitation  in  plan 
and  "  get  up  "  of  Master  Humphry's  Clock, 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY:    1801-48     565 

wholly  free  from  the  defects  of  his  school,  never  becomes 
unendurable. 

Of  the  prose-writers  of  Scottish  descent  who  flourished  in 
the  generation  succeeding  the  death  of  Scott,  by  much  the 
greatest,  it  need  scarce  be  said,  was  Thomas  Carlyle  (1795- 
1881).  But  the  bulk  of  Carlyle's  important  work  was 
accomplished  in  London,  whither  he  migrated  in  1834,  and 
where  he  continued  to  reside  for  the  remainder  of  his  life  ;  he 
was  emphatically  the  Sage  of  Chelsea,  not  of  Comely  Bank  ; 
and  accordingly  it  has  been  thought  expedient  to  reserve  full 
consideration  of  him  for  the  literary  history  of  England,  and 
to  confine  ourselves  here  to  those  lesser  lights  whose  lamp  or 
farthing  candle  cast  few  rays  beyond  their  own  country. 

Patrick  Fraser  Tytler l  (1791-1849)  came  of  a  family 
already  distinguished  in  literature,  and  added  to  its  lustre  by 
his  History  of  Scot/and.  The  work  met  with  the  strong  dis- 
approval of  the  Presbyterianism-at-any-price  party  ;  but  the 
tendency  of  recent  historians  has  been  to  set  a  rather  higher 
value  on  Tytler's  work  than  was  usual  even  in  his  own  gene- 
ration.2 George  Cook  (1772-1845),  Professor  of  Moral 
Philosophy  at  St.  Andrews,  upon  whom  the  mantle  of  his 
relative,  Principal  Hill,  may  be  said  to  have  fallen,  published  a 
History  of  the  Reformation  in  1810,  and  a  History  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland  in  1815.  Their  point  of  view  is  that  of  the  orthodox 
Moderates,  and  though  they  cannot  be  described  as  lively 
reading,  they  are  in  the  main  trustworthy.  To  the  same 
school  of  thought  belonged  John  Lee  (1779-1859),  Principal 
in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  who  in  his  youth  had  been 
a  protege  of  "  Jupiter "  Carlyle.  A  posthumous  volume  of 
Lectures  on  the  History  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  (1860)  and 
another  of  Inaugural  Addresses  ( 1861 ),  besides  a  few  pamphlets, 

1  History  of  Scotland,  9  vols.,  1828-43.  See  his  Memoir  by  ].  W.  Burgon, 
1859,  and  his  History  Examined  by  Lord  Fraser,  1848. 

-  For  a  review  of  Tytler's  earlier  volumes,  see  Scott,  Misc.  Prose  Works, 
vol.  xxi.  p.  152. 


566    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

do  scanty  justice  to  his  immense  fund  of  learning  and  his 
unremitting  industry.  Of  a  very  different  temperament  was 
Dr.  Thomas  M'Crie1  (1772-1835),  whose  labours  will  always 
have  a  value  for  the  serious  historian.  The  mere  dilettante  they 
never  succeeded  in  captivating.  His  chief  works  are  the  Life 
of  John  Knox  (1812),  and  the  Life  of  Andrew  Melville  (1819), 
both  of  which  afforded  him  excellent  opportunities  for  the 
assertion  of  what  he  conceived  to  be  true-blue  Presbyterian 
principles.  Stern  impartiality  was  not  one  of  his  foibles, 
but  his  bias  is  apparent  enough  not  to  be  mischievous  ;  his 
powers  of  casuistry  are  not  so  formidable  as  to  make  any  one 
believe  that  wrong  is  right  ;  and,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  he 
neither  misrepresents  nor  suppresses  important  facts.  Sir 
Archibald  Alison  (1792-1867)  enjoyed  a  far  more  widely 
extended  reputation  than  any  of  the  historians  just  mentioned. 
He  was  accounted  a  standard  author,  and  his  History  of  Europe 
during  the  French  Revolution^2  with  its  continuation  from  the 
fall  of  Napoleon,3  was  esteemed  one  of  those  works  which  no 
gentleman's  library  should  be  without.  The  reaction  has  been 
severe.  Few  people  now  read  him,  and  none,  I  should  conjec- 
ture, buy  him.  His  fame  is  preserved  less  by  his  own  exertions 
than  by  one  of  Mr.  Disraeli's  most  famous  jibes.  That  his 
History  is  long  and  verbose  cannot  be  disputed  ;  but,  with  all 
its  faults,  it  is  doubtful  whether  a  better  view  of  the  important 
period  it  deals  with  can  be  obtained  in  any  other  English 
work. 

In  addition  to  the  historians,  there  were  busily  at  work  a 
number  of  antiquaries  whose  labours  did  much  to  elucidate  the 
problems  of  Scottish  archaeology,  history,  and  literature. 
David  Herd  (1732-1810)  was  the  forerunner  of  all  who  have 
applied  themselves  to  our  older  poetry  with  intelligence  and 
zeal.  But  valuable  as  is  his  collection  of  Ancient  and  Modern 

1  Works,  4  vols.,  Edinburgh,  1855-56.     Life,  by   his   son,  Edinburgh, 
1840. 
-  10  vols.,  1833-42.  3  9  vols.,  1852-59. 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY:    1801-48     567 

Scottish  Songs  (1776),  his  chief  legacy  consists  in  the  papers,  some 
of  which,  through  the  instrumentality  of  David  Laing,  are 
now  in  the  library  of  Edinburgh  University.  James  Sibbald 
(1745-1803)  was  responsible  for  a  Chronicle  of  Scottish  Poetry 
(1802),  the  most  valuable  part  of  which  is  the  glossary.  The 
good  faith  of  John  Pinkerton  (1758-1826)  has  been  seriously 
questioned  because  of  his  predilection  for  palming  off  of  original 
compositions  as  antique  ballads.  But  he  rendered  solid  service 
to  his  day  and  generation  in  historical,  if  not  in  literary, 
research,  and  that  in  spite  of  controversial  methods  more  enter- 
taining than  commendable.  His  great  antagonist  was  George 
Chalmers  (1742-1825),  who  left  his  Caledonia*  incomplete. 
Of  its  three  quarto  volumes,  the  first  contains  880,  the  second 
1014,  and  the  third  903  pages,  and  whether  it  entirely  justifies 
what  its  author  claims  for  it  in  his  preface,2  it  must  be  owned 
to  be  a  miracle  of  industry. 

The  Etymological  Dictionary  of  the  Scottish  Language^  com- 
piled in  1808  by  Dr.  John  Jamieson  (1759-1838),  has  not 
yet  been  superseded  as  the  leading  authority  on  its  subject. 
John  Riddell  (1785-1862)  was  unrivalled  as  an  expert  in 
genealogy  and  peerage  law.  To  Robert  Pitcairn  (1793-1855) 
we  owe  an  invaluable  collection  of  Criminal  Trials  4  (1833). 
With  David  Irving  (1778-1860)  we  return  once  more  to  the 
literary  type  of  antiquary.  The  Lives  of  the  Scotish  Poets  (1804) 
and  the  Lives  of  Scotish  Writers  (1839)  are  indispensable 

1  3  vols.,  1807-24 ;  new  ed.,  7  vols.,  Paisley,  1887-94. 

2  "  Thus  will  it  appear,  from  the  perusal  of  the  following  account  of 
North  Britain,  that  there  has  been  scarcely  a  controversy  in  her  annals 
which  is  not  therein  settled,  a  defect  which  is  not  obviated,  a  knot  which 
is  not  untied,  or  an  obscurity  that  is  not  illustrated,  from  documents  as 
new  as  they  are  decisive,  though  they  are  introduced  for  different  pur- 
poses.    Such  is  the  elaboration  of  this  work ;  it  may  perhaps  supply  hope 
with  expectation  that  the  wild  controversies  of  the  elder  times  may  now 
be  sent  to  lasting  repose."     Caledonia,  or  an  account  historical  and  topo- 
graphical of  North  Britain,  vol.  i.,  preface. 

3  The  best  edition  is  that  in  4  vols.,  Paisley,  1879-82. 

4  For  Scott's  review  of  the  Trials,  see  Misc.  Prose  Works,  vol.  xxi.  p.  199. 


568     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

works,  and  perform  satisfactorily  what  had  been  attempted 
more  than  a  century  before  by  Dr.  George  Mackenzie x 
(1669-1725).  They  are  well  supplemented  by  the  post- 
humous History  of  Scotish  Poetry  (1861),  edited  by  one  who 
was  probably  the  greatest  of  all  the  Scots  literary  antiquaries — 
David  Laing  (sup.  p.  S°Sn-}'  Beside  Laing,  James  Maid- 
ment  (1795-1879),  though  he  did  good  enough  work  of  its 
kind,  is  comparatively  insignificant. 

We  have  said  enough  to  show  that  during  the  first  thirty 
or  forty  years  of  the  nineteenth  century  there  was  a  "  great 
outpouring "  of  the  literary  spirit  in  Scotland.  And  that 
outpouring  was  not  withheld  from  the  professions  which  on 
one  side  are  "  sib "  to  literature,  though  they  can  by  no 
means  be  identified  with  it.  I  have  already  referred  to  the 
academic,  ecclesiastical,  and  forensic  tradition  of  "  eloquence  " 
in  Scotland,  and  commented  unfavourably,  though  not,  it  is 
hoped,  harshly  upon  some  of  its  manifestations.  That  tradition 
still  flourished  in  the  first  forty  years  of  the  century.  Never, 
probably,  was  the  oral  pleading  of  the  Scottish  bar  more  aptly 
linked  with  the  art  of  oratory.  In  Peter's  Letters,  as  has  been 
said,  we  have  a  full  account  of  the  great  advocates  of  the  day, 
and  of  their  respective  peculiarities  of  speech,  intonation,  and 
gesture.  We  need  do  no  more  than  refer  the  reader  who  is 
desirous  of  testing  the  capabilities  of  the  legal  profession  ot 
Scotland  in  this  department  to  the  speeches  of  Jeffrey  and 
Cockburn  for  William  Burke  and  Helen  M'Dougal  ; 2  to  the 
speeches  of  all  the  counsel  at  the  cognition  of  David  Yoolow  j3 
and  to  the  speech  of  Duncan  M'Neill,  afterwards  Lord 
Colonsay,  in  defence  of  the  Glasgow  cotton-spinners.4  But 
the  activity  of  the  bar,  from  a  literary  point  of  view,  was 


1  The  Lives  and  Characters  of  the  most  eminent  Writers  of  the  Scots 
Nation.     3  vols.,  folio,  1708-22.     The  work  cannot  altogether  be  trusted. 

2  Report,  Edinburgh,  1829. 

3  Report,  by  L.  Colquhoun,  Edinburgh,  1837. 
«  Report,  by  A.  C.  Swinton,  Edinburgh,  1838. 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY:    1801-48     569 

surpassed  by  the  activity  of  the  Church,  in  which  the  now 
triumphant  Evangelicals  were  the  chief  participators. 

There  were  hints,  indeed,  of  a  new  development  of  thought, 
which  was  afterwards  to  make  itself  felt.  Thomas  Erskine 
of  Linlathen  (1788-1870),  and  John  M'Leod  Campbell 
(1800—72),  minister  of  Row,  deposed  from  the  ministry  of 
the  Kirk  for  heresy  in  1831,  were  pioneers  of  the  mid- 
nineteenth  century  Broad  Church  movement.  Another 
"scalp"  secured  by  the  Evangelicals  was  that  of  Edward 
Irving  (1792-1834),  the  early  friend  of  Thomas  Carlyle. 
But  for  a  while  the  Evangelicals  had  things  all  their  own  way, 
and  in  the  Church  of  Scotland  two  names  are  prominent  beyond 
all  the  rest,  of  which  one  is  now  almost  forgotten,  while  the 
other,  though  still  green,  stands  for  principles  of  Church 
Government  which  many  of  its  professing  admirers  have  long 
since  abandoned. 

Andrew  Thomson  (1779-1831)  was  a  man  whose  zeal, 
combined  with  a  great  gift  of  oratory,  marked  him  out  for 
the  leadership  of  the  Evangelical  section  of  the  Church,  now 
rising  into  power  on  the  decay  of  the  Moderate  party.  In 
1810  he  established  the  Christian  Instructor,  a  periodical  which 
at  one  time  found  its  way  into  every  serious  household,  and 
undoubtedly  helped  to  extend  over  the  country  the  influence 
which  he  had  acquired  by  his  eloquent  preaching.  One  or 
two  volumes  of  his  sermons  *  have  been  published,  but  they 
scarcely  do  justice  to  his  abilities,  being  stiff,  formal,  and  even 
occasionally  pompous.  To  find  him  at  his  best  we  must 
seek  him  on  the  platform  of  some  anti-slavery  meeting, 
or  on  the  floor  of  the  General  Assembly.  Here,  for 
instance,  is  the  peroration  of  a  speech,  which  lasted  two- 
and-a-half  hours,  upon  slavery  in  connection  with  the  West 
Indies  : — 

1  As,  for  example,  The  Doctrine  of  Universal  Pardon  considered  and 
refuted,  Edinburgh,  1830  ;  and  Sermons  and  Sacramental  Exhortations, 
Edinburgh,  1831. 


570    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

"  But  if  you  push  me,  and  still  urge  the  argument  of  insurrection 
and  bloodshed,  for  which  you  are  far  more  indebted  to  fancy  than 
to  fact,  as  I  have  shown  you,  then,  I  say,  be  it  so.  I  repeat  the 
maxim  taken  from  a  heathen  book,  but  pervading  the  whole  Book 
of  God,  Fiat  Justitia,  mat  caelum.  Righteousness,  sir,  is  the  pillar 
of  the  universe.  Break  down  that  pillar,  and  the  universe  falls  into 
ruin  and  desolation.  But  preserve  it,  and  though  the  fair  fabric 
may  sustain  partial  dilapidations,  it  may  be  rebuilt  and  repaired — 
it  will  be  rebuilt  and  repaired  and  restored  in  all  its  pristine  strength 
and  magnificence  and  beauty.  If  there  must  be  violence,  let  it  even 
come,  for  it  will  soon  pass  away — let  it  come  and  rage  its  little  hour, 
since  it  is  to  be  succeeded  by  lasting  freedom  and  prosperity  and 
happiness.  Give  me  the  hurricane  rather  than  the  pestilence.  Give 
me  the  hurricane,  with  its  thunder,  and  its  lightning,  and  its 
tempest ; — give  me  the  hurricane  with  its  partial  and  temporary 
devastations,  awful  though  they  be  ; — give  me  the  hurricane,  with 
its  purifying,  healthful,  salutary  effects  ; — give  me  that  hurricane 
infinitely  rather  than  the  noisome  pestilence,  whose  path  is  never 
crossed,  whose  silence  is  never  disturbed,  whose  progress  is  never 
arrested  by  one  sweeping  blast  from  the  heavens  :  which  walks 
peacefully  and  sullenly  through  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land, 
breathing  poison  into  every  heart,  and  carrying  havoc  into  every 
home,  enervating  all  that  is  strong,  defacing  all  that  is  beautiful, 
and  casting  its  blight  over  the  fairest  and  happiest  scenes  of  human 
life — and  which,  from  day  to  day,  and  from  year  to  year,  with 
intolerant  and  interminable  malignity,  sends  its  thousands  and 
its  tens  of  thousands  of  hapless  victims  into  the  ever-yawning  and 
never-satisfied  grave  !  " ' 

This,  to  be  sure,  is  not  oratory  of  the  highest  type.  It  is  too 
laboured,  too  ornate,  too  Corinthian.  But  it  is  not  by  any 
means  bad  declamation,  and  it  was  received  with  thunders 
of  applause. 

As  a  debater  in  the  Church  Courts,  Thomson  was  in  some 
respects  superior  even  to  Chalmers  himself.  He  was  a  hard, 
perhaps  not  always  a  fair,  hitter  ;  and  he  was  a  master  of  all 
the  arts  which  please  an  assembly  like  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  Scottish  Church,  whose  temper  is  necessarily  rather 

1  From  Speech  delivered  at  the  Edinburgh  Anti-Slavery  Society  Meeting 
by  the  Rev.  Andrew  Thomson,  D.D.,  Minister  of  St.  George's  Church, 
Edin.,  1830. 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY:    1801-48     571 

that  of  a  jury  than  of  a  judge.  He  had  the  command  of 
a  large  fund  of  broad  humour,  which  he  knew  how  to  use 
effectively  ;  and,  though  his  merry-making  is  not  always  free 
from  the  suspicion  of  vulgarity,  we  can  believe  it  to  have  been 
highly  effective  for  its  purpose.  He  makes  his  points  in  a 
telling  and  emphatic  way  ;  he  always  presses  on  under  full 
sail ;  and  he  was  fortunate  in  having  the  rising  breeze  of 
popularity  to  fill  his  canvas.  On  the  other  side  of  the 
Assembly  there  sat  men,  like  Dr.  Cook  and  Dr.  Inglis,  who 
were  his  equals  in  intellectual  ability,  and  upon  whom  had 
fallen  a  portion  of  Principal  Hill's  mantle.  But  he  had  no 
opponent,  not  even  excepting  the  Solicitor-General,  Mr.  John 
Hope,  who  could  match  him  in  raciness  and  vigour.  The 
following  extract  is  from  his  speech  in  the  Little  Dunkeld 
case,1  in  which  the  question  at  issue  was,  whether  a  Pres- 
bytery had  done  right  to  reject  a  presentee  on  the  ground 
that  he  had  no  knowledge  of  Gaelic,  that  being  the  alleged 
language  of  the  majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  parish  to 
which  the  presentation  had  been  made. 

"  No  doubt  some  will  be  startled  by  this  proposal,  and  will  perhaps 
be  shocked  by  the  idea  of  our  thus  finding  against  the  validity 
of  a  presentation,  and  that  a  royal  presentation.  Sir,  I  rejoice  for 
my  part  that  on  this  occasion  it  is  a  royal  presentation.  What  may 
have  been  the  motive  of  certain  gentlemen  for  giving  it  that 
emphatic  appellation  in  your  minutes,  I  cannot  pretend  to  divine. 
It  is  not  unlikely  that  they  may  have  thought  the  deed  more  secure 
by  being  fenced  round  with  that  imposing  phraseology.  They  may 
have  thought  that  it  would  have  the  effect  of  deterring  their  oppo- 
nents from  persevering  in  their  hostility  to  the  settlement  which 
it  authorised.  They  may  have  recollected  the  saying,  Dum  non 
vult  alter,  timet  alter  dicere  verum  regibus,  and  flattered  themselves 


1  Next  to  Dr.  Thomson's  speech,  the  most  remarkable  contribution  to 
the  debate  was  that  of  Mr.  Robertson  of  Forteviot,  whose  felicitous 
selection  of  language  and  pointed  manner  of  expression  have  rarely 
been  equalled  in  Scottish  oratory,  and  have  been  reproduced  with  ex- 
traordinary fidelity  in  one  of  his  immediate  descendants. 


572     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

that  the  maxim  which  it  implies  would  operate  in  their  favour.  But 
for  my  own  part,  I  feel  neither  the  disinclination  nor  the  fear  which 
it  predicates.  And  I  am  confident  that  in  this  house  we  shall  feel 
a  sense  of  duty  to  the  people  committed  to  our  spiritual  care  to 
be  paramount  to  all  considerations  whatever,  and  that  we  will  not 
hesitate  to  speak  the  truth  in  such  circumstances  as  those  in  which 
we  are  now  placed  to  any  patron,  whoever  he  may  be.  Sir,  I  say  it 
again,  it  gives  me  the  sincerest  joy  to  think  that  this  is  a  royal  presen- 
tation ;  because,  when  found  to  be  invalid,  as  I  trust  it  will  be  by  the 
decision  of  this  night,  it  will  go  back  to  the  Crown.  We  all  remember 
his  Majesty's  visit  to  Scotland — we  can  never  forget  such  a  happy 
and  auspicious  event.  And  it  must  occur  to  us  all  that  a  multitude 
of  Highlanders  came  to  the  metropolis  to  greet  him  on  his  approach 
here.  Why,  sir,  so  great  was  the  multitude  that  assembled  to 
welcome  our  gracious  sovereign,  that  on  looking  along  our  streets 
you  would  have  thought  there  was  not  a  hat  nor  a  pair  of  breeches 
left  in  the  metropolis.  The  king,  we  know  well,  was  delighted  with 
the  reception  given  him  by  the  Highlanders,  and  it  was  difficult 
to  say  whether  he  or  they  were  happiest.  He  seemed  to  like  all 
that  belonged  to  them  or  characterised  them.  Their  dress  adorned 
his  person,  their  music  charmed  his  ear,  their  mountain  dews 
refreshed  his  spirit.  And  of  their  attached  loyalty,  their  public 
services,  and  their  virtues,  he  had  the  most  ample  and  gratifying 
demonstration.  He  left  us  with  a  most  favourable  impression  of 
his  Highland  subjects.  If  report  speaks  true,  he  cherishes  that 
impression  still,  and  takes  pleasure  in  declaring  it.  And  what  can 
be  expected,  when  this  royal  presentation  goes  back  to  him,  but  that 
he  should  feel  deep  regret  for  having  been  led  by  mistake  to  do 
anything  so  injurious  to  a  portion  of  his  brave  and  faithful  High- 
landers, and  that  he  should  be  glad  indeed  to  have  an  opportunity 
of  repairing  the  wrong  that  had  been  inadvertently  done,  and  of 
appointing  a  person  as  their  minister  whose  labours  would  con- 
tribute to  their  spiritual  comfort  and  advantage  ? 

"  With  respect  to  the  presentee  himself,  I  sympathise  with  him  on 
the  disappointment  he  must  feel ;  but  I  will  not  allow  my  sympathies 
to  get  the  better  of  my  sense  of  duty  to  the  Church  and  to  the 
people.  We  have  heard  much  of  his  talents  and  attainments,  and 
I  am  not  disposed  to  question  any  part  of  the  eulogium  pronounced 
upon  him.  I  acquiesce  in  it  all ;  but  still  I  must  not  and  cannot 
forget,  that  he  is  destitute  of  one  endowment  as  necessary  as  any 
of  those  which  he  is  said  to  possess — he  is  not  endowed  with  a 
knowledge  of  the  Gaelic.  He  may  be  as  great  as  his  namesake 
Lord  Nelson,  the  thunder  of  whose  achievements  roared  from 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY:    1801-48     573 

the  Baltic  to  the  Nile,  whose  fame  circumnavigated  the  globe, 
and  whose  memory  will  be  cherished  as  long  35  that  country 
exists  which  he  defended  and  adorned,  and  as  long  as  there  is 
a  wave  to  dash  upon  its  shores  ;  but  still  he  has  no  more  Gaelic 
than  his  Lordship  had,  and  therefore  is  as  unfit  to  be  minister 
of  Little  Dunkeld  as  would  have  been  the  Admiral.  He  may  be 
wiser  than  his  teachers  and  than  all  the  ancients ;  but  then  he  has 
no  Gaelic.  He  may  have  more  Greek  and  Latin  than  the  Professors 
under  whom  he  studied  these  learned  languages ;  but  still  he  is 
ignorant  of  Gaelic.  He  may  be  a  profounder  theologian  than  was 
John  Calvin  himself  ;  but  the  loss  is,  he  is  void  of  Gaelic.  His 
eloquence  may  be  more  splendid,  and  powerful,  and  overwhelming, 
than  that  of  my  reverend  friend  beside  me  (Dr.  Chalmers),  but  with 
all  this  he  knows  not  a  word  of  Gaelic ;  and  that  is  sufficient  to 
determine  us  against  finding  him  a  qualified  presentee.  Partial 
as  his  friends  may  be  to  him,  and  worthy  as  they  may  hold  him 
of  preferment,  we  cannot  with  a  good  conscience  permit  him  to 
be  minister  of  Little  Dunkeld.  But  it  is  consolatory  to  think  that 
this  does  not  blast  all  his  prospects,  as  has  been  insinuated,  with 
a  view  of  enlisting  our  feelings  on  his  side.  We  see  that  he  has  had 
influence  enough  to  secure  a  royal  presentation,  and  therefore  that 
his  friends  are  sufficiently  powerful  to  procure  him  a  benefice  ;  and 
truly  they  show  no  lack  of  zeal  and  friendship  when  they  attempt 
to  thrust  him  into  a  parish  where,  from  his  ignorance  of  the  language 
of  its  inhabitants,  he  could  be  of  very  little  use  as  a  minister  of  the 
gospel  of  Christ ! "  * 

Thomas  Chalmers2  (1780-1847)  was  in  most  respects  a 
much  greater  man  than  Thomson.  Endowed  with  immense 
intellectual  energy,  he  threw  himself  whole-heartedly  into 
mathematics,  into  political  economy,  into  social  reform,  into 
theology.  At  the  outset  of  his  ecclesiastical  career  his  views 
were  not  of  a  specially  rigid  cast.  In  his  first  charge  he 
practised  the  pluralism  which  he  was  afterwards  to  denounce  ; 

1  From  Dr.  Andrew  Thomson's  speech  in  the  Little  Dunkeld  case, 
May  24,  1825. 

-  Works,  25  vols.,  Glasgow  :  n.  d.  Posthumous  Works,  9  vols.,  Edin- 
burgh, 1847-49.  Memoirs,  by  his  son-in-law,  Dr.  Hanna,  4  vols., 
Edinburgh,  1849-52.  For  a  remarkable  estimate  of  Chalmers  and  his 
work  see  an  article  in  the  North  British  Review,  November,  1856,  from 
the  pen  of  Isaac  Taylor.  It  gave  great  offence  to  the  "zealots." 


574    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

and  at  no  period  in  his  career  was  he  disposed  to  abate  the  just 
claims  of  the  clergy  to  social  importance  and  distinction. 
Never  in  Cathedral  close  or  Papal  conclave  can  those  claims 
have  been  more  ingenuously  and  vehemently  asserted  than 
in  one  of  his  earliest  speeches  in  the  General  Assembly,  from 
which  I  excerpt  the  following  passage  : — 

"  It  is  quite  ridiculous  to  say  that  the  worth  of  the  clergy  will 
suffice  to  keep  them  up  in  the  estimation  of  society.  This  worth 
must  be  combined  with  importance.  Give  both  worth  and  impor- 
tance to  the  same  individual,  and  what  are  the, terms  employed 
in  describing  him  ?  '  A  distinguished  member  of  society,  the 
ornament  of  a  most  respectable  profession,  the  virtuous  com- 
panion of  the  great,  and  a  generous  consolation  to  all  the  sick- 
ness and  poverty  around  him.'  These,  Moderator,  appear  to  me 
to  be  the  terms  peculiarly  descriptive  of  the  appropriate  character 
of  a  clergyman,  and  they  serve  to  mark  the  place  which  he  ought 
to  occupy  ;  but  take  away  the  importance,  and  leave  only  the  worth, 
and  what  do  you  make  of  him  ?  What  is  the  descriptive  term 
applied  to  him  now  ?  Precisely  the  term  which  I  often  find 
applied  to  many  of  my  brethren,  and  which  galls  me  to  the  bone 
every  moment  I  hear  it — '  a  fine  body  ' — a  being  whom  you 
may  like,  but  whom  I  defy  you  to  esteem — a  mere  object  of 
endearment — a  being  whom  the  great  may  at  times  honour  with 
the  condescension  of  a  dinner,  but  whom  they  will  never  admit 
as  a  respectable  addition  to  their  society.  Now,  all  that  I  demand 
from  the  Court  of  Teinds  is  to  be  raised,  and  that  as  speedily  as 
possible,  above  the  imputation  of  being  'a  fine  body'  ;  that  they 
would  add  importance  to  my  worth,  and  give  splendour  and  efficacy 
to  those  exertions  which  have  for  their  object  the  most  exalted 
interests  of  the  species."1 

Chalmers's  first  published  work  was  the  anonymous  pam- 
phlet (1805)  which  he  owned  and  recanted  in  an  almost 
classical  passage  twenty  years  later.  Soon  after,  his  views 
became  strongly  Evangelical,  but  he  did  not  find  the  work  of  a 
country  parish  in  Fife  so  exacting  as  to  preclude  an  excursion 
into  political  economy  in  the  shape  of  an  Inquiry  into  the  Extent 
and  Stability  of  National  Resources  (1808).  In  1815  he  was 

1  Dr.  Chalmers,  apnd  Hugh  Miller,  Leading  Articles,  p.  232. 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY:    1801-48     575 

translated  to  the  Tron  parish  in  Glasgow,  which,  four  years 
later,  he  relinquished  for  the  new  parish  of  St.  John's  in  the 
same  city.  There  he  initiated  a  scheme  for  the  visitation  and 
relief  of  the  poor  which  is  perhaps  his  noblest  title  to  the 
grateful  recollection  of  his  countrymen.  But  he  abandoned 
parochial  work,  for  which  he  was  eminently  fitted,  in  favour 
of  a  chair  in  the  University  of  St.  Andrews,  whence  he  passed 
in  1828  to  that  of  Theology  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh. 
Thenceforward  he  became  immersed  in  the  non-intrusion 
controversy,  which  culminated  in  the  secession  of  1843,  an(^ 
which  put  the  finishing  stroke  to  all  hopes  of  Poor  Law  reform 
on  his  principles.  He  was  the  figurehead  of  the  Disruption, 
and  no  movement  could  have  desired  a  better.1 

It  is  impossible  to  help  regretting  that  Chalmers  should 
have  fallen  into  the  toils  of  rigorous  and  militant  Evan- 
gelicalism. His  usefulness  (in  the  wider  sense),  indeed,  was 
only  impaired,  not  destroyed,  and  works  like  his  tract  upon 
Literary  and  Ecclesiastical  Endowments  (1827),  or  his  exposition 
of  the  Christian  and  Civic  Economy  of  Large  Towns  (1821—26), 
or  his  lectures  on  National  Churches,  which  created  a  furore  in 
London  in  1838,  testify  to  the  vast  ability  which  was  wasted 
in  the  turgid  rhetoric  of  the  once  celebrated  Astronomical 
Discourses2  (1817).  That  the  influence  of  the  pulpit  had  a 

1  Probably  the   most  powerful   individual  influence  at  work  was  that 
of  Robert  Smith  Candlish  (1806-73),  a  man  of  great  intellectual  gifts  and 
probably  the  last  of  the  eminent  Calvinists  pur  sang.     Candlish  got  the 
reputation  (as  James  Hannay  says)  of  infusing  all   the  vinegar  into  the 
ecclesiastical  wrangles  of  his  day  ;  while  the  credit  for  such  oil  as  could 
be  perceived  went  to  Thomas  Guthrie  (1803-73),  a  notable  philanthropist, 
and  an  extraordinarily  popular  preacher  of  the  "  eloquent  "  type. 

2  The  following  gem  of  criticism  from  Hugh  Miller  apropos  of   that 
work  must  not  be  omitted.     "  Nominally  a  series  of   sermons,  they  in 
reality  represent,  and   in   the   present   century   form   perhaps  the   only 
worthy  representatives  of,  that  school  of  philosophic  poetry  to  which,  in 
ancient  literature,  the  work  of  Lucretius  belonged,  and  of  which,  in  the 
literature  of  our  own  country,  the  Seasons  of  Thomson,  and  Akenside's 
Pleasures  of  the  Imagination  furnish  adequate  examples.     He  would,  I 
suspect,  be  no  discriminating  critic  who  would  deal  with  the  Seasons  as  if 


576    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

deleterious  defect  upon  his  mode  of  expressing  himself  it  were 
vain  to  deny,  though  to  the  pulpit  must  also  be  assigned  the 
credit  of  some  of  his  highest  flights.  Except  in  his  loftiest 
and  most  inspired  moments,  Chalmers  is  apt  to  give  one  the 
impression  of  a  man  whose  free  use  of  his  limbs  is  impeded  by 
some  hidden  agency.  His  sense  of  proportion  is  a  little  defec- 
tive ;  and  he  is  not  seldom  verbose,  contorted,  and  obscure. 

"  The  character  of  a  university  preacher  is  higher  far  than  that  of 
a  parish  minister.  He  is  a  national  preacher.  Around  his  pulpit 
the  half  of  Scotland  is  assembled  in  the  students  over  whom  he 
presides.  They  are  the  seed  which,  scattered  over  the  land,  is  to 
diffuse  the  splendours  of  science  and  religion  among  the  people. 
There  are  certain  delinquencies  where  the  good  that  accrues  to  the 
criminal  is  equal  to  the  loss  sustained  by  the  victim  ;  but  there  are 
others  of  a  deeper  dye,  to  which  we  give  the  name  of  atrocities, 
where  the  loss  sustained  by  one  party  is  indefinite.  It  is  thus  that 
the  fraud  of  a  seedsman  who  vends  adulterated  seed  is  reckoned  a 
greater  enormity  than  that  of  an  ordinary  tradesman,  and  is  an 
object  of  keener  execration  than  [that  of]  a  dealer  who  impregnates 
an  article  of  immediate  consumption  with  some  deleterious  mixture, 
seeing  that  the  deteriorated  germ  will  universally  send  up  a  degene- 
rate crop  of  unseemly  and  pestilent  vegetation.  It  is  easy  to  see 
the  application  of  this  principle  to  the  question  before  us.  Our 
college  churches  are,  by  the  tendency  of  the  law,  as  at  present 
interpreted,  destined  to  be  the  soil  where  a  sickly  and  meagre  and 
blighted  crop  of  spiritual  instruction  shall  grow  up — where  the 
fertilising  waters  shall  not  flow,  and  which  shall  never  be  truly 
refreshed  by  the  irrigating  process  of  wholesome  pulpit  ministration 
— the  waters  will  be  poisoned  in  the  garden — the  fountain-head  is 
polluted,  and  the  remotest  streams  are  tainted  by  a  deleterious 
influence ;  so  that  though  you  may  have  chased  the  disease  which 
alarmed  you  from  the  extremities,  you  still  suffer  it  to  mix  with 
and  corrupt  the  heart's  blood  of  your  ecclesiastical  system.  Against 
a  few  petty  retailers  in  the  forbidden  ware  of  pluralities  you  have 
passed  a  law  of  contraband,  while  still  you  patronise  a  traffic  which 


they  formed  merely  the  journal  of  a  naturalist,  or  by  the  poem  of  Aken- 
side  as  if  it  were  simply  a  metaphysical  treatise."  (My  Schools  and 
Schoolmasters,  ed.  1891,  p.  559.)  The  DC  Rcrum  Naturd,  the  Pleasures  of 
the  Imagination,  and  the  Astronomical  Discourses  make  a  fine  trio. 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY:    1801-48     577 

endangers  the  very  constitution  of  your  church,  and  are  encouraging 
a  vulgar  selfishness  which,  mingling  its  impure  influence  in  that 
vital  current,  will  debase  our  moral  and  spiritual  instructors,  and 
make  them  to  look  without  a  sigh  on  the  departing  strength  of  our 
church,  and  its  final  decay  ! "  ' 

This  is  distressing,  not  impressive  ;  ambitious,  not  successful. 
Here  are  circumlocution  and  pomposity  at  their  highest  ; 
here  is  revealed,  not  a  great  orator  or  debater,  but  merely  a 
species  of  ecclesiastical  Helen  MacGregor.  That  these  faults 
are  not  displeasing  to  a  vitiated  taste  is  unfortunately  only  too 
true.  Such  stuff  is  always  sure  of  a  pretty  good  market ;  and 
Chalmers  must  bear  the  blame  of  having  taught  many  to  rant 
who,  had  they  followed  the  promptings  of  nature,  would  only 
have  prosed,  and  many  to  bellow  who  should  only  have 
droned. 

Yet  there  are  times  when  Chalmers  is  a  true  orator,  or,  at 
least,  rhetorician,  and  when  he  shows  himself  the  master  and 
not  the  servant  of  a  polysyllabic  vocabulary  and  a  swelling 
diction.  He  is  often  happy  in  metaphor  and  illustration, 
though  the  preceding  extract  furnishes  little  reason  for  think- 
ing so  ;  and  there  is  a  roll  in  his  periods  to  which  the  full 
tones  of  his  broad  Doric  must  have  lent  additional  effect.2  His 
sermon  on  the  death  of  the  Princess  Charlotte,  and  that  on 
The  expulsive  power  of  a  new  affection^  are  two  of  the  best  of 
his  efforts  of  which  the  pulpit  was  the  scene  ;  but  his  finest 
passages  must  probably  be  looked  for  in  his  speeches  in  the 
General  Assembly,  where  there  was  scope,  not  only  for  the 
thunders  of  warning  and  denunciation,  but  also  for  satire  and 
humour,  of  which  last  he  possessed  a  genuine,  though  not  a 
very  deep,  vein.  The  extract  which  I  present  exhibits  in  a 

1  From  Dr.  Chalmers'  speech  in  the  debate  on  the  "  Overtures  anent 
the  Union  of  Offices,"  May  25,  1825. 

2  For  an    account  of   the   impression    produced   by   his   oratory    see 
Professor  Baynes's  essay  on  Sir  William  Hamilton  in  Edinburgh  Essays, 
1857.    Gilfillan,  somewhere  or  other,  quotes,  "  He  that  is  ftilthy  let  him 
be  fulthy  stull "  as  a  specimen  of  his  habitual  pronunciation. 

2  O 


578     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

comparatively  small  compass  many  of  the  most  typical  features 
of  the  natural  man  and  the  practised  orator.  There  is  the 
outburst  of  unconcealed  fury  at  the  unfortunate  "  resurrection- 
man  "  who  has  unearthed  the  obnoxious  pamphlet,  artfully 
shading  away  into  elaborate  expressions  of  affected  gratitude 
for  thus  affording  him  an  opportunity  of  doing  penance. 
There  is  the  ample  and  unqualified  avowal  of  repentance  ;  for 
your  true  orator  knows  that,  if  there  is  recantation  to  be  done, 
it  had  best  be  done  handsomely,  and  with  every  circumstance 
of  self-humiliation.  Lastly,  there  is  the  extraordinarily  skilful 
adaptation  of  the  passage  to  the  temper  of  the  audience  to 
whom  the  speech  was  addressed.  Nothing  could  be  more 
adroit  than  the  way  in  which,  in  the  first  paragraph,  he  plays 
on  the  amour  propre  of  his  clerical  hearers,  and  puts  them  upon 
thoroughly  good  terms  with  themselves.  This  paves  the  way 
for  making  them,  as  it  were,  participants  in  the  magnanimity 
of  the  final  palinode.  Every  minister,  you  feel  assured,  will  go 
home  proudly  conscious  of  his  ability  to  fill  a  professorial  chair, 
but  no  less  conscious  of  the  unswerving  rectitude  which  will 
make  him  decline  to  hold  any  such  appointment  along  with  a 
city  charge.  And  yet,  though  all  these  elements  are  present, 
there  is  no  touch  of  theatricality,  or  at  least  of  insincerity, 
about  the  performance  :  it  reads  like  what  it  was — the  im- 
petuous outpouring  of  the  speaker's  genuine  sentiments  at  the 
time  on  a  subject  of  great  public  and  personal  moment. 

"  Sir,  that  pamphlet  I  now  declare  to  have  been  a  production  of 
my  own,  published  twenty  years  ago.  I  was  indeed  much  surprised 
to  hear  it  brought  forward  and  quoted  this  evening  ;  and  I  instantly 
conceived  that  the  reverend  gentleman  who  did  so  had  been 
working  at  the  trade  of  resurrection-man.  Verily  I  believed  that 
my  unfortunate  pamphlet  had  long  ere  now  descended  into  the 
tomb  of  merited  oblivion,  and  that  there  it  was  mouldering  in 
silence,  forgotten  and  disregarded.  But  since  that  gentleman  has 
brought  it  forward  in  the  face  of  this  house,  I  can  assure  him  that  I 
feel  grateful  to  him  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart,  for  the  oppor- 
tunity he  has  now  afforded  me  of  making  a  public  recantation  of 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY:    1801-48     579 

the  sentiments  it  contains.  I  have  read  a  tract  entitled  the  Last 
Moments  of  the  Earl  of  Rochester,  and  I  was  powerfully  struck  in 
reading  it  with  the  conviction  how  much  evil  a  pernicious  pamphlet 
may  be  the  means  of  disseminating.  At  the  time  when  I  wrote  it  I 
did  not  conceive  that  my  pamphlet  would  do  much  evil ;  but,  Sir, 
considering  the  conclusions  that  have  been  deduced  from  it  by  the 
reverend  gentleman,  I  do  feel  obliged  to  him  for  reviving  it,  and  for 
bringing  me  forward  to  make  my  public  renunciation  of  what  is 
there  written.  I  now  confess  myself  to  have  indeed  been  guilty  of 
a  heinous  crime,  and  I  now  stand  a  repentant  culprit  before  the  bar 
of  this  venerable  Assembly. 

"The  circumstances  attending  the  publication  of  my  pamphlet 
were  shortly  as  follows  :  As  far  back  as  twenty  years  ago,  I  was 
ambitious  enough  to  aspire  to  be  successor  of  Professor  Playfair  in 
the  mathematical  chair  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  During 
the  discussion  which  took  place  relative  to  the  person  who  might  be 
appointed  his  successor,  there  appeared  a  letter  from  Professor 
Playfair  to  the  magistrates  of  Edinburgh  on  the  subject,  in  which 
he  stated  it  as  his  conviction  that  no  person  could  be  found  compe- 
tent to  discharge  the  duties  of  the  mathematical  chair  among  the 
clergymen  of  the  Church  of  Scotland.  I  was  at  that  time,  Sir,  more 
devoted  to  mathematics  than  to  the  literature  of  my  profession ; 
and  feeling  grieved  and  indignant  at  what  I  conceived  an  undue 
reflection  on  the  abilities  and  education  of  our  clergy,  I  came 
forward  to  rescue  them  from  what  I  deemed  an  unmerited  reproach, 
by  maintaining  that  a  devoted  and  exclusive  attention  to  the  study 
of  mathematics  was  not  dissonant  to  the  proper  habit  of  a  clergy- 
man. Alas  !  Sir,  so  I  thought  in  my  ignorance  and  pride.  I  have 
now  no  reserve  in  saying  that  the  sentiment  was  wrong,  and  that, 
in  the  utterance  of  it,  I  penned  what  was  most  outrageously  wrong. 
Strangely  blinded  that  I  was  !  What,  Sir,  is  the  object  of  mathe- 
matical science  ?  Magnitude  and  the  proportions  of  magnitude. 
But  then,  Sir,  I  had  forgotten  two  magnitudes — I  thought  not  of  the 
littleness  of  time — I  recklessly  thought  not  of  the  greatness  of 
eternity  ! " ' 

The  "  Ten  Years'  Conflict "  produced  a  perfect  deluge 
of  tracts  and  pamphlets,  few  of  which  are  conspicuous  for 
literary  merit,  while  many  are  disfigured  by  deplorable  rancour 

1  From  Dr.  Chalmers's  reply  in  the  debate  on  the  "  Overtures  anent  the 
Union  of  Offices,"  May  26,  1825. 


58o    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

and  vindictiveness.1  It  is  unnecessary  to  decide  with  which 
party  the  advantage  in  argument  rested  ;  but  in  point  of  bad 
temper  and  uncharitableness,  an  unenviable  superiority  must 
be  conceded  to  the  "  highflyers,"  who  assuredly  spared  no 
asperity  of  reproach  and  no  brutality  of  insolence.  In  this 
carnival  of  invective  and  recrimination,  only  one  man  of  really 
superior  literary  talents  came  to  the  front.  Hugh  Miller2 
(1802-56)  sprang,  like  Hogg,  from  the  "bosom  of  the 
people,"  and  for  many  years  pursued  the  calling  of  a  stone- 
mason in  the  neighbourhood  of  Cromarty,  of  which  he  was  a 
native.  Miller  published  a  volume  of  poems  in  1829,  which 
fell  dead-born  from  the  press  ;  and  it  was  not  until  ten  years 
later  that  he  was  fairly  launched  upon  a  literary  career.  Like 
many  of  his  countrymen,  he  took  a  keen  interest  in  ecclesias- 
tical affairs,  espousing  the  non-intrusion  cause  with  heart  and 
soul.  When  the  decision  of  the  House  of  Lords,  affirming  the 
judgment  of  the  Court  of  Session  in  the  Auchterarder  case, 
struck  dismay  into  the  supporters  of  that  view,  Miller  con- 
cocted and  published  a  strongly  worded  Letter  to  Lord 
Brougham  (1839),  who  had  delivered  the  leading  opinion  in 
favour  of  the  respondents.3  This  at  once  attracted  public 
attention,  and  the  writer  was  brought  to  Edinburgh  in  the 
same  year  to  edit  The  Witness,  which  was  the  organ  of  the 
anti-patronage  party.  Thenceforth  Miller  was  known  partly 
as  a  journalist  of  no  mean  ability,  partly  as  a  geologist  who  was 
looked  upon  with  a  kindly  eye  by  men  like  Lyell,  Agassiz, 
and  Murchison,  and  who  could  be  depended  upon  to  refute 


1  As  a  curiosity,  if  not  of  literature,  yet  of  polemics,  we  may  refer  to  a 
pamphlet  published  immediately   after  the  Disruption   by  a   provincial 
journalist  under  the  impious  title  of  The  Wheat  and  the  Chaff,  gathered 
into  bundles  (Perth,  1843).     Few  more  scurrilous  and  disgraceful  produc- 
tions are  recorded  in  the  annals  of  any  religious  controversy. 

2  Works,    12   vols.,   Edinburgh,    1869.     Life,   by  Bayne,  2  vols.,    1871. 
There  is  also  a  brief  monograph  by  Leask,  Edinburgh,  1896. 

3  Earl  of  Kinnoull  v.  Presbytery  of  Auchterarder,  May  3,  1839,  Maclean 
&  Robinson's  App.  p.  220,  at  p.  247. 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY:    1801-48     581 

the  mischievous  fallacies  of  sceptics  like  the  author  of  Vestiges 
of  the  Creation  (supra^  p.  537).  It  is,  indeed,  his  fondness  for 
reconciling  the  discoveries  of  geology  with  the  Mosaic  cos- 
mogony which,  more  than  anything  else,  has  deprived  books, 
otherwise  of  much  merit,  like  The  Old  Red  Sandstone  (1841), 
Footprints  of  the  Creator  (1850),  and  The  Testimony  of  the  Rocks 
(1857),  °f  anv  cnance  of  a  permanent  scientific  reputation. 
By  far  Miller's  best  work  is  My  Schools  and  Schoolmasters 
(1854),  though  excellent  snatches  of  description1  may  here 
and  there  be  found  in  the  posthumous  selection  from  his 
Leading  Articles,  published  in  1870.  But  the  controversies 
over  which  he  wore  out  his  life  have  now  ceased  to  possess  any 
interest,  save  for  the  specialist. 

In  many  respects  Hugh  Miller  is  a  sufficiently  ridiculous 
personage.  It  is  impossible  to  sympathise  with  his  tone  or  his 
way  of  looking  at  things.  It  is  not  his  piety  that  offends  and 
irritates,  but  the  narrowness  of  view,  the  want  of  charity,  the 
malignity  (almost),  which  seem  to  be  its  inseparable  concomi- 
tants. To  borrow  language  dear  to  his  school  of  religious 
thought,  his  heart  is  "  hard  as  the  nether  millstone  "  when  he 
comes  to  deal  with  people  who  do  not  pronounce  his  shibboleth, 
or  see  eye  to  eye  with  him  on  questions  which  affect  the 
spiritual  interests  of  the  Church.  He  is  almost  as  severe  after 
the  disruption  to  those  in  the  Free  Kirk  who  differ  from  him 
on  the  education  question,  as  he  had  been  to  those  who 
followed  Dr.  Cook  in  preference  to  Dr.  Chalmers.  No  one 
would  dream  of  taxing  him  with  deficiencies  in  education 
which  he  had  done  so  much  by  assiduous  study  to  repair.  Yet 
it  may  be  said  of  him  with  some  justice  that  he  did  not  take  a 
really  sane  view  of  life  ;  that  his  sense  of  humour  was  radically 
defective  ;  and  that,  to  sum  up,  he  was  not  much  better  than 
an  eighteenth-century  philosophe  turned  Evangelical. 

But,  with  all  his  shortcomings,  Miller  deserves  more  than 

1  See  for  example  the  opening  paragraph  of  the  account  of  the  funeral 
of  Kemp,  the  ill-fated  architect  of  the  Scott  monument. 


582     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

passing  mention.  In  the  first  place,  he  is  the  very  incarnation 
of  the  moral  and  intellectual  type  which  came  to  the  front  in 
Scotland  during  the  controversy  which  reached  a  head  in  the 
Disruption.  That  singular  combination  of  humility  with 
pride,  of  ardent  devotion  to  a  religious  watchword  (or  catch- 
word) with  indifference  to  many  of  the  characteristically 
Christian  graces,  has  often  been  exhibited  in  ecclesiastical 
brawls,  but  seldom  in  such  richness  and  perfection.  Miller 
is  full  of  zeal  for  the  spiritual  rights  of  the  people  (or  at  least 
of  that  section  of  it  which,  being  male,  is  married  and  has  a 
family),  but  there  is  nothing  democratic,  still  less  anything 
sans-cullotiC)  in  his  tone.  An  Irish  critic  has  recently  made 
the  surprising  discovery  that  Burns,  in  sentiment,  belongs 
essentially  to  the  middle-classes.  If  that  be  true,  how  shall  we 
frame  a  superlative  of  the  adjective  bourgeois  sufficiently  intense 
to  meet  the  case  of  Hugh  Miller  ?  He  has  independence  in 
plenty,  and  can  affect  lowliness  of  mind  for  rhetorical  purposes. 
But  the  pride  of  respectability  is  omnipresent  in  'his  writings, 
and  his  spiritual  arrogance  is  unbounded.  The  organisers  and 
spokesmen  of  the  Disruption  (many  of  whom  were  originally 
Conservative  in  politics)  were  never  able  to  conceal  their 
satisfaction  at  the  number  of  legal  and  territorial  big-wigs  ot 
whom  their  ranks  could  boast.  Mr.  Fox  Maule,  afterwards 
Lord  Panmure,  was  for  them  a  very  Prince  in  Israel,  though 
he  was  rarely  suspected  of  being  a  precisian  in  private  life. 
This  feeling  is  everywhere  latent  in  Miller,  though  his  politics 
were  Whig.  Those  who  "  came  out "  were  for  him  the  salt 
of  the  earth,  the  aristocracy  of  the  Church.  Those  who  staid 
in  were  their  inferiors,  socially,  intellectually,  and  morally.  In 
vain  do  we  look  for  a  trace  of  that  poverty  of  spirit  which  is 
selected  as  the  subject  of  one  of  the  Beatitudes,  or  of  that 
charity  which  hopeth  all  things  and  endureth  all  things.  And 
thus,  as  we  have  said,  Miller  truly  embodies  that  "spirit  of  the 
Disruption,"  into  which  a  zealot  is  said  once  to  have  prayed 
that  some  unfortunate  infant  might  be  baptised.  It  would  be 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY:    1801-48     583 

rash  to  say  that  that  spirit  has  been  wholly  quenched,  but  for 
at  least  a  quarter  of  a  century  it  has  been  kept  in  its  proper 
place,  and  shorn  of  much  of  its  pristine  power. 

In  the  second  place,  Miller  is  really  noteworthy  because  he 
wrote  remarkably  good  English  :  better  English  than  was 
probably  to  be  heard  in  any  Scottish  pulpit  of  his  time,  with 
the  possible  exception  of  Forteviot.  Where  he  picked  it  up  it 
would  be  difficult  to  determine.  He  has  told  us  much  of  his 
appetite  for  reading  as  a  boy,  but  none  of  the  works  which 
he  used  to  devour  quite  explains  his  peculiar  excellence.  It 
cannot  be  said  that  the  influence  of  the  Authorised  Version,  or 
of  Bunyan,  or  of  the  old  Scots  divines,  is  to  any  great  extent 
perceptible  in  his  writing.  He  would  appear  simply  to  have 
acquired  the  knack  for  himself.  Ease  is  not  one  of  his 
characteristics,  and  the  impression  can  scarcely  be  avoided  that 
he  is  composing  in  a  strange  tongue.  But  his  English  is 
clean-cut  and  well-ordered,  pointed  and  terse,  scarcely  ever 
straggling  or  long-winded.  That  he  should  have  wholly 
avoided  the  patois  of  the  moss-hags  was  not  to  be  expected  ; 
but  when  he  does  use  it,  it  is  with  economy  and  discretion. 
Had  his  freedom  as  an  editor  not  been  restricted  by  the  clerical 
supervision  which  drove  him  to  his  doom,  he  might  have 
become  a  great  journalist.  As  it  is,  he  was  a  respectable  one, 
and  not  a  newspaper  in  Scotland  at  the  present  day  can  show 
in  its  columns  writing  which,  qua  writing,  is  comparable  to 
what  is  buried  in  the  grave  of  the  Witness.  In  narrative  and 
description  he  is  admirable,  in  exposition  and  argument  less 
excellent,  and  in  attack  perhaps  best  of  all.  The  passage 
which  I  subjoin  from  the  Letter  to  Lord  Brougham  will  give 
some  notion  of  his  spirit  and  vivacity,  whatever  we  may  think 
of  his  taste.  At  first  sight,  an  attack  of  the  sort  upon  a  judge 
for  a  judicial  decision  may  well  seem  a  piece  of  colossal 
impudence  ;  but  Brougham  is  a  man  whom  no  one  is  very 
much  concerned  to  defend  ;  feeling  ran  indescribably  high  ; 
and  there  are  expressions  in  Brougham's  judgment  which  to 


584    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

the  rabid  non-intrusionist  must  have  been  galling  in  the  last 
degree  : — 

"  My  Lord,  I  am  a  plain  working  man  in  rather  humble  circum- 
stances, a  native  of  the  north  of  Scotland,  and  a  member  of  the 
Established  Church.  I  am  acquainted  with  no  other  language  than 
the  one  in  which  I  address  your  Lordship,  and  the  very  limited 
knowledge  which  I  possess  has  been  won  slowly  and  painfully  from 
observation  and  reflection,  with  now  and  then  the  assistance  of  a 
stray  volume,  in  the  intervals  of  a  laborious  life.  I  am  not  too 
uninformed,  however,  to  appreciate  your  Lordship's  extraordinary 
powers  and  acquirements  ;  and  as  the  cause  of  freedom  is  peculiarly 
the  cause  of  the  class  to  which  I  belong,  and  as  my  acquaintance 
with  the  evils  of  ignorance  has  been  by  much  too  close  and  too 
tangible  to  leave  me  indifferent  to  the  blessings  of  education,  I  have 
been  no  careless  or  uninterested  spectator  of  your  Lordship's  public 
career.  No,  my  Lord,  I  have  felt  my  heart  swell  as  I  pronounced 
the  name  of  Henry  Brougham. 

"  With  many  thousands  of  my.  countrymen,  I  have  waited  in  deep 
anxiety  for  your  Lordship's  opinion  on  the  Auchterarder  case. 
Aware  that  what  may  seem  clear  as  a  matter  of  right  may  be  yet 
exceedingly  doubtful  as  a  question  of  law, — aware,  too,  that  your 
Lordship  had  to  decide  in  this  matter  not  as  a  legislator,  but  as  a 
judge,  I  was  afraid  that,  though  you  yourself  might  be  our  friend, 
you  might  yet  have  to  pronounce  the  law  our  enemy.  And  yet,  the 
bare  majority  by  which  the  case  had  been  carried  against  us  in  the 
Court  of  Session, — the  consideration,  too,  that  the  judges  who  had 
declared  in  our  favour  rank  among  the  ablest  lawyers  and  most 
accomplished  men  that  our  country  has  ever  produced,  had  inclined 
me  to  hope  that  the  statute-book  as  interpreted  by  your  Lordship 
might  not  be  found  very  decidedly  against  us.  But  of  you  yourself, 
my  Lord,  I  could  entertain  no  doubt.  You  had  exerted  all  your 
energies  in  sweeping  away  the  Old  Sarums  and  East  Retfords  of  the 
constitution.  Could  I  once  harbour  the  suspicion  that  you  had 
become  tolerant  of  the  Old  Sarums  and  East  Retfords  of  the 
Church  !  You  had  declared,  whether  wisely  or  otherwise,  that  men 
possessed  of  no  property  qualification,  and  as  humble  and  as  little 
taught  as  the  individual  who  now  addresses  you,  should  be  admitted, 
on  the  strength  of  their  moral  and  intellectual  qualities  alone,  to 
exercise  a  voice  in  the  Legislature  of  the  country.  Could  I  suppose 
for  a  moment,  that  you  deemed  that  portion  of  these  very  men  which 
falls  to  the  share  of  Scotland,  unfitted  to  exercise  a  voice  in  the 
election  of  a  parish  minister  !— or  rather,  for  I  understate  the  case, 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY:    1801-48     585 

that  you  held  them  unworthy  of  being  emancipated  from  the 
thraldom  of  a  degrading  law, — the  remnant  of  a  barbarous  code, 
which  conveys  them  over  by  thousands  and  miles  square  to  the 
charge  of  patronage-courting  clergymen,  practically  unacquainted 
with  the  religion  they  profess  to  teach.  Surely  the  people  of 
Scotland  are  not  so  changed  but  that  they  know  at  least  as  much  of 
the  doctrines  of  the  New  Testament  as  of  the  principles  of  civil 
Government, — and  of  the  requisites  of  a  Gospel  minister  as  of  the 
qualifications  of  a  member  of  Parliament !" 

After  a  violent  attack  on  the  Moderates  of  the  past,  includ- 
ing Principal  Robertson,  the  pamphleteer  proceeds  to  give  his 
own  version  of  Scots  ecclesiastical  history,  drawn,  by  his  own 
admission,  from  Knox,  Calderwood,  and  Wodrow,  and  finally 
winds  up  thus  : — 

"  The  Church  has  offended  many  of  her  noblest  and  wealthiest,  it 
is  said,  and  they  are  flying  from  her  in  crowds.  Well,  what  matters 
it  ? — let  the  chaff  fly  !  We  care  not  though  she  shake  off  in  her 
wholesome  exercise  some  of  the  indolent  humours  which  have  hung 
about  her  so  long.  The  vital  principle  will  act  with  all  the  more 
vigour  when  they  are  gone.  She  may  yet  have  to  pour  forth  her 
life's  blood  through  some  incurable  and  deadly  wound  ;  for  do  we 
not  know  that  though  the  Church  be  immortal,  Churches  are  born 
and  die  ?  But  the  blow  will  be  dealt  in  a  different  quarrel,  and  on 
other  and  lower  ground.  Not  when  her  ministers,  for  the  sake  of 
the  spiritual,  lessen  their  hold  of  the  secular.  Not  when,  convinced 
of  the  justice  of  the  old  quarrel,  they  take  up  their  position  on  the 
well-trodden  battle-field  of  her  saints  and  martyrs.  Not  when  they 
stand  side  by  side  with  her  people,  to  contend  for  their  common 
rights,  in  accordance  with  the  dictates  of  their  consciences,  and 
agreeably  to  the  law  of  their  God.  The  reforming  spirit  is  vigorous 
within  her,  and  her  hour  is  not  yet  come."  1 

It  is,  on  the  whole,  perhaps,  a  misfortune  that  the  persons 
turned  out  by  modern  systems  of  education  are  so  much  superior 
to,  or  at  least  so  different  from,  Hugh  Miller. 

1  From  Letter  to  Lord  Brougham,  Edinburgh,  1839. 


CHAPTER   XI 

THE    VICTORIAN    ERA:    1848-1880 

THE  generation  succeeding  the  Disruption  produced  a  large 
number  of  writers  of  various  sorts  in  Scotland.  Scarce  one  of 
these  attained  the  highest  degree  of  excellence.  Many,  indeed, 
entered  upon  their  voyage  with  a  fair  tide  and  a  favouring 
breeze,  whose  barque,  if  it  ever  reached  the  haven  of  fame, 
now  lies,  a  crazy  old  hulk,  cast  up  on  the  beach,  displaced  by 
newer  and  more  attractive  craft.  Some  there  were  who 
missed  the  very  first  rank  by  little  more  than  a  hair's  breadth. 
But  in  literature,  if  not  in  other  occupations,  a  miss  is  as  good 
as  a  mile.  There  are  probably  few  periods  in  the  history  of 
Scottish  letters  in  which  so  many  promising  reputations  have 
come  to  almost  nothing.  Few,  therefore,  are  so  rich  in  works 
which  it  might  be  well  worth  the  while  of  the  industrious 
magazine-writer  to  disinter.  A  critical  and  detailed  survey, 
for  example,  of  the  careers  of  Alexander  Smith,  David  Gray, 
and  Robert  Buchanan,  could  not  fail  to  contain  many  instruc- 
tive literary,  as  well  as  other,  lessons. 

The  most  versatile,  and  not  the  least  clever,  of  the  men  of 
letters  who  flourished  during  these  years  was  William  Edmond- 
stoune  Aytoun I  (1813-65),  a  member  of  the  Scottish  bar, 

1  Memoir,  by  Martin,  Edin.,  1867.  There  is  no  collected  edition  of 
Aytoun's  works.  I  cite  from  the  1872  ed.  of  the  Lays,  and  the  1874  ed.  of 
Bon  Gaulticr.  For  a  detailed  criticism  of  Aytoun's  work,  see  New  Review, 
January,  1896. 

586 


THE    VICTORIAN  ERA  :    1848-1880         587 

who  was  appointed  to  the  chair  of  Rhetoric  and  Belles 
Lettres  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  in  1845,  and  to  the 
Sheriffship  of  Orkney  and  Zetland  in  1852.  Aytoun  was, 
heart  and  soul,  a  "  Blackwood "  man,  and  he  contributed 
innumerable  articles  of  all  sorts  to  the  columns  of  Maga,  the 
greater  part  of  which  is  necessarily  beyond  resuscitation.  It 
may  be  said,  however,  that,  while  his  political  articles  are 
unusually  well-reasoned  and  weighty,  it  is  his  lightness  of 
touch  which  gives  his  papers  on  miscellaneous  topics  their 
chief  value.  His  good  spirits  were  infectious  ;  and  he  had  the 
journalist's  gift  of  being  always  seasonable  and  "on  the  spot." 
If  anything  could  have  made  up  to  the  editor  for  the  loss  of 
Wilson,  it  must  have  been  the  acquisition  of  Wilson's  son-in- 
law  as  a  contributor. 

Alike  in  poetry  and  prose,  Aytoun's  most  ambitious  essays 
were  comparative  failures.  Bothwell  (1856)  suffers  from  being 
cast  in  the  form  of  a  monologue,  and  the  subject,  though  a 
tempting  one,  is  of  a  character  to  subject  the  highest  poetical 
capacity  to  a  severe  test.  Norman  Sinclair  (1861)  is  a  novel 
of  the  orthodox  autobiographical  stamp,  a  genuine  three-decker. 
Some  idea  of  its  length  may  be  conveyed  by  the  statement 
that  it  began  to  appear  hi  BlackwoocTs  Magazine  in  the  January 
of  one  year,  and  was  not  completed  until  the  August  of  the 
next.  No  doubt,  it  contains  a  certain  number  of  graphic  and 
entertaining  episodes  ;  but  the  effect  of  the  book  as  a  whole 
is  one  of  rambling  incoherence.  Perhaps  Aytoun's  powers 
were  incapable  of  any  long-sustained  effort.  At  all  events,  it 
is  certain  that  his  turn  for  poetry  is  far  more  advantageously 
displayed  in  the  Lays  of  the  Scottish  Cavaliers  (1848)  than  in 
Bothwell.  Here,  also,  he  found  a  congenial  vehicle  for 
exhibiting  the  strain  of  Tory  sentiment  peculiar  to  him. 
His  father  had  been  a  Whig,  but  Aytoun  as  a  young  man 
imbibed  principles  which  may  fairly  be  described  as  a  mixture 
of  "  Young  England "  theories  with  a  belated  Jacobitism. 
The  Jacobite  element  in  his  views  was  undoubtedly  sincere 


588     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

and  even  passionate.  Yet  it  was,  of  necessity,  little  better 
than  academic,  and  the  artificiality  attaching  to  it  appears  to 
me  to  vitiate  most  of  the  Lays.  These  poems  are  well  found 
in  point  of  technique,  and  have  for  long  commended  them- 
selves to  the  schoolboy  and  the  village  reciter.  They  contain 
much  that  is  telling,  though  little  that  is  moving,  and,  while 
admirable  as  rhetoric,  seldom  rise  to  the  level  of  true  poetry. 
The  best  of  the  Lays  is  perhaps  the  least  known  and  least 
remembered — The  Island  of  the  Scots.  Here  is  one  stanza 
which  is  charged  with  more  true  feeling  than  can  be  met  with 
in  most  of  its  fellows  : — 


"  And  did  they  twine  the  laurel-wreath 

For  those  who  fought  so  well  ? 
And  did  they  honour  those  who  lived, 

And  weep  for  those  who  fell  ? 
What  meed  of  thanks  was  given  to  them 

Let  aged  annals  tell. 
Why  should  they  bring  the  laurel  wreath, 

Why  crown  the  cup  with  wine  ? 
It  was  not  Frenchmen's  blood  that  flowed 

So  freely  on  the  Rhine — 
A  stranger  band  of  beggared  men 

Had  done  the  venturous  tleed  : 
The  glory  was  to  France  alone, 

The  danger  was  their  meed. 
And  what  cared  they  for  idle  thanks 

From  foreign  prince  and  peer  ? 
What  virtue  had  such  honeyed  words 

The  exiled  heart  to  cheer  ? 
What  mattered  it  that  men  should  vaunt 

And  loud  and  fondly  swear, 
That  higher  feat  of  chivalry 

Was  never  wrought  elsewhere  ? 
They  bore  within  their  breasts  the  grief 

That  fame  can  never  heal — 
The  deep  unutterable  woe 

Which  none  save  exiles  feel. 
Their  hearts  were  yearning  for  the  land 

They  ne'er  might  see  again — 


THE    VICTORIAN  ERA  :    1848-1880        589 

For  Scotland's  high  and  heathered  hills, 

For  mountain  loch  and  glen — 
For  those  who  haply  lay  at  rest 

Beyond  the  distant  sea, 
Beneath  the  green  and  daisied  turf 

Where  they  would  gladly  be  ! "  ' 


It  is  a  little  diffuse,  and  not  free  from  epithets  that  are 
otiose  and  lines  that  are  flat.  But  I  am  disposed  to  think 
that  it  is  poetry  after  all. 

Sir  Theodore  Martin  surmises  that  Aytoun's  keen  sense  of 
the  ludicrous,  disabled  him  from  doing  himself  justice  in  serious 
verse.  Whether  this  be  so  or  not,  some  of  his  very  best 
metrical  work  will  be  found  in  that  tour  de  force,  Firmilian 
(1854),  which,  like  many  other  parodies,  has  perished  with 
what  it  was  designed  to  ridicule.  Expanded  from  extracts  in 
a  bogus  review  which  had  appeared  in  Maga  and  bamboozled 
many  of  the  critics,  Firmilian  is  an  attack  upon  the  "  spas- 
modic "  school  of  poetry  as  represented  by  Bailey,  Dobell,  and 
Alexander  Smith  (infra^  p.  596).  We  cannot  blame  very 
severely  the  people  who  knew  not  if  Firmilian  was  to  be 
taken  seriously  or  not  ;  for,  while  with  high-sounding  passages 
there  were  mingled  tracts  of  the  most  prosaic  sentiment  and 
language  (a  characteristic  trait  of  the  school  of  poetry  assailed), 
there  were  snatches  of  what  might  quite  excusably  be  mistaken 
for  tolerable  poetry. 

"What  we  write 

Must  be  the  reflex  of  the  thing  we  know  ; 
For  who  can  limn  the  morning  if  his  eyes 
Have  never  looked  upon  Aurora's  face  ? 
Or  who  describe  the  cadence  of  the  sea, 
Whose  ears  were  never  open  to  the  waves, 
Or  the  shrill  winding  of  the  Triton's  horn  ? " 

This  is  sonorous,  and  it  is  not  nonsense.     Or,  again  : — 

1  Lays,  p.  172. 


590     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

"  We  have  gazed 

Together  on  the  midnight  map  of  heaven, 
And  marked  the  gems  in  Cassiopeia's  hair — 
Together  have  we  heard  the  nightingale 
Waste  the  exuberant  music  of  her  throat 
And  lull  the  flustering  breezes  into  calm.1' 

Much  worse  stuff  than  this  has  often  been  loudly  applauded. 
The  lyrical  passages,  too,  such,  as — 

"  Firmilian,  Firmilian, 
What  have  you  done  with  Lilian,"  &c. 

are  often  a  good  deal  more  melodious  than  what  corresponds  to 
them  in  the  objects  of  the  parody.  Whether  regarded  as 
caricaturing  the  thought  or  the  style  of  the  "  Spasmodics," 
Firmilian  must  be  pronounced  to  be  one  of  the  great  successes 
in  a  genre  in  which  mediocrity  is  far  more  common  than  high 
attainment. 

Aytoun's  genius  for  drollery  assumes  a  less  ephemeral  form 
in  the  short  stories  which  he  wrote  for  Blackwood.  Among 
the  many  humorous  Tales  collected  from  that  venerable 
periodical  his  are  unquestionably  the  best ;  and,  in  truth, 
they  approach  as  closely  to  perfection  in  their  own  kind  as 
it  is  possible  for  human  performances  to  do.  How  I  became  a 
Yeoman^  The  Emerald  Studs,  How  I  stood  for  the  Dreepdaily 
Burghs,  How  we  got  possession  of  the  Tuilieries,  and  The  Glen- 
mutchkin  Railway,*  form  as  delectable  an  anthology  of  its 
sort  as  man  could  desire  :  and  the  best  of  them  are  Dreep- 
daily and  Glenmutchkin.  They  are  all  conceived  in  a  vein 
of  "  touch-and-go "  farce,  they  have  no  arriere  pensee, 
and  they  are  brought  off  with  a  lightness  of  hand  com- 
parable only  to  that  of  some  great  chef  who  manipulates  an 
omelette.  Yet  you  may  learn  more  about  one  aspect  of 
Scottish  politics  from  Dreepdaily  than  from  many  solemn 

1  These  will  all  be  found  in  the  well-known  Tales  from  Blackwood,  1st 
series. 


THE    VICTORIAN  ERA  :    1848-1880         591 

and  pretentious  treatises  ;  and  as  for  Glenmutchkin,  its  interest 
can  only  evaporate  when  prospectuses  cease  to  be  issued. 
Here  is  the  prospectus  of  that  famous  company  : — 

"DIRECT    GLENMUTCHKIN    RAILWAY. 
IN  12,000  SHARES  OF  £20  EACH.    DEPOSIT  £i  PER  SHARE. 

Provisional  Committee. 

SIR  POLLEXFEN  TREMENS,  Bart.,  of  Toddymains. 
TAVISH  M'TAVISH  of  Invertavish. 
THE  M'CLOSKIE. 

AUGUSTUS  REGINALD  DUNSHUNNER,  Esq.,  of  St.  Mirrens. 
SAMUEL  SAWLEY,  Esq.,  Merchant. 

MHIC-MHAC-VlCH-IXDUIB. 

PHELIM  O'FINLAN,  Esq.,  of  Castle-rook,  Ireland. 

THE  CAPTAIN  OF  M'ALCOHOL. 

FACTOR  for  GLENTUMBLERS. 

JOHN  JOB  JOBSON,  Esq.,  Manufacturer. 

EVAN  M'CLAW  of  Glenscart  and  Inveryewky. 

JOSEPH  HECKLES,  Esq. 

HABBAKUK  GRABBIE,  Portioner  in  Ramoth-Drumclog. 

Engineer — WALTER  SOLDER,  Esq. 
Interim-Secretary — ROBERT  M'CORKINDALE,  Esq. 

"  The  necessity  of  a  direct  line  of  communication  through  the 
fertile  and  populous  district  known  as  the  VALLEY  OF  GLENMUTCH- 
KIN, has  been  felt  and  universally  acknowledged.  Independently 
of  the  surpassing  grandeur  of  its  mountain  scenery,  which  shall 
immediately  be  referred  to,  and  other  considerations  of  even 
greater  importance,  GLENMUTCHKIN  is  known  to  the  capitalist  as 
the  most  important  BREEDING  STATION  in  the  Highlands  of  Scot- 
land, and  indeed  as  the  great  emporium  from  which  the  southern 
markets  are  supplied.  It  has  been  calculated  by  a  most  eminent 
authority  that  every  acre  in  the  strath  is  capable  of  rearing  twenty 
head  of  cattle  ;  and,  as  it  has  been  ascertained,  after  a  careful 
admeasurement,  that  there  are  not  less  than  TWO  HUNDRED  THOU- 
SAND improvable  acres  immediately  contiguous  to  the  proposed  line 
of  railway,  it  may  confidently  be  assumed  that  the  number  of  cattle 
to  be  conveyed  along  the  line  will  amount  to  FOUR  MILLIONS 
annually,  which,  at  the  lowest  estimate,  would  yield  a  revenue 
larger  in  proportion  to  the  capital  subscribed,  than  that  of  any 
railway  as  yet  completed  within  the  United  Kingdom.  From  this 


592    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

estimate  the  traffic  in  Sheep  and  Goats,  with  which  the  mountains 
are  literally  covered,  has  been  carefully  excluded,  it  having  been 
found  quite  impossible  (from  its  extent)  to  compute  the  actual 
revenue  to  be  drawn  from  that  most  important  branch.  It  may, 
however,  be  roughly  assumed  as  from  seventeen  to  nineteen  per 
cent,  upon  the  whole,  after  deduction  of  the  working  expenses. 

"  The  population  of  Glenmutchkin  is  extremely  dense.  Its  situa- 
tion on  the  West  Coast  has  afforded  it  the  means  of  direct  com- 
munication with  America,  of  which  for  many  years  the  inhabitants 
have  actively  availed  themselves.  Indeed,  the  amount  of  exporta- 
tion of  live  stock  from  this  part  of  the  Highlands  to  the  Western 
continent  has  more  than  once  attracted  the  attention  of  Parliament. 
The  Manufactures  are  large  and  comprehensive,  and  include  the 
most  famous  distilleries  in  the  world.  The  Minerals  are  most 
abundant,  and  amongst  these  may  be  reckoned  quartz,  porphyry, 
felspar,  malachite,  manganese,  and  basalt. 

"  At  the  foot  of  the  valley,  and  close  to  the  sea,  lies  the  important 
village  known  as  the  CLACHAN  of  INVERSTARVE.  It  is  supposed  by 
various  antiquaries  to  have  been  the  capital  of  the  Picts,  and, 
amongst  the  busy  inroads  of  commercial  prosperity,  it  still  retains 
some  traces  of  its  former  grandeur.  There  is  a  large  fishing  station 
here,  to  which  vessels  of  every  nation  resort,  and  the  demand  for 
foreign  produce  is  daily  and  steadily  increasing. 

"  As  a  sporting  country  Glenmutchkin  is  unrivalled  ;  but  it  is  by 
the  tourists  that  its  beauties  will  most  greedily  be  sought.  These 
consist  of  every  combination  which  plastic  nature  can  afford — cliffs 
of  unusual  magnitude  and  grandeur — waterfalls  only  second  to  the 
sublime  cascades  of  Norway,  woods  of  which  the  bark  is  a  remark- 
ably valuable  commodity.  It  need  scarcely  be  added,  to  arouse  the 
enthusiasm  inseparable  from  this  glorious  glen,  that  here,  in  1745, 
Prince  Charles  Edward  Stuart,  then  in  the  zenith  of  his  hopes,  was 
joined  by  the  brave  Sir  Grugar  M'Grugar  at  the  head  of  his  devoted 
clan. 

"  The  Railway  will  be  twelve  miles  long,  and  can  be  completed 
within  six  months  after  the  Act  of  Parliament  is  obtained.  The 
gradients  are  easy,  and  the  curves  obtuse.  There  are  no  viaducts 
of  any  importance,  and  only  four  tunnels  along  the  whole  length  of 
the  line.  The  shortest  of  these  does  not  exceed  a  mile  and  a  half. 

"In  conclusion,  the  projectors  of  this  railway  beg  to  state  that 
they  have  determined,  as  a  principle,  to  set  their  face  AGAINST  ALL 
SUNDAY  TRAVELLING  WHATSOEVER,  and  to  oppose  EVERY  BILL 
which  may  hereafter  be  brought  into  Parliament,  unless  it  shall 
contain  a  clause  to  that  effect.  It  is  also  their  intention  to  take 


THE    VICTORIAN  ERA  :    1848-1880         593 

up  the  cause  of  the  poor  and  neglected  STOKER,  for  whose  accom- 
modation, and  social,  moral,  religious,  and  intellectual  improve- 
ment a  large  stock  of  evangelical  tracts  will  speedily  be  required. 
Tenders  of  these,  in  quantities  of  not  less  than  12,000,  may  be  sent 
to  the  Interim  Secretary.  Shares  must  be  applied  for  within  ten 
days  of  the  present  date. 

"  By  order  of  the  Provisional  Committee, 

"  ROBT.  M'CoRKiNDALE,  Secretary."1 

Every  word,  it  might  almost  be  said,  in  this  inimitable  docu- 
ment is  a  delight,  though  perhaps  the  finest  strokes  of  all  are 
in  the  names  of  the  directorate.  No  one  but  a  Scot  can 
appreciate  them  to  the  full ;  and,  indeed,  Aytoun's  thorough 
knowledge  of  his  countrymen  is  one  of  his  strongest  points. 

To  see  Aytoun's  gift  of  caricature  at  its  very  best  we 
must  probably  turn  to  The  Book  of  Ballads,  Edited  by  Bon 
Gaultier  (1855),  in  which  his  collaborator  was  Mr.  (now 
Sir)  Theodore  Martin  (b.  i8i6).2  Aytoun  and  Martin  had 
been  friends  in  their  youth,  and  before  the  latter  became  a 
Parliamentary  solicitor  in  London  had  joined  in  contributions 
of  various  kinds  to  Maga,  including  certain  translations  from 
Goethe,  which  were  collected  and  published  in  1858.  Sir 
Theodore  is  one  of  those  to  whom  it  has  been  given  to 
combine  great  professional  with  great  literary  success.  His 
translations  from  Horace  (1882),  from  Dante  (1862),  from 
Goethe  (1865-86),  and  from  Heine  (1878)  show  no  little 
taste  and  refinement  of  feeling,  in  addition  to  the  technical 
dexterity  of  a  poet,  and  that  he  still  retains  these  gifts  in  his 
old  age  is  obvious  from  the  versions  of  Sismondi's  poems  which 
appeared  from  his  pen  in  Blackwood  during  the  autumn  of 
1902.  In  prose,  he  has  been  the  official  biographer  of  the 
Prince  Consort  (1874—80) — a  post  wherein  he  displayed  great 
tact  and  judgment — and  he  has  also  written  the  lives  of  Lord 

1  From  How  we  got  up  the  Glcnnititchkin  Railway  and  how  we  got  out  of 
it,  Blackwood's  Magazine,  October,  1845. 

-  I  believe  that  we  may  shortly  have  a  new  and  annotated  edition  of 
Bon  Gaultier  from  Sir  Theodore  himself. 

2P 


594    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Lyndhurst  (1883),  the   Princess  Alice   (1885),  and    his   own 
wife  (1900),  the  celebrated   Helen  Faucit. 

But  to  return  to  Bon  Gaultier.  It  has  not,  I  think,  been 
yet  ascertained  what  were  the  respective  shares  of  the  two 
authors  in  this  work — the  most  successful  collection  of  paro- 
dies that  had  appeared  since  Rejected  Addresses.  But  we 
know  from  his  colleague  that  Aytoun  alone  was  responsible 
for  The  Lay  of  the  Love-lorn^  for  that  spirited  Celtic  lyric,  The 
Massacre  of  the  Macpherson^  and  for  The  Queen  in  France ;  that 
is  to  say,  for  the  three  of  the  best  pieces  in  the  book.  On 
Phairshon  it  is  needless  to  dilate,  for  it  is  still  pretty  widely 
known.  Of  the  Love-lorn,  it  may  be  said  that  it  supplies  at 
once  the  best  burlesque  and  the  best  criticism  of  Locksley  Hall 
that  can  anywhere  be  found.  The  peculiarities  of  the  metre 
are  reproduced  with  striking  fidelity  and  an  absolutely  correct 
ear  ;  *  but  not  with  more  fidelity  than  the  vein  of  thought 
peculiar  to  its  singular  hero,  and  the  strain  of  high-falutin' 
in  which  he  indulges.  Verses  like — 

"  Happy  !     Damme  !    Thou  shalt  lower  to  his  level  day  by  day, 
Changing  from  the  best  of  china  to  the  commonest  of  clay. 
As  the  husband  is,  the  wife  is — he  is  stomach-plagued  and  old  ; 
And  his  curry  soups  will  make  thy  cheek  the  colour  of  his  gold  ; " 

or  like — 

"  Cursed  be  the  Bank  of  England's  notes,  that  tempt  the  soul  to  sin  ! 
Cursed  be  the  want  of  acres, — doubly  cursed  the  want  of  tin  ! " 

or  like — 

"  There  I'll  rear  my  young  mulattoes,  as  no  Bond  Street  brats  are 

reared  ; 

They  shall  dive  for  alligators,  catch  the  wild-goats  by  the  beard — 
Whistle  to  the  cockatoos  and  mock  the  hairy-faced  baboon, 
Worship  mighty  Mumbo  Jumbo  in  the  Mountains  of  the  Moon" — 


1  E.g.,  the   rather   unexpected   ca-sura  in   a   line   like  "  Resting   there 
beneath  the  porch,  my  nerves  will  steady  like  a  rock," 


THE    VICTORIAN  ERA  :    1848-1880         595 

such  verses  breathe  the  very  spirit  of  the  young  gentleman 
whose  ravings  about  his  Amy  and  the  progress  of  the  Universe 
used  to  fire  so  many  ardent  spirits. 

As  for  The  Queen  in  France  (which  gives  an  imaginary 
account  of  the  visit  of  Queen  Victoria  and  Prince  Albert  to 
Louis  Philippe)  it  is  probably  the  best  parody  ever  made 
upon  the  style  of  the  old  Ballads,  infinitely  ludicrous,  and  free 
from  the  betises  and  the  relapses  into  flat  vulgarity  which  have 
too  frequently  marked  attempts  to  burlesque  the  characteristic 
diction  of  those  compositions.  Bear  witness  the  following 
stanzas  : — 

"  The  sun  was  high  within  the  lift, 

Afore  the  French  King  raise  ; 
And  syne  he  louped  until  his  sark, 

And  warslit  on  his  claes. 

'  Gae  up,  gae  up,  my  little  foot-page, 

Gae  up  until  the  toun  ; 
And  gin  ye  meet  wi'  the  auld  harper, 

Be  sure  ye  bring  him  doun.' 

And  he  has  met  wi'  the  auld  harper, 

O  but  his  een  were  reid  ; 
And  the  bizzing  o'  a  swarm  o'  bees 

Was  singing  in  his  heid. 

'  Alack  !  alack  ! '  the  harper  said, 

'  That  this  should  e'er  hae  been  ! 
I  daurna  gang  before  my  liege, 
For  I  was  fou  yestreen.' 

'  O  it's  ye  maun  come,  ye  auld  harper 

Ye  daurna  tarry  lang  ; 
The  King  is  just  dementit-like, 

For  wanting  o'  a  sang.' " 

Even  better  is  the  Queen's  farewell  to  her  Royal  host : — 

"  Three  days  had  come,  three  days  had  gane, 

The  fourth  began  to  fa', 

When  our  gude  Queen  to  the  Frenchman  said, 
'It's  time  I  was  awa  ! ' 


596    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

O,  bonny  are  the  fields  o'  France, 

And  saftly  draps  the  rain  ; 
But  my  bairnies  are  in  Windsor  Town, 

And  greeting  a'  their  lane. 


Now  ye  maun  come  to  me,  Sir  King, 

As  I  have  come  to  ye  ; 
And  a  benison  upon  your  heid, 

For  a'  your  courtesie  ! 


Ye  maun  come  and  bring  your  ladye  fere  ; 

Ye  sail  na  say  me  no  ; 
And  ye'se  mind,  we  have  aye  a  bed  to  spare 

For  that  gawsy  cheild  Guizot.'  " 


The  "  communal  origin  "  of  the  piece,  particularly  of  the 
coming  and  going  of  the  "  three  days,"  as  well  as  of  the  Queen's 
dislike  to  "  thae  puddock  pies,"  which  is  expressed  more  than 
once,  must  be  very  plainly  apparent  to  the  supporters  of  Mr. 
Gummere's  interesting  theory. 

Aytoun's  victim  and  subsequent  friend,  Alexander  Smith  l 
(1830-67),  was  a  native  of  Kilmarnock,  and  became  a  pattern- 
designer  to  trade.  In  1853  he  published  in  book  form  his 
Life-Drama  (which  had  appeared  in  instalments  in  the  Critic], 
and  was  immediately  saluted  as  the  new  poet,  not  merely  by  the 
irresponsible  persons  who  glory  in  the  discovery  of  such  fowl, 
but  also  by  men  of  light  and  leading  in  their  day.  George 
Henry  Lewes  praised  it  warmly  in  the  Leader^  and  George 
Gilfillan  in  the  Critic.  Nay,  Mr.  Herbert  Spencer  is  believed 
to  have  been  an  admirer  of  Smith,2  and  Mr.  George  Meredith 
certainly  was  one.  The  reader  may  be  curious  to  see  the 
sonnet  which  the  great  novelist  hailed  as  "  the  mighty  warn- 
ing of  a  poet's  birth." 

1  See  Memoir  by  P.  P.  Alexander,  prefixed  to  Last  Leaves,  1868, 
-  Espinasse,  Literary  Recollections,  p.  397  u. 


THE    VICTORIAN  ERA  :    1848-1880         597 

"  I  cannot  deem  why  men  toil  so  for  Fame. 
A  porter  is  a  porter,  though  his  load 
Be  the  oceaned  world,  and  although  his  road 
Be  down  the  ages.     What  is  in  a  name  ? 
Ah  !  'tis  our  spirits'  curse  to  strive  and  seek. 
Although  its  heart  is  rich  in  pearls  and  ores, 
The  sea  complains  upon  a  thousand  shores  ; 
Sea-like  we  moan  for  ever.     We  are  weak. 
We  ever  hunger  for  diviner  stores. 
I  cannot  say  I  have  a  thirsting  deep 
For  human  fame,  nor  is  my  spirit  bowed 
To  be  a  mummy  above  ground  to  keep 
For  stare  and  handling  of  the  vulgar  crowd, 
Defrauded  of  my  natural  rest  and  sleep." 

These  fourteen  lines  are  indeed  an  epitome  of  Alexander 
Smith's  merits  and  defects.  One  of  them  obstinately  refuses 
to  scan  unless  "  world  "  be  pronounced  as  a  dissyllable.  Two 
of  them  are  more  than  ordinarily  majestic  and  sonorous  ;  and, 
of  the  rest,  some  are  involved,  some  flat,  and  the  remainder  not 
merely  undistinguished,  but  positively  prosaic.  The  last  line  is 
as  fine  an  example  of  the  art  of  sinking  as  can  anywhere  be 
found  out  of  a  prize  poem  ;  and  we  have  only  to  remember 
that  Mr.  Matthew  Arnold  had  already  published  some  of  his 
most  admirable  sonnets  to  be  amazed  that  the  newcomer 
should  receive  so  warm  a  welcome  on  the  strength  of  such 
dubious  promise. 

As  for  the  Life-Drama,  it  is  difficult  to  take  it  as  seriously 
as  the  critics  took  it  half  a  century  ago.  It  is  incoherent ; 
the  characters  are  uninteresting  or  odious  ;  and  passages 
which  are  perhaps  something  more  than  excellent  rhetoric 
are  sandwiched  between  others  which  are  certainly  a  good 
deal  less.  It  is  not  for  want  of  pains  that  the  work  has 
lost  its  spell.  It  bears  all  the  traces  of  careful  and  anxious 
design.  There  has  been  a  diligent — perhaps  an  agonised — 
search  for  the  recondite  epithet  and  the  mouth-filling  word. 
To  read  Smith,  in  short,  is  to  be  strangely  reminded  of  certain 
minor  poets  of  our  own  day  who  shall  be  nameless.  But  he 


598     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

can  never  remain  long  upon  any  high  level  of  accomplishment 
which  he  may  have  reached  ;  and  he  seems  to  have  lacked  the 
instinctive  taste  to  preserve  him  from  lapses  into  the  mean 
or  the  absurd.  In  the  following  passage  he  displays  greater 
"staying-power"  than  usual,  but  even  here  we  find  a  hint 
of  his  characteristic  faults  : — 

"  Sunset  is  burning  like  the  seal  of  God 
Upon  the  close  of  day. — This  very  hour 
Night  mounts  her  chariot  in  the  eastern  glooms 
To  chase  the  flying  Sun,  whose  flight  has  left 
Footprints  of  glory  in  the  clouded  west ; 
Swift  is  she  haled  by  winged  swimming  steeds, 
Whose  cloudy  manes  are  wet  with  heavy  dews, 
And  dews  are  drizzling  from  her  chariot  wheels. 
Soft  in  her  lap  lies  drowsy  lidded  Sleep, 
Brainful  of  dreams,  as  summer  hive  with  bees  ; 
And  round  her  in  the  pale  and  spectral  light 
Flock  bats  and  grisly  owls  on  noiseless  wings. 
The  flying  sun  goes  down  the  burning  west, 
Vast  night  comes  noiseless  up  the  eastern  slope, 
And  so  the  eternal  chase  goes  round  the  world. 

Unrest  !     Unrest  !    The  passion-panting  sea 
Watches  the  unveiled  beauty  of  the  stars 
Like  a  great  hungry  soul.     The  unquiet  clouds 
Break  and  dissolve,  then  gather  in  a  mass, 
And  float  like  mighty  icebergs  through  the  blue. 
Summers,  like  blushes,  sweep  the  face  of  earth, 
Heaven  yearns  in  stars.     Down  comes  the  frantic  rain  ; 
We  hear  the  wail  of  the  remorseful  winds 
In  their  strange  penance.     And  this  wretched  orb 
Knows  not  the  taste  of  rest ;  a  maniac  world, 
Homeless  and  sobbing  through  the  deep  she  goes." 

Never  was  adjective  more  happily  applied  than  "  spasmodic  " 
to  the  class  of  poetry  of  which  these  lines  are  a  favourable 
specimen.  It  is  equally  appropriate  to  the  style  and  to  the 
temper  of  A  Life-Drama ;  for  here  we  have  the  very  dregs  of 
Byronism — a  dish  much  appreciated,  it  should  seem,  by  Smith's 


THE    VICTORIAN  ERA  :    1848-1880         599 

generation.  Yet  what  cannot  genius  construct  out  of  the 
most  unpromising  materials  ?  The  morbid  hero  with  gloomy 
imaginings,  a  selfish  disposition,  an  irritable  temperament,  and 
loud-mouthed  passions,  was  once  more  to  be  presented  in 
imperishable  form  ;  and  Tennyson,  in  Maud,  succeeded  in 
achieving  what  Alexander  Smith  and  Sydney  Dobell  had  been 
merely  fumbling  at. 

Smith  never  contrived  to  repeat  the  success  of  the  Life- 
Drama,  and  the  necessity  of  earning  money  to  eke  out  the 
scanty  emoluments  of  a  small  post  conferred  upon  him  in  the 
University  of  Edinburgh  ultimately  drove  him  more  and  more 
into  miscellaneous  prose  work.  This  impulse  may  possibly 
have  been  accelerated  by  the  storm  which  arose  over  his  City 
Poems  (1857).  He  was  accused  of  plagiarism  ;  and  the  accusa- 
tion was  supported  by  the  powerful  apparatus  of  the  double 
column.  Such  charges  are  seldom  difficult  to  prove  in  a 
superficial  manner  ;  but  there  is  no  good  reason  to  suppose 
that  Smith  had  acted  disingenuously,  or  otherwise  than  upon 
the  admittedly  excellent  principle,  Je  prends  man  bien  oil  je  le 
trouve.  As  a  critic  of  literature  he  showed  delicacy  and 
insight  rather  than  robustness  and  vigour.  Failing  health  and 
overwork  helped  to  deprive  his  writing  of  the  freshness  which 
atones  for  many  other  shortcomings.  His  best-known  essay  in 
criticism  is  an  introduction  to  the  Globe  edition  of  Burns 
(1865).  His  one  novel,  Alfred  Hagarfs  Household  (1866), 
contains  little  that  is  really  noteworthy.  In  the  capacity  of 
essayist,  pure  and  simple,  he  attained  some  little  reputation  by 
his  Dreamthorp  (1863),  but  the  tone  and  style  convey  the 
impression  of  artificiality,  if  not  of  affectation.  The  author 
seems  to  be  striving  to  write  not  like  himself,  but  like  some  one 
else  :  perhaps  like  Charles  Lamb.  The  Summer  in  Skye  (1865) 
is  more  felicitous,  and  testifies,  if  testimony  be  needed,  to  his 
intense  enjoyment  of  nature. 

David  Gray1  (1838-61)  was  born  near  Kirkintilloch,  and 
1  Poems,  ed.  Glassford  Bell,  Glasgow,  1874. 


6oo    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

educated  at  Glasgow  with  a  view  to  the  clerical  profession. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he  set  out  for  London,  where  he 
found  an  appreciative  and  considerate  patron  in  Lord  Hough  ton 
— or  Mr.  Monckton  Milnes,  as  he  then  was.  He  also  became 
acquainted  with  Laurence  Oliphant,  then  apparently  at  the 
beginning  of  a  brilliant  political  career,  and  gained  the  friend- 
ship of  Sydney  Dobell.  But  before  his  poetical  efforts  could 
be  placed  before  the  world,  he  was  carried  off  by  a  galloping 
consumption,  to  the  assaults  of  which  the  privations  he 
endured  on  his  arrival  in  the  capital  had  rendered  a  weak 
constitution  peculiarly  vulnerable.  In  1862  his  Poems  were 
published,  with  a  memoir  by  Mr.  James  Hedderwick  of  the 
Glasgow  Evening  Citizen,  himself  the  author  of  Lays  of  Middle 
^(1859). 

The  contents  of  the  little  volume  show  much,  poetical 
feeling  and  some  poetical  skill.  They  are  not  free  from  the 
"stiffness  of  the  lettered  Scot,"  and  a  faint  air  of  being 
imitations  of  some  distinguished  model  hangs  about  them 
all.  This  is  especially  true  of  The  Luggie^  the  piece  de  resist- 
ance of  the  book,  a  poem  written  in  honour  of  the  stream, 
called  by  that  slightly  ridiculous  name,  which  flows  past  his 
birthplace.  It  is,  indeed,  allowed  by  Gray's  last  accomplished 
editor  that  The  Luggie  was  "  inspired  partially  by  a  careful 
perusal  of  Thomson's  Seasons  and  Wordsworth's  Excursion ;  " 
and  there  would  be  little  exaggeration  in  saying  that  it  was 
pure  Thomson  from  beginning  to  end,  with  the  exception  of 
the  Tennysonian  mannerisms.  Here  is  a  passage  in  which  the 
two  streams  of  influence  are  shown  curiously  blended  : — 

"  For  as  the  pilgrim  on  warm  summer  days 
Pacing  the  dusty  highway,  when  he  sees 
The  limpid  silver  glide  with  liquid  lapse 
Between  the  emerald  banks — with  inward  throe 
Blesses  the  clear  enticement  and  partakes 
(His  hot  face  meeting  its  own  counterpart 
Shadowy,  from  an  unvoyageable  sky), 
So  would  the  people  in  those  later  days 


THE    VICTORIAN  ERA  :    1848-1880         601 

Listen  the  singing  of  a  country  song, 

A  virelay  of  harmonious  homeliness  ; 

These  later  days,  when  in  most  bookish  rhymes 

Dear  blessed  Nature  is  forgot,  and  lost 

Her  simple,  unelaborate  modesty." 

The  description  of  the  curling  match  is  thoroughly  Thom- 
sonian,  and  might  easily  pass  for  an  extract  from  Winter. 
Had  Gray  lived  a  century  earlier,  he  might  have  found  a  more 
congenial  mode  of  expression  for  his  thoughts  and  emotions  in 
the  literary  vernacular.  As  it  is,  though  his  artifice  is  manifest, 
it  is  never  disagreeable  ;  and  even  in  the  sequence  of  Sonnets, 
entitled  In  the  Shadows,  and  written  literally  intuttu  mortis,  he 
is  always  frank  and  amiable  ;  never  a  mere  trickster  or  poseur. 
Very  different  is  the  verdict  thai  must  be  returned  with 
regard  to  Gray's  friend  and  fellow-emigrant  to  London.  Robert 
William  Buchanan  *  (1841-1902)  was  a  Scot  by  extraction,  if 
not  by  actual  birth.  The  highest  expectations  were  at  one 
time  formed  of  his  genius,  and  not  altogether  without  reason. 
Fra  Giacomo,  for  example,  which  is  among  his  earliest  poems, 
has  considerable  power,  though  it  is  marked  by  all  the  crude- 
ness  of  youth.  But  whatever  promise  may  have  been  held 
out  by  Undertones  (1864)  or  Idyls  and  Legends  of  Inver- 
burn  (1865)  seemed  to  be  almost  entirely  quenched  after 
the  appearance  of  the  North  Coast  Poems  (1867).  Buchanan 
had  entered  with  considerable  zest  into  the  life  of  second- 
and  third-rate  "  Bohemianism "  for  which  London  affords  so 
many  opportunities.  He  turned  some  of  his  experiences  to 
tolerable  account  in  his  London  Poems  (1867),  but  he  paid  the 
penalty  of  becoming,  to  the  tips  of  his  fingers,  what  Wilson 
would  have  called  a  "Cockney"  poet.  The  two  stout  volumes 
which  contain  his  poetical  writings  bear  witness  to  the  industry 
of  his  pen  ;  but  of  all.  his  verse,  perhaps  only  three  pieces  may 
be  remembered  when  the  work  of  better  poets  has  been 

1  Complete  Poetical  Works,  2  vols.,  1901.     See  also  Robert  Buchanan  : 
Sonic  Account  of  his  Life,  &c.     By  Harriett  Jay,  1903. 


602     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

forgotten — The  Wake  of  Tim  O'Hara,  The  Wedding  of  Short 
Maclean,  and  Phil  Blood's  Leap — and  even  these  will  chiefly 
be  called  to  mind  at  smoking-concerts  and  in  similar  con- 
gregations. What  he  always  seemed  to  be  attempting  to  say 
has  been  said  by  Tennyson  and  Browning,  by  Mr.  Kipling 
and  Mr.  Henley,  but  was  never  said  by  him.  It  was  for  no 
want  of  technical  skill  that  Buchanan  failed  as  a  poet.  In 
this  respect  he  was  well  equipped,  and  the  variety  of  his 
measures  is  extensive.  The  flaw  in  his  composition  was  a 
deep-seated  and  irremediable  insincerity.1  Scarce  a  line  he  has 
written  bears  the  true  stamp  of  emotion.  We  need  not, 
indeed,  adopt  the  view  of  Firmilian  that — 

"  What  we  write 
Must  be  the  reflex  of  the  thing  we  know  "  ; 

but  the  superficial  knowledge  of  Greek  mythology  which 
enables  a  man  to  talk  glibly  of  Prometheus  and  Dryads  and 
Naiads  and  Fauns  is  a  poor  substitute  either  for  genuine  feel- 
ing or  for  that  similitude  of  it  which  great  poets  are  able  to 
fashion.  Buchanan  can  have  imposed  upon  nobody.  He  was 
always,  and  particularly  in  his  later  years,  a  great  lasher  of  the 
vices  of  the  age.  The  haste  to  be  rich,  the  inordinate  lust  of 
gold,  the  discrepancy  between  Christian  theory  and  practice, 
were  chastised  with  abundance  of  acrimony  and  strong  lan- 
guage. If  indomitable  pugnacity,  shrillness  of  rhetoric,  and  the 
desire  to  be  "  nasty  "  all  round,  could  make  a  satirist,  then  had 
Buchanan  been  a  master  of  his  craft.  But  it  so  happened 
that  he  was  less  effective  and  impressive  even  than  Churchill. 
Stern  moralists  who  desire  their  denunciations  of  avarice  to  be 
taken  seriously  should  endeavour  to  avoid  becoming  bankrupt 
through  unsuccessful  speculation  on  the  turf;  and  the  radical 

1  As  a  poet  of  "revolt"  against  the  status  quo,  he  cannot  be  compared 
with  James  Thomson  (1834-82),  a  native  of  Port-Glasgow,  whose  striking 
City  of  Dreadful  Night  (1874)  is  the  unquestionable  offspring  of  despair 
and  the  narcotic  habit. 


THE    VICTORIAN  ERA  :    1848-1880         603 

vice  which  we  have  noted  in  Buchanan  as  a  poet  was  unfortu- 
nately made  patent  in  the  public  prints  for  all  to  see  and  note. 
Neither  his  novels  nor  his  plays  are  of  the  smallest  consequence 
as  literature.  But  he  at  least  achieved  a  triumphant  success  in 
adding  two  new  chapters  to  the  voluminous  history  in  which 
are  recorded  the  quarrels  of  authors.  By  means  of  a  magazine 
article,  signed  "  Thomas  Maitland,"  in  which  he  assailed  The 
Fleshly  School  of  Poetry,  and,  eodem  contextu,  extolled  his  own  per- 
formances, he  drew  from  Mr.  Swinburne  an  extremely  rich 
and  "  fruity  "  specimen  of  that  poet's  early  polemical  manner  ;  * 
and  by  means  of  a  similar  attack  upon  "  society  "  journalism, 
he  elicited  from  Edmund  Yates  a  retort  which  deserves  to  be 
treasured  among  the  curiosities,  if  not  among  the  disgraces, 
of  journalism.2 

It  would  be  difficult  to  conceive  of  a  stronger  contrast  to 
Robert  Buchanan  in  point  of  straightforwardness  and  sincerity 
than  Walter  Chalmers  Smiths  (b.  1824),  probably  the  most 
considerable  Scottish  poet  of  the  generation  which  produced 
his  namesake  Alexander.  Not  that  Dr.  Smith's  literary 
activity  was  confined  to  the  period  of  which  we  are  here 
particularly  treating  ;  for  North  Country  Folk  (1883)  contains 
some  of  his  strongest  work,  and  the  Ballads  from  Scottish 
History  published  for  the  first  time  in  the  collected  edition 
of  his  poems  (1902)  demonstrate  that  even  in  his  old  age  he 
retains  much  of  the  true  imaginative  fire.  But  what  is 
decidedly  his  best  poem,  Olrig  Grange  (1872),  belongs  to 
the  era  with  which  this  chapter  is  concerned,  and,  further,  in 
his  modes  of  thought  Dr.  Smith  belongs  essentially  to  the 
third  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century.  He  is  in  full  revolt 
against  the  strict  creed  of  Calvinism,  yet  materialism  is  equally 
repugnant  to  his  temperament.  His  doctrine  is  that  amiable, 
yet  earnest,  latitudinarianism  which  found  its  highest  poetical 

1  Under  the  Microscope,  1872. 

2  Consult  the  file  of  the  World  newspaper,  September,  1877. 

3  Poetical  Works.     Revised  by  the  Author.     1902. 


604     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

expression  in  Tennyson,  and  the  significance  of  Dr.  Smith 
for  us  is  that  he,  a  Free  Kirk  minister,  and  a  future 
moderator  of  the  Free  Assembly,  marks  as  no  one  else 
does — not  even  Robert  Lee,  or  Principal  Story,  or  Norman 
Macleod — the  loosening  in  Scotland  of  the  old  Evangelical 
fetters,  the  relaxation  of  the  old  rigid  ideas  of  the  "  scheme  of 
redemption."  Perhaps  it  is  for  this  very  reason  that  his  earlier 
poems,  after  winning  a  large  share  of  popularity  on  their  first 
appearance,  have  sunk  into  an  oblivion  from  which  they  well 
deserve  to  emerge. 

The  dramatic  monologue  is  Dr.  Smith's  favourite  con- 
vention, and  by  means  of  it,  and  of  connecting  passages  inserted 
by  way  of  explanation  and  comment,  he  tells  the  tale  of  his 
longer  poems.  Only  one  of  his  works,  Kildrostan  (1884),  is  in 
actual  dramatic  form  ;  and  it  is  a  comparative  failure.  But  the 
monologue  he  uses  with  conspicuous  power  and  with  excellent 
effect:  witness  The  Confession  of  Annaple  Gowdie,  Witch,  in  The 
Bishop's  Walk  (1861),  his  first  volume,  though  it  must  be 
remembered  that  Dr.  Smith  did  not  burst  into  poetry  until  he 
had  reached  an  age  at  which  experience  has  already  arrived  to 
the  aid  of  imagination.  To  handle  the  monologue  satisfactorily 
there  are  requisite  a  knowledge  of  the  human  heart  and  a  wide 
sympathy.  Dr.  Smith  has  both;  he  tries  hard  to  do  justice 
even  to  lairds  and  Episcopalians,  though  sometimes  with 
indifferent  success.  But  no  one  can  deny  that  he  enters  with 
really  deep  insight  into  the  point  of  view  of  the  half-dozen 
characters  who  play  their  part  in  the  story  of  Olrig  Grange ; 
the  lover,  the  girl  who  is  forced  to  marry  against  her  will,  her 
mother,  her  father,  and  so  forth.  The  portrait  of  the  squire 
is  perhaps  the  pick  of  the  gallery.  Married  to  a  wife,  who 
combined  in  an  eminent  degree  worldly  ambition  with 
evangelical  piety  (an  admirably  limned  personage  this  also, 
by  the  way), 

"  He  took  to  Science,  made  experiments, 
Bought  many  nice  and  costly  instruments, 


THE    VICTORIAN  ERA  :    1848-1880         605 

Heard  lectures,  and  believed  he  understood 

Beetle-browed  Science  wrestling  with  the  fact 

To  find  its  meaning  clear  ;  but  all  in  vain. 

He  thought  he  thought,  and  yet  he  did  not  think, 

But  only  echo'd  still  the  common  thought, 

As  might  an  empty  room." 

The  Tennysonian  cadence  is  once  more  audible.  Yet  there 
is  so  much  weight  and  substance  in  what  Dr.  Smith  has  to  say 
that  such  unconscious  reproductions  of  manner  may  readily  be 
pardoned.  It  is,  perhaps,  the  very  intensity  with  which  he  enters 
into  his  characters,  and  places  himself  in  the  circumstances  in 
which  they  are  situated,  that  militates  most  against  his  being 
a  poet  of  the  highest  order.  Unlike  Mr.  Browning,  whose 
method  his  own  so  nearly  resembles,  he  lacks  the  gift  of  song  ; 
and  his  warmest  admirers  must  own  that  the  lyrics  with 
which,  for  example,  Borland  Hall  (1874)  is  freely  studded,  are 
not  his  best  work.  Moreover,  he  becomes  so  absorbed  in  his 
theme,  that  he  is  apt  to  be  a  little  careless  of  the  mint,  and 
cumin,  and  anise  of  poetry.  In  other  language,  his  technique 
is  imperfect.  The  word  that  comes  under  stress  of  thought  and 
emotion  is  sometimes,  not  merely  not  the  right  word,  but  a 
palpably  wrong  one  ;  *  and  faulty  rhymes  are  too  common. 
Yet  something  more  than  ruggedness  or  a  want  of  merely 
technical  finish  seems  to  conspire  towards  his  exclusion  from 
the  first  rank.  What  Pilate  thought  of  It  is  good,  sound,  honest 
work  :  a  thousand  times  superior  to  anything  of  which  Robert 
Buchanan  was  capable  :  but  it  is  not  quite  the  best  work.  And 
so  too  it  is  impossible  to  help  feeling  that,  while  Hilda's  Diary 
in  Hilda  among  the  broken  Gods  (1878)  comes  extraordinarily  near 
to  being  a  masterpiece  in  feminine  psychology,  it  wants  that 
indescribable  and  indefinable  something  which  raises  effort  to 
the  dignity  of  achievement.  With  all  his  limitations,  however, 

1  A  curious  illustration  will  be  found  in  Deacon  Dorat's  Story,  where  the 
necessity  of  finding  a  rhyme  to  "  links  "  compels  the  poet  to  speak  of 
"  the  golfing  rinks  "  :  a  wholly  inept  expression. 


606     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

both  of  thought  and  of  style,  Dr.  Smith  is  a  stamp  of  poet, 
which  no  country,  however  plenteously  endowed  with  in- 
disputable genius,  can  afford  not  to  be  grateful  for.  And 
assuredly  Scotland  has  not  been  so  prolific  of  great  poets  in 
recent  years  as  to  render  the  prayer  superfluous  that,  in  time 
to  come,  she  may  be  richly  blessed  with  men  as  highly  gifted, 
as  sincere,  and  as  strenuous,  as  Walter  Smith. 

There  is  a  certain  resemblance  between  the  poetry  of  Dr. 
Smith  and  that  of  his  contemporary  George  Macdonald * 
(b.  1824),  also  an  Aberdeenshire  man.  In  both  we  see  the 
rebellion  against  Calvinism  with  its  austere  attitude  of  mind 
and  soul,  and  the  desire  for  a  less  severe  conception  of  the 
Deity.  But  the  resemblance  is,  at  most,  superficial.  Dr. 
Smith  is  essential  virile  in  tone  ;  and  the  delights  of  minute 
introspection  are  not  for  him.  Mr.  Macdonald,  with  rather 
superior  technical  accomplishment,  revels  in  probing  the 
religious  emotions,  and  in  analysing  his  own  sentiments 
towards  his  Maker.  Few  things  more  morbid  were  pro- 
duced even  in  the  middle-Victorian  period  than  The  Disciple. 
Dr.  Smith  makes  his  appeal  to  the  general  mass  of  readers  ; 
Mr.  Macdonald  makes  his  to  what  may  be  called  the  superior 
religious  public  :  the  body  of  people  who  crave  for  something 
essentially  devotional,  which  shall  nevertheless  be  free  from  the 
taint  of  vulgarity,  and  possess,  if  possible,  an  aroma  of  education 
and  "  culture."  The  unction  and  zeal  of  the  street-preacher 
must  for  them  be  tempered  by  a  show  of  independence  of 
thought,  and  the  raptures  of  the  converted  cobbler  expressed 
in  the  dialect  of  refinement  and  good  taste.  A  little  cheap 
"  mysticism "  will  go  a  long  way  towards  conciliating  the 
good-will  of  such  persons  ;  and  it  must  be  owned  that  Mr. 
Macdonald  provides  them  with  a  generous  repast  both 
in  the  numerous  poems  which  deal  professedly  with  sacred 
subjects  and  in  those  which  deal  with  children.  When  he 

1  Poetical  Works,  2  vols.,  1893. 


THE    VICTORIAN  ERA  :    1848-1880         607 

essays  a  more  familiar  vein,  as  in  The  Donkey  to  the  Horse,  he 
is  singularly  unsuccessful ;  nor  has  he  made  much  of  his  songs 
and  ballads  in  the  Scottish  vernacular,  though  of  course  they 
are  better  than  the  effusions  of  the  average  local  bard.  It  is, 
indeed,  difficult  for  him  who  takes  no  particular  interest  in  the 
mode  in  which  Mr.  Macdonald  handles  his  themes  to  be 
rapturous  over  his  poetry.  Such  an  one  can  but  recognise  that 
what  to  him  seems  merely  gushing,  appeals  to  many  fellow- 
creatures,  and  that  in  Mr.  Macdonald's  poetical  writings,  from 
that  ostensible  drama,  Within  and  Without  (1856),  downwards, 
there  is  much  which  both  edifies  and  charms  a  number  of 
people.  Of  any*  real  grip  of  human  life  or  character  he  must 
confess  to  perceiving  nothing  in  the  poems.  The  novels  are 
another  matter  (infray  p.  617). 

Charles  Mackay  T  (1814-89)  had  a  considerable  popular 
lyrical  gift.  "The  lyrics  of  this  British  Beranger,"  wrote 
Douglas  Jerrold,  "  have  gone  home  to  the  hearts  of  the 
people."  Nor  were  those  of  his  contemporaries  who  were  in 
sympathy  with  his  political  views  averse  from  lauding  his 
more  ambitious  efforts  such  as  The  Salamandrine  (1842)  and 
Egeria  (1850).  The  plan  of  the  latter  was  pronounced  by 
the  St.yames's  Magazine  to  be  "airy  and  elegant.  In  this 
poem  the  poet  discusses  through  his  characters  a  variety  of 
subjects  not  in  the  mystical  language  of  the  dreamer  or  the 
speculatist,  but  with  the  calm  assurance  of  ascertained  truth."  2 
Hence,  no  doubt,  the  opinion  that  "  the  Charles  Mackays  and 
the  Thomas  Hoods  tread  on  better  and  steadier  ground  than 
the  Tennysons  and  Brownings."  But  though  the  assurance 

1  Selected  Poems  and  Songs,  1888. 

2  I   cannot  resist  quoting  the  following  gem  from  the  same  source  : 
"  Scotland  has  had  many  poets.    Thomas  of  Ercildoune,  Barbour,  Dunbar, 
Drummond,  Mickle,  Ramsay,  Beattie,  Macpherson,  Burns,  Campbell,  Scott, 
Aytoun,  are  names  which  the  world  will  not  willingly  let  die.     To  this 
list  must  be  added  Charles  Mackay  :  if  not  the  greatest,  certainly  second 
to  none  amongst  them  all."     Truly  the  early  Victorian  eulogists  had  as 
little  false  delicacy  about  "  laying  it  on  thick"  as  those  of  our  own  age. 


608     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

which  we  observe  in  Mackay's  philosophical  poems  does  not 
strike  us  now  as  being  that  of  ascertained  truth,  it  would  be 
gross  injustice  to  deny  a  share  of  merit  to  less  pretentious 
pieces,  like  The  Founding  of  the  Bell^  or  Tuba  I  Cain,  which 
used  deservedly  to  find  their  way  into  all  anthologies  for  the 
young.  As  for  Cheer^  boys^  cheer !  and  There  s  a  good  time 
coming,  boys,  they  immediately  justified  their  existence  by 
catching  the  popular  fancy,  and  not  even  Robert  B  rough 
appealed  more  successfully  than  Mackay  to  the  taste  of  a 
day  when  the  millennium  was  believed  to  be  close  at  hand,  if 
only  "  men  of  thought  and  men  of  action  "  would  obey  the 
exhortation  to  "  clear  the  way  !  "  That  MaCkay  became  less 
of  a  "  democraw  "  as  he  grew  older  may  be  inferred  from 
poems  like  his  version  of  A  mans  a  man  for  a  thaty  or 
Gutterslush  :  maker  of  Parliaments.*  In  his  time  he  had  many 
opportunities  for  expounding  his  views  as  a  contributor  to  the 
Morning  Chronicle  in  the  'forties,  and  subsequently  as  editor 
of  the  Glasgow  Argus,  and  of  the  Illustrated  London  News  from 
1851  to  1859.  His  reminiscences  of  active  journalism  and  of 
his  literary  life  in  London  are  embodied  in  Forty  Tears'1  Recol- 
lections (1877)  and  Through  the  long  Day  (1887)  :  works  of 
considerable  interest,  and  not  unduly  egotistical. 

John  Stuart  Blackie2  (1809-95),  though  a  very  indifferent 
poet,  contrived,  in  the  course  of  a  long  life,  to  make  a  great 
deal  of  noise  in  his  little  world.  On  the  strength  of  occupying 
the  Greek  chair  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  he  published 
Lays  and  Legends  of  Ancient  Greece  (1857)  which  are  little 
better  than  doggerel,  and  translated  the  Iliad  (1866).  A 
volume  of  Lyrical  Poems  appeared  in  1860,  and  of  Lays  of  the 
Highlands  and  Islands  in  1872.  Tn  the  preface  to  his  Songs 
of  Religion  and  Life  (1876),  he  remarks  that  the  composition  of 

1  The  latter  is  contained  in  a  posthumous  volume,  Gossamer  and  Snow- 
drift (1890)  edited  by  the  poet's  son,  Eric  Mackay  (1851-99),  himself  the 
author  of  Love-letters  of  a  Violinist  (1886),  which  attracted  some  attention. 

2  Life,  by  Miss  Stoddart,  2  vols.  Edin.,  1895. 


THE    VICTORIAN  ERA  :    1848-1880         609 

his  serious  poems  "  has  been  a  source  of  intellectual  enlarge- 
ment and  moral  elevation  to  myself,"  which  is  quite  possibly 
the  case.  Yet  his  thought  is  not  deep,  and  the  judicious 
deist,  suspicious  of  his  boisterous  latitudinarianism,  will  scarcely 
thank  him  for  such  an  explanation  of  the  existence  of  evil 
as  that 

"  The  wicked  and  the  weak  are  but  the  steps 
Whereon  the  wise  shall  mount  to  see  Thy  face." 

In  an  orthodox  writer  such  a  view  would  be  denounced  as 
savouring  of  arid  and  heartless  cynicism.  But  good  taste  and 
delicacy  of  feeling  were  never  Mr.  Blackie's  forte,  or  even  his 
foible.  He  describes  Socrates  as  a  "jolly  old  Grecian,"  and  the 
spectacle  of  high  mass  in  Cologne  Cathedral  inspires  nought 
save  a  denunciation  of  the 

"  Crew 
Of  swine-faced  mummers,  fleshy,  fat,  and  red," 

who  are  performing  the  rite.  Probably  his  so-called  sonnets 
are  his  most  absurd  performances.  His  most  celebrated 
prose- work,  Self  Culture  (1874),  contains  precisely  the  sort 
of  maxims  and  reflections  which  might  naturally  be  ex- 
pected in  a  book  with  such  a  title.  There  was  more 
feeling  for  nature  and  for  poetry  in  the  little  finger  of 
John  Campbell  Shairp1  (1819-85),  Principal  of  the  United 
College  of  St.  Leonard  and  St.  Salvator,  than  in  the  whole 
of  Mr.  Blackie's  composition.  Yet  it  rarely  found  adequate 
or  satisfactory  expression  except  in  one  or  two  pieces, 
such  as  The  Bush  aboon  Traquair^  and  a  poem  on  Balliol 
Scholars^2  which  contains  things  that  Mr.  Matthew  Arnold 
need  not  have  been  ashamed  to  own.  Peculiarly  felicitous 
are  the  lines  descriptive  of  Arnold  himself,  Frederick 


1  See  Knight,  Principal  Shairp  and  his  Friends  (it 

2  To  be  found  in  Glen  Desseray  and  other  poems,  ed.  Palgrave,  1886. 

2Q 


6io    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Temple,  and  James  Riddell.  As  a  critic,1  Principal  Shairp 
was  disposed  to  take  somewhat  narrow  views.  He  was 
thoroughly  sound  and  sympathetic  in  dealing  with  congenial 
writers  like  Wordsworth  or  Keble,  but  the  range  of  his  appre- 
ciation did  not  extend  far  beyond  those  who,  directly  or 
indirectly,  appeared  to  him  to  make  for  edification.  Thus 
his  monograph  on  Burns  (1879)  has  justly  been  regarded  as 
one  of  the  worst  of  the  series  to  which  it  belongs,  and 
indeed  his  criticism  of  The  "Jolly  Beggars  is  a  monument 
of  ineptitude.  His  best  piece  of  prose  is  the  admirable 
sketch  of  Thomas  Erskine  of  Linlathen,  contributed  to  Dr. 
Hanna's  collection  of  Erskine's  Letters  (1877-78).  Isa  Craig 
or  Knox 2  (b.  1831)  possessed  a  thin  and  inoffensive  vein 
of  poetry,  which  won  some  temporary  renown  by  enabling 
her  to  carry  off  the  prize  offered  by  the  managers  of  the 
Crystal  Palace  for  an  Ode  on  Burns  on  the  occasion  of  the 
centenary  of  his  birth.  The  poetical  exercises  of  Sir  Joseph 
Noel  Paton  3  (1821-1901),  though  they  attracted  some  atten- 
tion, never  succeeded  in  overshadowing  his  high  reputation 
as  a  painter. 

The  muse  of  Thomas  Tod  Stoddart  4  (1810-80),  though  in 
early  life  she  suffered  much  from  green-sickness,  became  robust 
and  healthy,  through  leading  an  open-air  life.  The  charac- 
ter of  his  youthful  plunge  into  verse  is  sufficiently  indicated 
by  the  title-page  of  the  little  volume,5  for  the  promise  thus 
held  out  is  amply  redeemed  by  the  contents.  The  rhymed 
heroics  in  which  it  is  written  are  original  and  good,  but  on 
the  whole  we  may  be  thankful  that  Mr.  Stoddart  abandoned 
the  macabre^  and  took  to  celebrating  in  verse  the  pastime, 
or,  rather,  the  occupation,  of  his  life.  His  Songs  of  the  Seasons 

1  See  The  Poetic  Interpretation  of  Nature  (1877)  ;  Aspects  of  Poetry  (1881)  ; 
and  Sketches  in  History  and  Poetry  (1887). 

2  Duchess  Agnes,  1864.         3  Poems  by  a  Painter,  1861  ;  Spindrift,  1876. 

4  See  Memoir,  by  his  daughter,  prefixed  to  Angling  Songs,  Edin.,  1889. 

5  The   Death-Wake,  or  Lunacy.     A    necromaunt   in    three   chimaeras 
1831.    New  edition,  ed.  Lang,  1895. 


THE    VICTORIAN  ERA:    1848-1880         611 

(1881)  and  Angling  Songs  (originally  published  in  1839)  are 
not  all  of  equal  merit,  but  there  will  be  found  among  them 
what  is  perhaps  the  best  song  that  was  ever  written  in  connection 
with  the  art  of  fishing. 

"  A  birr  !  A  whirr  !  a  salmon's  on, 

A  goodly  fish  !  A  thumper  ! 
Bring  up,  bring  up,  the  ready  gaff, 
And  if  we  land  him,  we  will  quaff 
Another  glorious  bumper  ! 

Hark  !  'tis  the  music  of  the  reel, 

The  strong,  the  quick,  the  steady  ; 
The  line  darts  from  the  active  wheel, 
Have  all  things  right  and  ready. 

A  birr  !  A  whirr  !  the  salmon's  out, 

Far  on  the  rushing  river  ; 
Onward  he  holds  with  sudden  leap, 
Or  plunges  through  the  whirlpool  deep, 
A  desperate  endeavour  ! 

Hark  to  the  music  of  the  reel, 
The  fitful  and  the  grating  ; 
It  pants  along  the  breathless  wheel, 
Now  hurried — now  abating. 

A  birr  !  A  whirr  !  the  salmon's  in, 

Upon  the  bank  extended  ; 
The  princely  fish  is  gasping  slow, 
His  brilliant  colours  come  and  go, 
All  beautifully  blended. 

Hark  to  the  music  of  the  reel ! 

It  murmurs  and  it  closes  ; 
Silence  is  on  the  conquering  wheel, 
Its  wearied  line  reposes."  ' 

Alexander  Nicolson  2  (1827—9  ),  the  Celt  of  Slcye,  had 
much  less  mastery  of  poetical  ways  and  means  than  Stoddart, 
the  Borderer.  Only  once  or  twice  did  he  succeed  in  serious 
poetry  :  once,  certainly,  in  his  lines  on  Skye,  and  again  in  his 

1  From  The  Taking  of  the  Salmon,  by  Thomas  Tod  Stoddart. 
z  Verses,  with  Memoir,  by  Walter  Smith,  D.D.,  Edin.,  1893. 


612     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

octosyllabics  on  Ardmillan,  /<?//.  In  a  lighter  strain  he  was 
fluent  and  tolerably  easy,  as  The  Beautiful  Isle  of  Skye  bears 
witness  ;  and  one  cannot  help  regretting  that  he  did  not  more 
diligently  cultivate  that  mixed  vein  in  which  humour  blends 
with  bitterness.  The  parody  of  Sam  Hall,  which  his  editor, 
most  unfortunately,  felt  compelled  to  bowdlerise,  exhibits 
traces  of  a  latent  though  decided  turn  for  the  sardonic  which 
might  have  been  the  parent  of  much  good  literature.  In  point 
of  smoothness  and  finish,  however,  Nicolson  is  inferior  to 
William  John  MacOuorn  Rankine  *  (1820-72)  at  his 
best,  as  in  The  Coachman  of  the  "  Skylark  "  ;  much  more  to 
George  Outram  2  (1805-56),  and  Charles  Neaves  3  (1800-76). 
Much  of  Outram's  wit  can  make  but  little  appeal  to  the 
general  public,  for  his  topics  are  chiefly  legal.  But  to  those 
privileged  to  understand,  few  things  seem  better  of  their  kind 
than  The  Annuity,  Soumiri  and  Roumin,  and  Cessio  Bonorum — 
the  last  a  peculiarly  happy  parody  of  Skinner's  exhilarating 
lyric.  Lord  Neaves  does  not  disdain  professional  subjects 
either,  and  The  Tourist's  Matrimonial  Guide  through  Scotland 
has  been  quoted  in  the  English  courts  as  containing  the 
clearest  and  most  compendious  statement  of  the  law  of 
Scotland  with  respect  to  marriage. 4  But  he  also  deals  with 
matters  of  more  general  interest,  and  there  are  few  questions 
which  agitated  the  'sixties  in  literature  or  science  which  did 
not  receive  some  accession  of  gaiety  from  his  brilliant  wit  and 
faultless  technique  as  exhibited  in  the  pages  of  Maga.  The 
Memory  of  Monboddo,  How  to  make  a  Novel,  Hey  for  Social  Science, 
O  /,  The  'Permissive  Bill,  and  Pm  very  fond  of  Water,  suggest 
themselves  as  among  the  choicest  specimens  of  his  art  ;  but  I 
scarcely  think  it  will  be  denied  by  those  who  care  for  such 
things  that  Stuart  Mill  on  Mind  and  Matter  (a  parody  on 

1  Songs  and  Fables,  Glasgow,  1874. 

2  Legal  and  other  Lyrics  (originally  printed  circ.  1851),  1888. 

3  Songs  and  Verses,  Social  and  Scientific,  1875. 

4  See  MacCormac  v.  MacCormac,  in  the  Times,  July  16,  1899. 


THE    VICTORIAN  ERA:    1848-1880         613 

Roy's  Wife}  is  his  masterpiece  ;  and  I  trust  it  is  no  effect 
of  undue  partiality  to  rank  this  with  the  best  humorous 
and  satirical  poetry  which  can  be  found  in  our  language. 
It  should  be  added  that  Lord  Neaves  was  the  author  of  a 
little  monograph  on  the  Greek  Anthology  (1874)  which  bears 
incontrovertible  testimony  alike  to  his  scholarship  and  to  his 
taste. 

In  the  domain  of  prose  it  is  not  unnatural  to  begin  with 
fiction  ;  and  here  we  shall  find  that  matters  stand  very  much 
as  they  do  in  the  realm  of  poetry.  As  in  this  there  is  no  one 
(pace  Douglas  Jerrold)  on  a  level  with  Browning  and  Tenny- 
son, so  in  that  we  cannot  boast  a  Dickens  or  a  Thackeray. 
Yet  much  good  stuff  of  the  second  order  was  produced,  and  we 
can  point  to  one  who  if  not  the  superior  was  at  least  the  equal 
of  Trollope,  whom  she  closely  resembled  in  her  business-like 
methods  of  work. 

Probably  the  most  industrious  writer  in  the  British  Isles 
during  the  second  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  was 
Margaret  Oliphant  Wilson,  or  Oliphant  x  (1828-97),  a  native 
of  Wallyford,  near  Prestonpans.  Left  a  widow  in  1859,  with 
three  small  children,  some  household  furniture,  and  close  upon 
^1,000  of  debt,  she  betook  herself  for  a  livelihood  to  literature, 
in  which  she  had  already  had  some  practice.  Thenceforward 
the  pen  was  never  out  of  her  fingers,  and  the  fresh  obligations 
which  she  assumed  from  time  to  time  were  met  by  redoubled 
exertions.  She  was  an  indefatigable  contributor  to  Maga,  and 
had  the  great  merit  of  being  able  to  turn  her  hand  to  almost 
any  subject.2  Her  work  may  be  said  to  have  been  accom- 
plished by  the  time  of  her  death.  She  went  down  to  the 
grave  a  solitary  and  broken-hearted  woman.  Yet  if  to  some 
extent  she  had  outlived  her  vogue  as  a  novelist,  she  was 

1  Autobiography,  ed.  Coghill,   1899.      See  also   Blackwood's  Magazine, 
September,  1897,  April,  1898,  May,  1899. 

2  A  list  of  her  books  and  of  her  Blackwood  articles  will  be  found  at  the 
end  of  the  Autobiography. 


614    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

fortunate  in  not  having  outlived  her  powers  of  mind,  and  in 
being  able  to  reserve  much  of  her  best  for  the  very  end  of  the 
feast.  Her  Annals  of  a  Tubltshing  House  J — the  history  of  the 
firm  of  publishers  which  had  stood  her  friend  in  the  hour  of 
her  direst  need — is  unrivalled  as  a  repository  of  literary  infor- 
mation as  to  the  period  which  it  covers.  Never  have  Lockhart 
and  Wilson,  in  all  their  strength  and  all  their  weakness, 
been  so  vividly  brought  before  the  reader's  eye.  And  her 
posthumous  Autobiography  is  so  candid  and  affecting  a  piece  of 
self-revelation  that  the  only  work  with  which  it  suggests  com- 
parison is  the  Journal  of  Sir  Walter  Scott. 

There  are  probably  few  people  in  existence  (and  the  present 
writer  is  not  one  of  them)  who  can  truthfully  profess  to  have 
read  the  whole  of  Mrs.  Oliphant's  writings.  Nor  is  there 
much  in  her  mere  style  to  induce  one  to  try  any  among 
them  save  those  reputed  to  be  her  best.  Though  less  slovenly 
than  Trollope,  she  had  much  of  that  "  middle-Victorian " 
carelessness  about  trifles  of  grammar  and  syntax  which,  after 
constant  repetition,  becomes  irritating  even  to  those  who  are 
no  pedants  or  precisians.  Much  of  her  journey-work  is 
consequently  tame  and  uninspiring ;  and  the  old-fashioned 
common  sense  which  saturated  all  her  views  of  literature  and 
life  is  not  presented  in  a  very  attractive  guise.  Where  so 
much  work  had  to  be  got  through,  a  high  degree  of  finish  was 
perhaps  impossible.  Whether  with  more  leisure  she  would 
ever  have  produced  anything  of  the  very  first  order  is  a  question 
on  which  she  herself  was  accustomed  ruefully  to  speculate, 
and  to  which  it  is  impossible  to  give  a  decided  answer.  Her 
literary  ideals  were  high,  and  she  was  well  aware  how  far  she 
fell  short  of  them.  Nothing  provoked  her  more  than  to  be 
praised  for  her  "  industry,"  and,  without  giving  herself  any  of 
the  preposterous  airs  and  graces  affected  by  writers  of  a 
younger  generation,  she  knew  that  mere  diligence  in  one's 
calling  is  not  everything.  Yet  it  is  probably  safer  to  be 

1  2  vols.,  1897.    A  third  volume  was  added  by  Mrs.  Porter  in  1898. 


THE    VICTORIAN  ERA:    1848-1880         615 

thankful  for  what  she  gave  than  to  lament  that  circumstances 
prevented  her  legacy  from  being  greater  ;  and  there  can  be 
small  doubt  that  she  lost  little  or  nothing  by  the  want  of 
that  environment  of  the  "  mental  greenhouse  "  in  which  the 
literary  existence  of  George  Eliot  was  passed.  In  point  of 
personality  and  character  there  is  no  comparison  between  the 
two  women,  so  manifestly  superior  in  these  respects  is  the 
lesser  genius  to  the  greater.  But  in  truth  Mrs.  Oliphant  set 
such  an  example  to  the  members  of  her  sex  engaged  in  the 
vocation  of  literature  as  can  scarcely  be  valued  too  highly  in 
an  age  in  which  self-advertisement  bids  fair  to  displace  self- 
respect. 

Mrs.  Oliphant,  though  in  many  ways  characteristically 
Scotch,  became  thoroughly  acclimatised  in  England,  and  many 
of  her  most  satisfying  works  of  fiction  are  set  in  a  scene 
purely  and  typically  English.  In  Salem  Chapel  (1863)  and 
the  other  Chronicles  of  Carlingford^  she  did  for  an  English 
provincial  town  what  she  never  quite  did  for  any  similar  com- 
munity in  the  land  of  her  birth.  To  praise  them  should  be 
superfluous  ;  yet  to  pass  by  Miss  Marjoribanks  (1866)  without 
a  word  of  comment  were  unjust.  Long  as  it  is,  it  may  be 
doubted  if  it  could  with  advantage  be  shorter  ;  for  it  is  nothing 
less  than  a  masterly  analysis  of  that  intricate  and  baffling 
subject,  the  female  heart.  The  most  approved  latter-day 
experts  in  psychology  would  have  much  to  be  proud  of  if  they 
could  rival  this  masterpiece  of  Mrs.  Oliphant's.  And  not  only 
did  she  achieve  triumphs  in  this  department — -Julia  Herbert 
in  The  Wizard's  Son  (1884),  and  Phoebe  Beecham  in  Thoebe 
Junior  (1876),  are  among  them — but  she  also  possessed  the 
great  secret  of  providing  her  scenes  and  characters  with  the 
appropriate  atmosphere.  Nothing  is  incongruous  or  imper- 
tinent :  everything  is  of  a  piece.  The  setting  is  equally 
successful  whether  the  story  is  placed  in  the  heart  of  England, 
as  in  A  Rose  in- June  (1874)  and  Carita  (1877),  or  in  a  French 
country  town,  as  in  A  beleaguered  City  (1880),  or  on  the 


616    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

eastern  shores  of  Fife,  as  in  Katie  Stewart  (1854),  which, 
considered  as  a  work  of  art,  is  probably  her  supreme  effort. 
None  of  Mrs.  Oliphant's  work  in  later  years  was  more 
popular  than  that  which  dealt  with  the  supernatural.  The 
Beleagured  City  is  certainly  an  admirable  specimen  of  its  class, 
and  scarcely  less  excellent  are  the  ghostly  tales  which  for 
several  winters  in  succession  appeared  in  Blackwood — Old  Lady 
Mary,  The  Land  of  Darkness,  On  the  Dark  Mountains,  and 
others.1  But  I  am  inclined  to  question  whether  Mrs.  Oliphant 
was  really  at  her  best  in  such  pieces.  In  those  which  deal 
with  the  future  life,  either  her  pathos  is  too  exquisitely 
poignant,  as,  for  instance,  in  the  Little  Pilgrim  (1882),  or 
else  she  just  misses  the  note  of  horror  which  belongs  to  our 
conceptions  of  Tartarus.  Similarly,  in  her  ghost-stories  proper, 
she  falls  short  of  the  perfection  to  which  the  first  Lord  Lytton 
once  attained.  Thus  she  appears  to  me  to  be  in  a  happier  vein 
in  her  novels  of  ordinary  Scottish  life,  from  Margaret  Maitland 
(1849)  down  to  Kirsteen  (1890).  Some,  to  be  sure,  are  better 
than  others.  The  Minister's  Wife  (1869)  is  unduly  protracted, 
and  occasionally  we  come  across  characters  who  are  either 
exaggerated,  like  Pat  Torrance  in  the  otherwise  delightful 
Ladies  Lindores  (1883),  or  glaringly  conventional,  like  some  of 
her  Scotch  servants.  But  Margaret  Maitland  itself  is  an 
extraordinary  book  for  a  girl  of  twenty-one  to  have  written, 
and  when  we  review  the  whole  series  of  which  it  was  the 
precursor,  we  find  that  Mrs.  Oliphant  had  an  intimate 
knowledge  of  most  classes  of  her  countrymen,  and  that  she 
was  able  to  portray  them  with  fidelity  and  spirit.  The 
same  qualities  of  sympathy,  of  insight  into  character,  and 
of  acquaintance  with  the  monde  of  which  she  wrote,  stood  her 
in  good  stead  in  her  biographical  work.  The  Life  of  Edward 
Irving  (1862)  is  a  remarkably  fine  performance.  The  halo  of 
mysticism  surrounding  that  extraordinary  person  was  far  from 

1  Some  of  these  have  been   collected  in  a  volume  under  the   title  of 
Stories  of  the  Seen  and  of  the  Unseen  (1902). 


THE    VICTORIAN  ERA  :    1848-1880         617 

uncongenial  to  Mrs.  Oliphant's  temperament,  and  she  handles 
her  theme  with  enthusiasm,  though  always  with  judgment  and 
a  sense  of  proportion.  In  her  youth,  as  Margaret  Maitland 
shows,  Mrs.  Oliphant's  sympathies  had  been  strongly  on  the 
side  of  those  who  left  the  Church  in  1843.  Her  investigations 
into  Irving's  history  probably  left  her  less  enamoured  of  that 
party  than  she  had  once  been  ;  and  her  short  monograph  on 
Thomas  Chalmers  (1893)  snows  how  far,  towards  the  close 
of  her  life,  she  had  drifted  away  from  her  early  prepossessions. 
In  Principal  Tulloch,  who  was  certainly  no  mystic,  she  found 
a  subject  which  otherwise  thoroughly  suited  her  pen.  But  her 
Memoir  (1888)  of  that  divine,  as  well  as  her  Memoirs  of  Laurence 
Oliphant  (1891),  a  distant  cousin  of  her  own,  cannot  be  com- 
pared for  force  and  vigour  to  the  Irving^  although  both  are 
respectable  compilations,  and  the  Oliphant  is  conspicuous  for 
tact  and  discretion  where  both  qualities  were  emphatically 
needed. 

The  novels  of  Mr.  George  Macdonald  are,  in  a  sense,  more 
disappointing  than  his  poetry,  for  they  contain  so  much  good 
work  that  they  ought  to  be  a  great  deal  better  than  they  are. 
Some  are  spoiled  by  an  excessive  infusion  of  the  mysterious, 
the  supernatural,  or  the  allegorical.  Liltth  (1895),  to  select 
an  illustration,  is  tedious  and  unintelligible,  though  scarcely 
more  so  than  Phantasies  (1858).  Others  suffer  from  having 
as  a  background  some  spot  in  which  the  author  appears  to  be 
less  at  home  than  an  author  should  be  amid  the  scenery  he 
selects.  The  Sea-board  Parish  (1868),  for  example,  the  scene 
of  which  is  pitched  in  the  south  of  England,  is  not  comparable 
for  vividness  and  force  to  the  novels  whose  action  takes  place 
in  the  north  of  Scotland.  In  order  to  do  himself  justice,  Mr. 
Macdonald  requires  to  have  his  foot  firmly  planted  on  his 
native  heath  ;  but  even  his  Aberdeenshire  stories  are  spoiled 
by  the  tendency  to  sheer  preaching.  The  characters  chop 
theology  a  great  deal  too  much  for  the  reader's  entertain- 
ment :  the  amiable  theology  of  the  latitudinarian  who  has 


618     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

conceived  an  intense  dislike  to  the  Shorter  Catechism.  We 
suspect  that  the  eponymous  hero  of  David  Elginbrod  (1862)  is 
only  saved  from  becoming  a  bore  by  his  untimely  death,  a  fate 
which,  unfortunately,  does  not  overtake  MacLear,  the  cobbler, 
in  Salted  with  Fire  (1897).  A  more  prosy,  bumptious,  dicta- 
torial, and  (in  reality)  censorious  personage  than  the  "soutar" 
cannot  easily  be  found,  though  the  boyish  hero  of  Sir  Gibbie 
(1880) — a  novel  which  contains  much  that  is  quite  excellent — 
runs  him  close.  Mr.  Macdonald's  plots  are  never  very  coherent 
or  probable.  The  whole  intrigue  of  David  Elginbrod  is 
altogether  beyond  credibility,  in  so  far  as  it  can  be  followed. 
But  looseness  of  construction  is  more  pardonable  than  lachry- 
mose sentiment  and  long-winded  harangues. 

When  all  due  allowance,  however,  has  been  made  for  these 
defects,  the  fact  remains  that  Mr.  Macdonald  has  given  us 
many  admirable  pictures  of  north-country  life  and  character. 
The  majority  of  these  will  be  found  in  David  Elginbrod, 
Alec  Forbes  (1865),  and  Robert  Falconer  (1868),  which  are 
named  in  the  ascending  order  of  merit.  In  the  first-named, 
the  sketches  of  the  Laird  and  his  wife — they  are  no  more 
than  sketches — are  wonderfully  true  to  life.  In  the  second, 
Thomas  Crann,  the  mason,  is  a  well-conceived  and  well- 
drawn  character,  despite  his  occasional  prosiness,  and  Robert 
Bruce,  the  village  grocer,  who  represents  a  very  different 
type,  is  even  better.  But  it  is  in  Robert  Falconer  that  Mr. 
Macdonald's  gift  shows  to  the  highest  advantage.  The 
second  half  of  the  book  is  naught  :  the  first,  which  deals 
with  Robert's  boyhood,  is  not  unworthy  to  be  compared  with 
those  wonderful  chapters  in  The  Mill  on  the  Floss  which 
describe  the  childhood  of  Maggie  Tulliver.  It  abounds  with 
characters  that  are  the  "  real  thing."  Robert's  grandmother, 
her  handmaiden  Betty,  the  Miss  Napiers  of  the  Boar's  Head 
Hotel,  "  Shargar,"  Mr.  Lammie,  "  Dooble  Sanny  "  (another 
"soutar"),  and  Robert  himself — all  are  first-rate  ;  and  there  is 
a  freshness  in  the  descriptions  of  life  and  manners  at  Rothieden 


THE    VICTORIAN  ERA  :    1848-1880        619 

which  contrasts  very  favourably  with  the  jaded  fancy  displayed 
in  the  latter  portion  of  the  book.  The  atmosphere  is  extra- 
ordinarily well  reproduced,  and  the  Scots  of  the  dialect  seems  to 
be  unusually  pure,  racy,  and  idiomatic.  Mr.  Macdonald's  touch 
is  altogether  different  from  that  of  Gait  ;  yet  in  one  or  two 
passages  it  would  be  unfair  to  say  that  he  falls  short  of  that 
great  master.  That  he  is  superior  to  most  of  those  who  in  a 
later  generation  revived  the  novel  of  Scottish  life  need  scarce 
be  said.  Didactic  he  may  be,  and  indeed  is.  His  vein  of 
humour  may  be  a  trifle  thin.  His  moral  reflections  may  not 
be  characterised  by  originality  or  point.  But  he  has  innate 
delicacy  and  refinement ;  and,  at  his  worst  and  most  provoking, 
he  is  incapable  of  the  eccentricities  of  the  latter-day  "  Kailyard  " 
school.  No  less  their  superior  in  accuracy  of  observation  was 
William  Alexander  (1826-94),  editor  of  the  Aberdeen  Free 
Press,  whose  Johnny  Gibb  of  Gushetneuk  (1871),  a  study  ot 
Aberdeenshire  life  and  manners,  achieved  a  success  never 
equalled  by  the  author  in  any  other  effort. 

To  the  delineation  of  another  stratum  of  society  Catherine 
Sinclair  (1800-64),  a  daughter  of  Sir  John  of  the  first  Statistical 
Account  (i  791),  applied  herself  with  industry  and  with  fairly  satis- 
factory results.  Modern  Accomplishments  (1836)  and  Modern 
Flirtations  (1841),  which  are  only  two  out  of  many  novels,  rally 
the  fashions  of  their  hour  with  a  good  deal  of  vivacity.  Their 
great  defect  is  one  which  Miss  Sinclair  shares  with  Miss  Ferrier  : 
the  tendency  to  moralise  and  preach.  This  drawback  is  not 
absent  even  from  Holiday  House^1  which  nevertheless  is  one  of 
the  very  best  children's  books  ever  written.  No  child  can 
wish  for  better  company  than  Harry  and  Laura,  than  Mrs. 
Crabtree  and  Uncle  Frank,  than  Lord  Rockville  and  Peter 
Gray.  The  novels  of  George  John  Whyte-Melville  (1821- 
78),  which  are  chiefly  concerned  with  "  the  sport  of  kings  " 
and  with  country  life  generally,  obtained  a  well-deserved 

1  No  authority  seems  to  know  the  date  of  its  original  publication :  not 
even  the  Dictionary  of  National  Biography. 


620    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

popularity,  not  yet  apparently  exhausted.  Laurence  William 
Maxwell  Lockhart  (1831-82),  a  nephew  of  John  Gibson 
Lockhart's,  who  acted  as  a  correspondent  of  the  Times  in 
the  Franco-German  war,  had  also  much  of  the  lightness 
of  hand  essential  to  the  novel  of  manners.  Doubles  and  Quits 
(1869)  is,  indeed,  farce  rather  than  comedy,  though  farce 
of  the  best;  but  Fair  to  See  (1871)  stands  on  a  higher 
pedestal,  and  it  is  difficult  to  call  to  mind  any  subsequent 
work  of  fiction  which  handles  so  felicitously  the  humorous 
side  of  life  in  Scotland.  The  Clyde  steamboat  ;  the  High- 
land games  ;  and  the  ball  in  the  Edinburgh  Assembly 
Rooms — these  are  among  the  scenes  described  with  equal 
truth  and  vivacity,  and  once  read  not  easily  to  be  for- 
gotten. Lockhart  attempted  a  somewhat  loftier  flight  in 
Mine  is  Thine  (1878),  but  the  essay  was  not  wholly  successful  ; 
and  his  versatility  of  talent  is  far  more  advantageously  dis- 
played in  the  anapaests  addressed  to  John  Blackwood,  in  which 
he  narrates  his  vision  of  the  medal  day  at  St.  Andrews.1  The 
present  Lord  Moncreiff  (b.  1840)  can  vie  with  Lockhart 
in  gaiety  and  nimbleness  of  wit,  but  most  of  his  stories  lie 
anonymous  in  the  volumes  of  the  Cornhill  or  Maga,  and  are 
not  readily  accessible  to  the  general.  Cleverer  than  these  with 
his  pen — cleverer  perhaps  than  any  contemporary  Scot — was 
Laurence  Oliphant 2  (1829-88).  There  was  little  in  the 
literature  of  ironical  presentation  of  character  to  which  the 
author  of  Piccadilly  (1870)  and  Altiora  Peto  (1883)  might  not 
have  aspired.  But,  starting  life  with  the  ball  "  teed  "  for  him, 
as  it  were,  he  became  a  follower  of  strange  gods,  or,  at  least, 
prophets,  and  deliberately  blasted  a  career  of  singular  promise. 
In  dexterity  of  touch  William  Blacks  (1841-98)  could  no 
more  compete  with  Laurence  Lockhart  than  he  could 
compete  with  Laurence  Oliphant  in  knowledge  of  the 

1  These  will  be  found  in  the  late  Mr.  Robert  Clark's  Golf,  2nd  ed.,  1893, 
p.  271.  2  Memoirs,  by  Mrs.  Oliphant,  1891. 

3  William  Black,  a  Biography,  by  Wemyss   Reid,  1902. 


THE    VICTORIAN  ERA:    1848-1880         621 

world  and  incisiveness  of  intellect.  But  for  many  years  he 
was  the  darling  of  the  circulating  libraries,  whose  patrons  he 
supplied  with  the  very  thing  they  hungered  for.  At  one 
time  a  journalist  in  London,  he  won  his  first  success  in 
fiction,  after  one  or  two  tentative  efforts,  with  A  Daughter 
of  Heth  in  1871.  It  is  a  work  in  some  respects  of 
genuine  merit.  The  effect  of  contrast  produced  by  the 
introduction  of  a  French  girl  into  the  milieu  of  a  West  country 
manse  is  perhaps  a  little  crude  ;  but  at  least  it  is  an  effect. 
The  sunrises  and  sunsets  have  not  yet  become  mechanical, 
which,  later  on,  were  to  be  turned  out  decked  in  the  frank 
garishness  of  a  chromo-lithograph.  Also  there  is  a  pleasant 
freshness  and  good-nature  in  the  sketches  of  country  life.  Yet 
an  air  of  unreality — of  the  purely  theatrical — pervades  the 
work  as  a  whole,  and  we  feel  such  characters  as  "  The  Whaup  " 
and  "Coquette  "to  be  stagey  and  conventional.  There  is 
a  peacefulness  about  The  Strange  Adventures  of  a  'Phaeton  (1872) 
— a  freedom  from  sham  passion — a  cessation  from  yachting — 
which,  it  may  well  be  thought,  place  it  at  the  head  of  Mr. 
Black's  works  :  above  even  the  popular  Madcap  Violet  (1876), 
or  the  ambitious  and  by  no  means  wholly  futile  Macleod  of  Dare 
(1878).  As  for  the  productions  of  the  last  decade  of  his  life, 
they  are  little  better  than  "  cauld  kail  het  again  "  :  impulsive 
tomboys,  Highland  seas,  polychromic  sunsets.  To  predict 
immortality  for  Mr.  Black's  writings  were  hazardous.  They 
will  do  well  if  they  enjoy  as  long  a  life  as  that  once  familiar 
"yellowback,"  The  Romance  of  War  (1846),  which,  alone  of 
innumerable  novels  and  compilations,  preserves  the  name  of 
a  prolific  writer,  James  Grant  (1822-87). 

There  may  possibly  have  been  ages  in  which  the  line  of 
demarcation  between  fiction  and  history  has  not  been  very 
clearly  marked  ;  but  the  period  of  which  we  are  now  treating 
•was  not  one  of  them  in  so  far  as  Scotland  is  concerned.  None, 
perhaps,  of  our  historians  belong  to  the  front  rank  ;  but  none,  we 
may  say  with  equal  confidence,  was  capable  of  distorting  facts  to 


622     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

suit  his  own  convenience  or  taste.  The  eager  and  impetuous 
Mark  Napier  (1798-1879)  may  be  violent  in  his  expressions, 
and  the  inferences  he  draws  may  be  hasty  or  ill-founded  ; *  but 
neither  in  his  Memoirs  of  Montrose  (1856),  nor  in  his  Memorials 
of  Claverhouse  (1859-62)  is  he  guilty  of  misrepresentation, 
though  we  might  wish  him  rather  less  diffuse  and  rather  more 
expert  in  the  matter  of  marshalling  his  evidence.  The  same 
negative  compliment  may  be  paid  to  John  Hill  Burton 
(1809-81),  who,  despite  his  limitations,  was  capable  of  taking 
a  much  broader  and  more  philosophical  view  of  historical 
events  than  Napier.  Born  in  Aberdeen,  he  early  became 
engaged  in  literary,  or  quasi-literary,  work  in  Edinburgh,  and 
may  conceivably  have  had  a  share  in  moulding  into  its  familiar 
form  the  Scotch  "  Whitaker,"  familiarly  known  as  "  Oliver 
and  Boyd."  His  first  important  work  was  the  admirable  and 
delightful  Life  and  Correspondence  of  David  Hume  (1846),  and 
his  turn  for  biography,  though  on  a  different  scale,  was  further 
illustrated  in  the  following  year  by  his  Lives  of  Simon  Lord 
Lovat  and  Duncan  Forbes  of  Culloden.  Like  Hume,  he  began 
to  write  the  History  of  Scotland  at  the  end,  so  to  speak  ;  two 
volumes  dealing  with  the  period  from  the  Revolution  to  the 
extinction  of  the  rising  in  the  '45  having  appeared  in  1853. 
The  tract  of  time  from  Agricola's  invasion  to  the  Revolution 
was  disposed  of  in  1867.2  It  is  upon  this  work  that  Burton's 
celebrity  exists.  The  History  of  the  Reign  of  Queen  Anne 
(1880)  is  but  a  poor  substitute  for  the  book  which  Thackeray 
at  one  time  meant  to  write  ;  and  both  The  Book-Hunter 
(i86o)3  and  The  Scot  Abroad  (1862),  though  exceedingly  good 
in  their  way  (and  an  excellent  way  it  is),  are  not  of  the 
same  calibre  as  the  History.  That  Burton  was  an  ideal 
historian  it  would  be  absurd  to  pretend.  His  style  is  some- 

1  He  is  generally  thought  to  have  had  the  worst  of  it  in  the  controversy 
which  he  carried  on  (1863-70)  with,  inter  alias,  Dr.  Stewart,  of  Glasserton, 
as  to  the  Wigtown  martyrs. 

3  The  whole  History  was  republished  in  8  vols.  in  1873. 

3  New  ed.,  with  Memoir  by  his  widow,  1882, 


THE    VICTORIAN  ERA  :    1848-1880         623 

times  pedantic  and  often  mean  ;  he  drops  into  the  sesquipeda- 
lian words  so  dear  to  the  Scotch  votaries  of  "  rhetoric  and 
belles  lettres  ;  "  he  is  apt  to  dwell  on  non-essentials  ;  and  he 
never  rises  to  the  height  of  the  opportunities  which  his 
subject  afforded  him.  But  if  he  was  immeasurably  inferior 
in  point  of  language  and  manner  to  Mr.  Froude,  he  had 
the  advantage  of  him  in  accuracy,  and  the  sly  Aberdonian 
wit  in  which  he  occasionally  permits  himself  to  indulge 
is  thoroughly  effective  in  its  proper  place.  He  was  both 
industrious  and  learned  ;  he  was  as  fair  as  a  decided  Whig 
and  anti-ecclesiastical  bias  would  suffer  him  to  be  ;  and, 
although  he  has  not  said  the  last  word  on  any  controversial 
topic  arising  out  of  his  theme,  it  would  be  rash  to  assert  that 
he  has  been  wholly  superseded  by  more  recent  inquirers. 

Sir  William  Stirling  Maxwell1  (1818-78)  was  probably  the 
most  complete  realisation  in  his  time  of  James  Hannay's  ideal 
of  "  blood  and  culture."  His  Cloister  Life  of  the  Emperor 
Charles  V.  (1852)  and  his  posthumous  Don  John  of  Austria 
(1883)  are  works  in  which  research  goes  hand  in  hand 
with  ease  and  beauty  of  style  ;  while  the  versatility  of  his 
mind  is  demonstrated  by  the  Annals  of  the  Artists  in  Spain 2 
(1848),  infinitely  superior  in  taste  and  judgment  to  many 
much-vaunted  essays  in  the  criticism  of  Art  which  made  their 
appearance  during  the  same  decade.  William  Forbes  Skene 
(1809-92)  was  destitute  of  Sir  William's  charm  ;  but  his  Celtic 
Scotland  (1876-80)  is  still  the  chief  authority  upon  a  thorny 
and  obscure  subject,  and  in  his  other  works  he  seems  to  occupy 
a  place  midway  between  the  historian  proper  and  the  anti- 
quary. To  the  latter  category  belonged  that  worthy  disciple 
of  Thomas  Thomson,  Cosmo  Innes  (1798-1874),  whose 
Scotland  in  the  Middle  Ages  (1860)  and  Sketches  of  Early  Scotch 
History  (1861)  are  held  in  high  esteem,  and  whose  Scotch  Legal 
Antiquities  (1872)  is  simply  indispensable  to  the  student  who 

1  Works,  6  vols.,  1891. 

2  A  portion  of  this  was  expanded  into  Velasquez  and  his  Works,  1855. 


624     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

is  being  "  entered  "  at  the  investigation  of  his  country's  remote 
history  and  the  examination  of  her  institutions.  The  Fasti 
Eccleslee  Scotlcanes  (1866-71)  of  Hew  Scott  (1791-1872), 
minister  of  Anstruther  Wester,  is  one  of  the  most  gigantic 
as  well  as  valuable  undertakings  in  research  ever  brought  to  a 
successful  conclusion  by  the  labour  of  one  man.  The  greatest 
of  all  Scottish  antiquaries,  however,  from  a  literary  point  of 
view,  was  Joseph  Robertson  (i 8 10-66),  a  native  of  Aberdeen- 
shire,  who  edited  the  Edinburgh  Courant  from  1849  to  1853, 
and  thereafter  was  curator  of  the  Historical  Department  of 
the  Register  House  in  Edinburgh.  To  well-nigh  unfathom- 
able and  universal  erudition  *  he  added  a  skill  in  writing  which 
has  rarely  been  equalled  by  men  of  his  tastes  ;  and  it  may  be 
questioned  whether  he  was  ever  surpassed  in  the  art  of  weaving 
into  a  continuous,  coherent,  and  animated  narrative  a  multi- 
tude of  minute  and  apparently  unconnected  particulars.  This 
his  peculiar  power  is  exhibited,  to  some  extent,  in  The  Book 
of  Eon  Accord  (1839),  which,  though  the  original  plan  of  the 
work  was  never  completed,  remains  the  best  history  of  the 
city  of  Aberdeen  ever  written  ; 2  it  is  still  more  strongly 
exhibited  in  his  introduction  to  the  Statuta  Ecclesiae  Scotican<e  ;3 
and  probably  its  best  exemplification  is  the  article  on  Scottish 
Abbeys  and  Cathedrals^  contributed  by  him  at  Lockhart's 
invitation  to  the  Quarterly  Review  (June,  1849),  a  Pei"fect  model 
of  what  such  a  paper  should  be,  and  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
instances  of  much  being  compressed  into  little  without  every 
shred  of  romance  and  interest  disappearing  in  the  process. 

1  Some  slight  hint  of  the  vast  extent  of  his  miscellaneous  reading  may 
be  gathered  from  his  anonymous  Ddicice  Literarice  (1840),  a  delightful 
volume  of  table-talk. 

2  What  Robertson  did  for  Aberdeen  was  done  in  some  sort  for  part  of 
the  county  by  John  Burnett  Pratt  (1798-1869),  incumbent  of  St.  James's, 
Cruden,  whose  Buchan  is  unrivalled  as  a  guide-book  of  the  best  type. 
The  best  edition  is  the  3rd  (1870).     The  4th  (ed.  Anderson,  1901)  is  all  that 
a  new  edition  of  an  old  book  ought  not  to  be. 

3  Vol.  i.,  Bannatyne  Club,  1866. 

4  Reprinted  with  Memoir,  Aberdeen,  1893. 


THE    VICTORIAN  ERA:    1848-1880         625 

His  fellow-editor  and  member  of  the  Spalding  Club,  George 
Grub  (1812-92),  was  his  inferior  in  literary  skill,  but  not  by 
much  his  inferior  in  learning  ;  and  his  Ecclesiastical  History  of 
Scotland  (1861)  is  at  once  trustworthy  in  substance,  temperate 
in  language,  and  impartial  in  judgment.  A  good  example,  on 
the  other  hand,  of  the  keen,  though  not  dishonest,  partisan  is 
supplied  by  John  Hosack  (d.  1887),  whose  Mary  Queen  of  Scots 
and  her  Accusers  (1869)  *  formed  until  recently  the  brief  from 
which  her  defenders  spoke.  From  such  heated  controversy  it 
is  a  relief  to  turn  to  the  charming  Lives  of  the  Lindsays  (1849), 
compiled  by  Alexander  William,  twenty-fifth  Earl  of  Craw- 
ford and  eighth  Earl  of  Balcarres. 

The  middle  portion  of  Queen  Victoria's  reign  was  not 
highly  distinguished  in  the  region  of  theology.  Yet  we  note 
with  interest  the  growth  in  the  "  residuary  "  Establishment  of 
a  "  Broad-church  school,"  in  which  some  of  the  scattered 
remnants  of  moderatism  were  absorbed,  but  which  in  tone 
and  outlook  is  essentially  different  from  the  Moderates  of 
the  eighteenth  century.  Its  real  parent,  perhaps,  was  Dr. 
Arnold  ;  it  found  kindred  spirits  South  of  the  border  in  men 
like  Kingsley ;  and,  while  it  endeavoured  to  mitigate  the 
severity  of  Calvinistic  doctrine  and  to  abolish  the  innovations 
introduced  into  the  Kirk  through  the  influence  of  the 
Independents  two  centuries  before,  it  was  for  the  most 
part  earnest  and  serious  in  its  attitude  towards  religion  and 
life.  Not  much  more  learned,  and  certainly  less  nimble- 
witted,  than  Dean  Stanley,  who  threw  over  it  the  cloak  of 
his  approbation,  it  never,  perhaps,  saw  with  any  clearness 
of  vision  whither  it  was  bound  ;  but  most  of  its  members 
were  excellent  men,  and,  at  all  events,  for  them  it  was 
reserved  to  carry  on  as  best  they  might  the  literary 
traditions  of  the  Scottish  Church.  The  most  prominent  ot 
the  band,  with  the  exception  of  Norman  Macleod  (infra, 
p.  637)  was  John  Tulloch 2  (1823-86),  Principal  of  St. 

1  Second  ed.,  2  vols.,  1870-4.  3  Memoir,  by  Mrs.  Oliphant,  1886. 

2  R 


626    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Mary's  College,  St.  Andrews.  He  first  drew  public  atten- 
tion to  himself  by  winning  the  Burnett  prize  for  an  essay 
on  Theism  (1855),  after  which  date  his  contributions  to  the 
magazines  became  numerous,  and  to  more  solid  literature 
not  infrequent.  His  Leaders  of  the  Reformation  (1859), 
English  Puritanism  and  its  Leaders  (1861),  and  Rational 
Theology  and  Christian  'Philosophy  in  the  Seventeenth  Century 
(1872) — which  may  be  accounted  his  chief  works — are  all 
of  the  same  type  :  sufficiently  well,  though  not  brilliantly, 
written,  and  based  upon  a  tolerable  foundation  of  learning. 
The  latitudinarian  movement  we  speak  of  in  the  Church  of 
Scotland  culminated  in  a  volume  of  Scotch  Sermons  (1880), 
which  created  a  good  deal  of  stir  in  its  day,  and  of 
which  the  present  generation  has  in  all  likelihood  never 
heard.  Robert  Herbert  Story1  (b.  1835),  Principal  of 
Glasgow  College,  alone  remains  to  represent  a  mode  of 
thought  which,  as  an  active  force,  has  almost  entirely 
disappeared. 

The  difficulties  which  now  agitate  the  religious  community 
are  of  a  far  more  formidable  character  than  the  Calvinistic 
extravagances  which  vexed  the  Broad  Churchmen  of  the 
sixties  and  seventies.  A  hint  of  the  trouble  in  store  had  been 
afforded  by  the  reception  awarded  to  the  article  Bible  published 
in  the  Encyclopedia  Britannica  in  1875.  Its  author  was 
William  Robertson  Smith  (1846-94),  Professor  of  Hebrew  in 
the  Free  Church  seminary  at  Aberdeen.  Rigid  orthodoxy, 
combined  with  a  firm  adherence  to  the  views  of  "  our  coven- 
anting forefathers,"  had  been  the  badge  of  this  religious 
community  since  its  origin  ;  and,  while  acquitting  the  offender 
on  a  charge  of  heresy,  their  supreme  Court  removed  him 
from  his  chair  in  1881.  In  the  same  year  he  became  the 
colleague,  and  in  1887  the  successor,  of  Thomas  Spencer 

1  Dr.  Story  has  written,  inter  alia,  Robert  Lee  :  a  Memoir  (1868) ;  William 
Carstarcs  (1870)  ;  Creed  and  Conduct  (1872) ;  and  The  Apostolic  Ministry  in 
the  Scottish  Church  (1897). 


THE    VICTORIAN  ERA  :    1848-1880         627 

Baynes  (infra,  p.  631)  in  the  editorship  of  the  Britannica ;  and 
he  found  a  resting-place  in  the  University  of  Cambridge,  where 
he  was  enabled  to  pursue  his  Semitic  and  anthropological  studies 
to  good  purpose.  The  results  of  his  arduous  labours  are  to  be 
found  in  his  Old  Testament  in  the  Jewish  Church  (1881),  in  The 
Prophets  of  Israel  (1882),  in  Kinship  and  Marriage  in  Early 
Arabia  (1885),  and  in  The  Religion  of  the  Semites  (1889). 

Of  mere  sermons,  many  volumes  continued  to  flow  from  the 
press.  One  of  the  most  popular  and  eloquent  preachers  of  his 
day  was  John  Caird  (1820-98),  Principal  in  the  University  of 
Glasgow,  whose  famous  discourse  on  Religion  in  Common  Life 
was  included  in,  and  gave  its  title  to,  a  highly  successful  collec- 
tion of  Sermons  (1857).  In  later  life  his  views,  which  at  one 
time  had  been  Evangelical,  assumed  a  different  complexion, 
and  in  his  Croall  Lecture,  which  bears  to  be  an  Introduction 
to  the  Philosophy  of  Religion  (1880),  as  well  as  in  his  Gifford 
Lecture  on  The  Fundamental  Ideas  of  Christianity  (1900)  we 
recognise  a  spirited  attempt  to  express  the  truths  of  the 
Christian  system  of  religion  in  the  dialect  of  the  "  neo- 
Hegelian "  philosophy.  Among  much  published  preaching 
of  a  less  ambitious  order,  it  must  suffice  to  mention  the  Pastoral 
Counsels  of  John  Robertson  (1824-65),  minister  of  Glasgow 
Cathedral  ;  and  the  Sermons  of  a  United  Presbyterian  divine, 
John  Ker  (1819-86),  which  are  peculiarly  felicitous  in  their 
use  of  scriptural  phraseology  :  so  easily  abused,  as  the  example 
of  the  seventeenth-century  pulpiteers  warns  us.  If,  further- 
more, we  name  Edward  Bannerman  Ramsay  (1793-1872), 
Dean  of  Edinburgh,  it  is  less  for  the  sake  of  his  devotional  and 
hortatory  works  than  for  that  of  his  famous  Reminiscences 
of  Scottish  Life  and  Character  (1857), x  which,  racy  and  pointed 
in  themselves,  have  been  the  parent  of  much  intolerable  dulness, 
both  in  conversation  and  in  print. 

The  list  of  scholars,  men  of  science,  and  other  learned  men 
who   flourished  during  these  years,  is  a  tolerably  long  one,  and 
1  New  ed.  with  Memoir  by  Cosmo  Innes,  1874. 


it  is  impossible  to  do  more  than  name  a  few  of  the  most  illus- 
trious. A  fair  proportion  of  the  number  was  connected  with 
the  Universities.1  It  is  true  that  the  administration  of  patronage 
in  those  institutions  was  not  as  yet  altogether  satisfactory. 
While  a  man  like  William  Veitch  (1794-1885),  whose  Greek 
Verbs,  Irregular  and  Defective  (1848)  justly  earned  for  him  the 
reputation  of  being  the  most  eminent  Grecian  in  Scotland — 
while  Veitch  languished  in  obscurity,  the  chairs  of  Humanity 
and  Greek  in  the  Scottish  Universities  were  too  often  filled 
by  charlatans  or  ignoramuses,  whose  preferment  was  wholly 
due  to  sectarian  or  political  considerations.  There  were, 
however,  brilliant  instances  to  the  contrary.  William  Ramsay 
(1806-65),  wno  h^d  the  Chair  of  Humanity  in  Glasgow 
from  1831  to  1863,  did  not  leave  much  printed  work  behind 
him,  save  an  edition  of  the  Pro  Cluentio  (1858)  and  a  Manual 
of  Roman  Antiquities  (1851),  but  his  influence  as  a  teacher  was, 
omnium  consensu^  highly  beneficial.  Even  more  distinguished  was 
William  Young  Sellar  (1825-90),  who  was  appointed  to  the 
corresponding  chair  in  Edinburgh  in  1863,  and  of  whose  work 
as  a  critic  of  Latin  literature  it  would  be  difficult  to  speak 
too  enthusiastically.  His  Roman  Poets  of  the  Republic  (1863), 
his  Roman  Poets  of  the  Augustan  Age  (1877),  and  his 
posthumous  Horace  and  the  Elegiac  Poets  (i  892)2  display 
that  happy  combination  of  ripe  scholarship  with  exquisite 
taste  and  a  thorough  appreciation  of  literature  which  was 
once  the  peculiar  glory  of  Oxford,  and  which  the  growth 
of  minute  specialism  scarcely  tends  to  encourage.  Much  the 
same  qualities  were  possessed  by  Sir  Alexander  Grant  (1826- 
84),  Principal  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh  from  1868, 
though  perhaps  he  was  scarcely  so  fortunate  in  his  opportuni- 

1  Colonel  William  Mure,  of  Caldwell  (1799-1860),  whose  Critical  Account 
of  the  Language  and  Literature  of  Ancient  Greece   (1850-57)  is   still  one 
of  the  standard  works  on  the  subject,  had  no  professional  academic  con- 
nection. 

2  This  work  contains  an  admirable  memoir  of  Mr.  Sellar  from  the  pen 
of  his  nephew,  Mr.  A.  Lang. 


THE    VICTORIAN  ERA  :    1848-1880        629 

ties  for  displaying  them.  His  monographs  on  Xenophon  and 
Aristotle  are  on  too  small  a  scale  to  give  free  scope  to  his  powers. 
Nor  is  his  Story  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh  (1884)  wholly 
satisfactory.  It  appears  to  bear  traces  of  haste,  and  perhaps  a 
subject  of  the  sort  was  not  specially  congenial  to  the  author  ; 
but  the  short  biographical  notices  of  former  Principals  and 
Professors  are  excellently  well  done. 

In  philosophy,  the  most  distinguished  name  is  that  of  James 
Frederick  Ferrier  (1808-64),  wno  from  the  chair  of  Moral 
Philosophy  in  St.  Andrews  impregnated  the  speculations  of 
his  countrymen,  for  the  first  time,  with  a  decidedly  Teutonic 
element.  His  mind  was  singularly  acute,  and  his  powers  ot 
exposition  and  argument  get  something  less  than  justice  done  to 
them  in  the  not  very  attractive  Institutes  of  Metaphysics  (1854), 
and  the  fragmentary  Lectures  on  Greek  Philosophy  (1866).  The 
seal  of  universal  recognition  was  at  once  stamped  upon  the 
speculative  genius  of  Alexander  Campbell  Fraser  (b.  1819), 
who  had  succeeded  Hamilton  in  the  professorship  of  Logic  and 
Metaphysics  at  Edinburgh  in  1854,  when,  seventeen  years 
later,  he  published  his  monumental  edition  of  the  Collected 
Works  of  Bishop  Berkeley*  Professor  Fraser  gave  up  his  chair, 
but  not  his  philosophical  labours,  in  1891  ;  and  an  edition  of 
Locke's  Essay  Concerning  Human  Understanding  (1894),  and  a 
GifFord  Lecture  on  the  Philosophy  of  Theism  (1896)  testify 
to  the  continuing  and  unabated  vigour  of  an  intellect  at  once 
subtle  and  profound.  The  volumes  on  Berkeley  and  Locke 
contributed  to  the  "  Philosophical  Classics  "  series  show  that  he 
can  adapt  himself  to  the  requirements  of  a  much  less  ample  scale 
of  work  with  uncommon  dexterity  and  success.  While  Mr. 
Fraser  was  expounding  metaphysics  in  Edinburgh,  in  Aberdeen 
Alexander  Bain  (b.  1818)  was  demonstrating  from  the  chair 
of  Logic,  which  he  occupied  from  1860  to  1881,  that  meta- 
physics were  folly.  This  he  did  in  a  style  cold  as  the  climate 
and  hard  as  the  granite  of  his  University  town  ;  and  it  would 
1  3  vols.,  Oxford,  with  a  fourth  vol.  containing  the  Life  and  Letters. 


630    LITERARY  HISTORY   OF  SCOTLAND 

be  difficult  to  find  a  more  characteristic  statement  of  the  mate- 
rialistic and  utilitarian  philosophy  from  which  Mr.  John  Mill 
was  always  making  furtive  efforts  to  escape,  than  in  Mr.  Bain's 
The  Senses  and  the  Intellect  (1855)  and  The  Emotions  and  the  Will 
(1859).  To  discuss  the  validity  of  his  position  is  no  business  of 
ours  ;  but  it  may  not  be  illegitimate  to  note  that  his  analysis  of 
the  human  mind  appears  to  be  characterised  by  all  the  elaborate 
yet  futile  precision  in  which  the  early  utilitarians  took  so  much 
delight.  Meanwhile,  rival  schools  of  philosophy  were  not  being 
neglected.  In  Glasgow,  whither  he  was  transferred  from  St. 
Andrews  in  1864,  John  Veitch  *  (1829-94)  gallantly  played 
the  part  of  the  last  of  the  Hamiltonians.  He  wrote  a  Memoir 
of  his  master  (1869),  and  assisted  Mansel  in  editing  his  Lectures. 
Veitch's  tastes,  however,  possibly  inclined  more  to  Rhetoric  than 
to  Logic,  and  inasmuch  as  his  chair  was  professedly  concerned 
with  both,  he  had  a  good  excuse  for  producing  such  works  as 
his  History  and  Poetry  of  the  Scottish  Border  (1877),  or  his 
Feeling  for  Nature  in  Scottish  Poetry  (1887).  That  he  was  a 
fervent  admirer  both  of  nature  and  of  poetry  it  would  be  wrong 
to  doubt ;  but  his  tastes  were  circumscribed  in  many  directions, 
and  his  criticism,  which  strongly  resembles  Principal  Shairp's 
in  type,  is  neither  illuminating  nor  suggestive.  The  intuitive 
theory  of  morals  found  a  devoted,  but  not  very  adroit,  champion 
in  Henry  Calderwood  (1830-98),  Professor  of  Moral  Philosophy 
in  the  University  of  Edinburgh  from  i868.2  From  James 
M'Cosh  (1811-94),  a  native  of  Ayrshire,  who  became  Principal 
of  Princeton  University,  U.S.A.,  came  the  dying  echoes  of 
Thomas  Reid's  philosophical  system  3  ;  while  yet  another  mode 
of  thought  was  represented  by  James  Hutchison  Stirling  (b. 
1820),  whose  most  famous  work  is  on  the  subject  of  The  Secret 
of  Hegel  (1865),  which,  according  to  the  profane,  he  completely 

1  Life,  by  M.  Bryce,  1896. 

2  See  his  Philosophy  of  the  Infinite  (1854),  and  Moral  Philosophy  (1872). 

3  See  his  Examination  of  Mr.  J.  S.  Mill's  Philosophy  (1866)  and  The 
Scottish  Philosophy  (1875). 


THE    VICTORIAN  ERA:    1848-1880         631 

succeeded  in  keeping.  Thomas  Spencer  Baynes  (1823-87), 
who  became  Professor  of  Logic  at  St.  Andrews  in  1884,  was 
much  more  than  the  alert  and  ingenious  logician  which  his  Port 
Royal  Logic  and  New  Analytic  proclaimed  him.  A  man  of  high 
intelligence,  wide  sympathy,  and  extensive  learning,  he  more 
than  justified  his  selection  for  the  post  of  editor  of  the  ninth 
edition  of  the  Encyclopedia  Britannica.* 

In  the  region  of  natural  science  it  is  hard  to  believe 
that  the  names  of  James  Clerk  Maxwell  (1831-79),  Peter 
Guthrie  Tait  (1831-1901),  and  William  Thomson,  Lord 
Kelvin  (b.  1824)  will  ever  be  forgotten.  In  geology,  Sir 
Charles  Lyell  (1797-1875)  will  be  remembered  by  his 
Principles  of  Geology  (1830-32)  and  his  Antiquity  of  Man 
(1863),  and  Principal  Forbes  (1809-68)  by  his  Travels 
through  the  Alps  and  Savoy  (1843)  and  his  Occasional  ^Papers 
on  the  theory  of  Glaciers  (1859).  A  notable  pioneer  of  the 
new  science  of  anthropology  was  John  Ferguson  M'Lennan 
(1827-81),  a  member  of  the  Scottish  bar,  whose  'Primitive 
Marriage  (1865)  tended  largely  to  modify  the  "Patriarchal 
theory  "  of  sub-primaeval  society  then  in  the  ascendant.  His 
views  may  be  sound  enough  ;  but  he  almost  wholly  lacked 
the  dignity  and  force  of  style  with  which  Sir  Henry  Mains 
had  been  able  to  present  his  masterly  conception  of  Ancient 
Law.  A  contributor  to  anthropology  of  even  higher  standing 
— because  primarily  a  collector  of  invaluable  evidence  which, 
but  for  his  efforts,  might  soon  have  perished — was  John  Francis 
Campbell  of  Islay  (1822-85),  to  whom  we  owe  the  Topular 
Tales  of  the  West  Highlands  (1860-62).  It  may  be  doubted 
if  more  seasonable  and  precious  assistance  was  rendered  to  the 
study  of  folklore  by  any  book  in  any  language  during  the 
generation  of  which  we  speak.  Certainly  the  lucubrations 
of  the  McCallum  More  himself — numerous  and  weighty  as 
they  are — must  bow  before  the  clansman's  compilation. 
George  John  Douglas  Campbell,  8th  Duke  of  Argyll 
1  See  the  Table  Talk  of  Shirley,  1895,  p.  40. 


632     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

(1823-1900),  began  his  career  as  an  author  at  the  early 
age  of  nineteen  with  a  pamphlet  on  the  impending  Disrup- 
tion ;  and  the  flow  of  tracts,  great  or  small,  from  his  pen 
terminated  only  with  his  life.  He  was  unquestionably  one  of 
the  greatest  parliamentary  and  platform  orators  of  his  day  ;  but, 
however  cogent  his  speeches  may  have  been,  there  may  be 
detected  in  his  writings  a  strain  of  the  harsh  and  unsym- 
pathetic which  has  effectually  prevented  them  from  assuming 
the  place  which  might  otherwise  have  been  theirs.  His 
attitude  was  always  that  of  the  lecturer,  and  he  appeared  to 
himself  to  live  in  a  region  remote  from  the  intellectual  and 
emotional  fallacies  of  the  common  mass  of  men.  He  took 
part  in  most  of  the  controversies  which  vexed  his  age,  and 
was  in  full  sympathy  with  the  Broad  Church  movement  in 
Scotland  ;  but  it  may  be  questioned  if  he  won  many  converts 
by  his  Reign  of  Law  (1866),  the  most  important  work  of 
his  prime,  or  by  his  Unseen  Foundations  of  Society  (1893), 
a  production  in  which  there  is  much  worth  pondering.  He 
was  the  very  incarnation  of  the  amateur  savant ;  a  race,  which, 
with  all  its  foibles,  we  can  ill  afford  to  spare  in  the  British 
Isles. 

Two  great  travellers,  continuing  the  tradition  of  "Abys- 
sinian "  Bruce  x  (1730-94)  and  Mungo  Park2  (1771-1806), 
added  appreciably  to  our  knowledge  of  an  imperfectly 
explored  continent.  The  great  work  accomplished  by 
David  Livingstone  (1817-74)  is  plainly  and  straightforwardly 
recorded  in  his  Researches  in  South  Africa  (1857),  t^ie  Narrative 
of  an  Expedition  to  the  Zambesi  (1865)  and  his  Last  Journals 
(1875).  In  A  Walk  across  Africa  (1864),  James  Augustus 
Grant  (1827-92)  recounted  the  story  of  his  memorable  expe- 
dition with  the  ill-fated  Speke  to  discover  the  sources  of  the 
Nile.  Compared  with  such  books,  The  Abode  of  Snow  (1875) 

1  Trawls  to  Discover  the  Sources  of  the  Nile,  5  vols.,  4to,  1790. 

2  Travels  in  the  Interior  of  Africa,  1799  ;  Journal  of  a  Mission  into  the 
Interior  of  Africa,  1815. 


THE    VICTORIAN  ERA  :    1848-1880         633 

of  Andrew  Wilson  (1830-81)  is  comparatively  unimportant; 
but  Wilson  had  an  unmistakable  literary  gift,  as  appears  not 
only  from  his  Ever-Victorious  Army  (1868),  but  also  from  a 
very  remarkable  paper  on  Infanti  (Perdutl  which  redeems 
the  collection  of  Edinburgh  Essays  published  in  1857  from 
mediocrity  or  worse. 

Wilson   was  an   industrious  contributor  to  the    magazines 

and  newspapers,  and  during  the  period  of  which  we  now  treat, 

the  number  of  Scotsmen  engaged   in  some  form  or  other  of 

journalism  was   very  large.     To  enumerate  even  those   who 

found  regular  employment  on  the  London  press  is  impossible  ; 

Thomas   Ballantyne   of   the   Statesman^  John    Robertson   and 

John  Black  of  the  Morning  Chronicle,  Angus  Bethune  Reach, 

William  Maccall  of  the  Critic,  John  George  Edgar,  and  Eneas 

Sweetman  Dallas  of  the  Times,  are  but  a  few  of  the  men  who 

earned  their  living  in  the  Southern  capital  as  "slaves  of  the 

lamp."     One   great  journalist  remained   at   home — a  worthy 

compeer  of  Delane.     Alexander  Russel  (1814-76)  was  trained 

in  Johnstone's  printing  office  in  Edinburgh,  before  he  became 

editor  of  the   Berwick  Advertiser  in   1839.      He  assumed   the 

control  of  the  Fife  Herald  in  1842,  and  three  years  later  joined 

the  staff  of  the  Scotsman,  then  published  twice   a  week.     In 

1849   he    succeeded   Mr.   M'Laren  in  the  editorship  of  that 

journal  (which  became  a  daily  in    1855),  and  thenceforward 

his  name  was  inseparably  associated  with  the  Whig  organ  of 

the  Scottish   metropolis.     He  contributed  occasionally  to   the 

Quarterly  and  Blackwood,  chiefly  on  his  favourite  amusement, 

fishing  ;  *   but  otherwise  his  whole  time  and  his  whole  energies 

were  devoted  to  the  paper,  with  the  result  that,  like  almost  all 

great  editors,  he  lives  entirely  in  tradition.     His  writing  in  the 

Scotsman  was  frequent  and  copious  enough — scarcely  a  number, 

indeed,   appeared   without   something   from   his   pen  ;    but   he 

inspired  all  his  contributors  with  his  own  spirit,  and  thus  it  is 

1  See  The  Salmon,  1864,  in  which  these  papers  are  collected. 


634    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

impossible  to  discriminate  between  articles  that  are  his  and 
articles  that  are  merely  framed  on  his  model.  He  had  an 
inexhaustible  fund  of  native  shrewdness,  and  an  overflowing 
supply  of  humour  which  might  aptly  be  described  as  Rabelaisian, 
in  the  best  sense  of  the  epithet,  and  upon  which  he  could  draw 
at  a  single  moment's  notice  ;  so  that  for  more  than  a  quarter 
of  a  century  he  appealed  to  the  average  Scot,  who  was  neither 
a  Tory  nor  a  Radical,  and,  most  assuredly,  not  a  Puritan,  as 
no  one  else  even  attempted  to  do.  His  politics  were  those  of 
the  orthodox  Whig  school,  and  the  dissidence  of  mere  religious 
dissent  was  as  distasteful  to  him  as  the  visions  of  the  mediaevalist 
or  the  reactionary.  He  bequeathed  to  the  journal  which  he 
conducted  a  controversial  tradition  more  vigorous  than  urbane, 
and  one  in  which  the  bludgeon  is  a  good  deal  more  prominent 
than  the  rapier.  If  the  difference  in  tone  between  the  Scotsman 
and  the  Times  were  a  true  measure  of  the  comparative 
civilisation  of  Scotland  and  England,  the  patriotic  Caledonian 
would  have  little  to  congratulate  himself  upon,  fortunately 
in  recent  years  the  attempt  has  been  abandoned  to  imitate 
the  inimitable,  and  the  "  facetious  "  stop  has  been  suffered  to 
remain  at  rest.1 

For  a  short  space  of  time,  Russel  had  a  rival  in  Edinburgh 
not  unworthy  to  enter  the  lists  against  him.  From  1860  to 

1  Like  the  greater  part  of  good  journalism,  Russel's  articles  were  of 
purely  ephemeral  interest,  though  portions  of  them  linger  in  the  memory 
of  those  who  were  privileged  to  read  them  as  they  came  fresh  from  his 
hand.  I  need  only  here,  exempli  gratia,  refer  to  one  (written,  I  am  told, 
in  the  railway  train  between  Edinburgh  and  Loch  Leven)  apropos  of  one 
of  the  periodical  "  water  famines  "  to  which  the  Modern  Athens  is  subject. 
A  certain  Bailie  or  Councillor  MacLachlan,  a  fishmonger  to  trade,  had  been 
insisting  upon  the  necessity  of  rigid  economy  on  the  part  of  the  citizens 
in  the  use  of  water,  and  had  clenched  his  argument  by  the  statement  that 
he  had  not  taken  a  bath  for  more  than  a  year.  Russel  referred  to  the 
Bailie  as  "  the  foul  but  philanthropic  MacLachlan,"  and  expressed  the 
hope  that  his  wares  "had  not  been  so  long  out  of  the  water"  as  himself. 
It  was  announced  in  the  Westminster  Gazette  of  January  19,  1903  (I  know 
not  on  what  authority),  that  a  selection  from  Mr.  Russel's  leading  articles 
was  being  prepared  by  one  of  his  oldest  friends. 


THE    VICTORIAN  ERA  :    1848-1880         635 

1864,  the  Edinburgh  Courant  was  edited  by  James  Hannay  x 
(1827-73),  t^le  descendant  of  an  old  Scots  family,  who, 
after  serving  as  a  midshipman  in  the  Royal  Navy,  had 
drifted  into  literature  and  journalism.  His  novels,  Singleton 
Fontenoy  (1850)  and  Eustace  Conyers  (1855),  possess  unusual 
vivacity,  and  contain  one  or  two  of  his  happiest  jests. 
To  them  we  owe  the  admirable  conundrum,  "  Why  is 
Lieutenant  So-and-So  like  England  ?  Because  he  expects 
every  man  to  do  his  duty  ; "  and  the  no  less  pointed  retort 
of  A  who,  after  expounding  the  doctrine  of  the  "greatest 
happiness  of  the  greatest  number,"  is  asked  by  B,  "  What  is 
the  greatest  number  r "  and  coolly  replies,  "  Number  one." 
Hannay's  editorship  of  the  Courant  was  brilliant  but  unsuccess- 
ful. While  remaining  excellent  friends  with  Russel,  in  spite 
of  political  differences,  he  needlessly  offended,  and  quarrelled 
with,  most  of  the  local  magnates  of  his  own  party,  upon  whom 
he  subsequently  did  his  best  to  revenge  himself  in  magazine- 
articles.2  A  selection  of  his  Courant  "leaders"  and  reviews, 
published  under  the  title  of  Characters  and  Criticisms  (1865), 
gives  a  taste  of  his  journalistic  quality,  but  his  best  work  in 
criticism  will  be  found  in  his  Essays  from  the  Quarterly  Review 
(1861).  That  he  was  a  great  thinker  no  one  would  maintain  ; 
but  he  had  a  larger  share  of  accurate  scholarship  than  most 
men  in  Scotland,  a  lively  and  correct  style,  and  a  strong  turn 
for  satire  ;  and,  in  fine,  supplied  a  most  wholesome  antidote 
and  corrective  to  the  perfervid  Scotticism  of  persons  like 
Mr.  Blackie.  He  was  a  good  hater,  and  had  the  secret  of 
goading  those  whom  he  disliked  into  a  frenzy  of  rage,  or  an 

1  See  Espinasse,  Litcruiy  Recollections  and  Sketches,  1893,  pp.  331  et  seq., 
where  the  fullest  and  best  account  of  Hannay  is  to  be  found.     See  also 
Temple  Bar,  vol.  xxxviii.  p.  89  (1873),  and  vol.  xlix.  p.  234  (1877). 

2  See  The  Scot  at  Home,  in  the  Cornliill  Magazine,  vol.  xiv.  p.  238  (1866)  ; 
and  Recollections  of  a  Provincial  Editor  in  Temple  Bar,  vol.  xxiii.  p.  175 
(1868).     Some  of  the  personalities  in  these  articles  are  inexcusable,  almost 
as  brutal  as  Hannay's  famous  repartee  to  the  soi-disant  lineal  descendant 
of  Joseph  Addison  ;  but  apart  from  these,  the  first-mentioned  is  well  worth 
reading. 


636    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

agony  of  depression.  Sir  John  Skelton  never  forgave  his 
review  of  Thalatta ;  Principal  Tulloch  could  never  forget 
certain  aspersions  cast  by  Hannay  on  his  parts  of  speech.1 
His  "  blood  and  culture "  theory  is  capable  of  being  over- 
driven, and  he  assuredly  overdrove  it ;  but,  though  his  argu- 
ments may  not  always  be  sound,  his  wit  was  pungent,  and  the 
felicity  of  the  illustrations  by  means  of  which  he  seeks  to 
support  them  is  undeniable.2 

The  Scottish  provincial  press  was  not  without  its  celebrities 
in  these  days.  Thomas  Aird,  the  poet,  edited  the  Dumfriesshire 
and  Galloway  Herald  from  1835  to  1863,  and  in  the  North, 
besides  William  Alexander  at  Aberdeen,  there  was  Robert 
Carruthers  (1799-1878),  the  editor  for  half  a  century  of  the 
Inverness  Courier,  of  which  he  became  proprietor  in  1831. 
His  Life  of  Pope  (1856)  has  not  yet  lost  its  value,  and  he 
rendered  important  assistance  to  his  friend  Robert  Chambers 
in  the  preparation  of  the  second  edition  of  the  Cyclopaedia  of 
English  Literature  (1857).  Nor  was  the  history  of  the  Scottish 
newspaper  press  without  its  amazing  episodes,  such  as  the 
bringing  of  Henry  Kingsley  to  Edinburgh  for  the  purpose  of 
editing  the  now  extinct  Daily  Review,  the  organ  of  the 
Presbyterian  Dissenting  interest.  On  such  matters  we  have 
no  space  to  dwell. 

But  in  journalism  which  was  either  Scottish  or  connected 
with  Scotland,  there  were  two  significant  phenomena.  One 
of  these  was  the  establishment  in  1860  of  Good  Words,  the 
first  sixpenny  monthly  magazine  of  a  popular  type. 3  It  greatly 

1  See  Mrs.  Oliphant,  Memoir  of  Principal  Tulloch,  3rd  ed.,  1899,  p.  167. 

2  Thus,  he  says  that  Horace  Walpole's  ethical  reflections  remind  him  of 
the  talk  of  a  "  French  soitbrette  who  had  studied  Mandeville's  Fable  of  the 
Bees."     Again,  referring  to  those  ardent  Caledonian  patriots  who  object 
to  "  England  "  being  used  for  "  The  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland,"  he  remarks  :  "  On  the  same  principle,  we  suppose,  to  talk  of  the 
'Longmans'   is  a  gross  injustice  to  Hurst,  Rees,  Orme,  and  Brown,  or 
whoever  may  be  the  present  partners  of  that  respectable  firm."    (The  Scot 
at  Home,  ut  sup.,  p.  256). 

3  Chambcrs's  Journal  was  then  primarily  a  weekly,  and  cost  yd.  a 
month. 


THE    VICTORIAN  ERA  :    1848-1880         637 

fluttered  the  dovecots  of  the  strict  Evangelicals,  and,  so  far  as 
Scotland,  at  all  events,  was  concerned,  dealt  the  first  great  blow 
at  the  dividing  wall  between  secular  and  religious  reading. 
Published  in  London  by  Alexander  Strahan,  a  Scotsman,  whose 
moderate  success  in  business  is  one  of  the  mysteries  of  "  the 
trade,"  it  obtained  a  large  circulation,  and  no  one  who 
remembers  the  excellent  matter  which  it  provided  for  the 
Sundays  of  childhood,  can  help  looking  back  to  it  with  feelings 
of  gratitude.  It  was  edited  by  Norman  Macleod  J  (1812-72), 
minister  of  the  Barony  parish  in  Glasgow  :  a  man  of  great 
eloquence  and  infectious  enthusiasm,  who  contributed  only  less 
than  two  or  three  other  men  to  the  rehabilitation  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland  after  1843.  Macleod  himself  ventured  into  fiction, 
not  without  success,  as  The  Old  Lieutenant  (1862),  Wee  Davie 
(1864),  and  The  Star  ling  (1867),  remain  to  show.  Probably 
his  best  book  is  the  Reminiscences  of  a  Highland  Parish  (1867), 
but  the  early  volumes  of  Good  Words  (despite  the  sneers  of 
Hannay,  who  disrespectfully  called  it  the  Goody  Two  Shoes 
Magazine],  are  perhaps  his  most  characteristic  monument  from 
a  literary  point  of  view.  In  the  conduct  of  the  magazine  he 
exercised  a  judgment  and  discrimination  not  always  supposed 
to  be  characteristic  of  the  fiery  Celt  he  was  ;  and  he  drew 
contributions  of  a  suitable  nature  from  all  the  writers  then 
most  in  repute.  Among  these  there  falls  but  one  to  be 
mentioned  here.  Andrew  Kennedy  Hutchison  Boyd  (1825— 
1901),  minister  of  the  first  charge  of  St.  Andrews,  and  best 
known  under  the  disguise  of  his  numerous  initials,  had  won 
his  spurs  in  Eraser's  Magazine  by  a  series  of  essays,  subse- 
quently collected  under  the  title  of  Recreations  of  a  Country 
Parson,  which  to  some  people  seemed  a  mere  mass  of 
affectation,  but  which  won  the  applause  of  scores  of  others. 
Though  few  parish  ministers  laboured  more  diligently  than  he 
both  in  and  out  of  the  pulpit  (and  be  it  said  that  as  a  preacher 

1  See  Memoir,  by  his    brother  Donald,  2   vols.,  1876,  an   admirably 
executed  piece  of  work. 


638     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

he  was  better  than  most  of  those  who  affected  to  laugh  at  him), 
he  wrote  many  volumes  of  essays,  which  have  probably  no 
permanent  value,  but  which,  behind  their  persistent  mannerism, 
often  conceal  shrewd  observation  of  life,  and  not  seldom  a 
tolerably  sharp  sting.  His  Twenty-five  Tears  of  St.  Andrews 
(1892),  which  was  followed  up  by  Last  Tears  of  St.  Andrews 
(1896),  shows  him  in  his  most  characteristic  mood,  and  has 
the  great  merit  of  being  interesting,  if  taken  in  moderate  doses. 

The  other  phenomenon  in  Scottish  journalism  to  which 
reference  has  been  made,  was  the  North  British  Review^  a 
quarterly  established  in  1844,  an<^  discontinued  twenty-seven 
years  later,  after  an  honourable  and  distinguished  career.  Its 
policy  was  decidedly  liberal,  plus  an  infusion  of  religious, 
though  not  sectarian,  feeling,  which  was  thought  to  be  wanting 
in  the  Edinburgh.  It  was,  therefore,  not  unnatural  that  at  the 
outset  it  should  have  been  conducted  by  men  closely  identified 
with  the  Disruption  ;  and,  in  point  of  fact,  its  first  editors  were 
Dr.  Welsh,  Mr.  Edward  Maitland,  afterwards  Lord  Barcaple 
(1845-47),  and  Dr.  Hanna,  the  son-in-law  of  Dr.  Chalmers 
(1847—50).  For  the  next  seven  years  it  was  under  the  control 
of  Professor  A.  Campbell  Fraser,  who  was  succeeded  first  by  Dr. 
Duns,  and  then  by  Dr.  Blaikie  ;  and  from  1863  to  1869 — not 
the  least  illustrious  period  in  its  history — it  was  edited  by  Mr. 
David  Douglas,  its  publisher  and  one  of  its  proprietors.1  On  the 
discontinuance  of  the  short-lived  Home  and  Foreign  Review^ 
Mr.  T.  F.  Wetherell  accepted  the  editorship  of  the  North 
British^  and  brought  most  of  his  staff  with  him,  but  in  spite  of 
the  co-operation  of  men  like  the  late  Lord  Acton,  this  experi- 
ment proved  a  failure  ;  the  tone  of  the  Review  became  more 
Roman  than  Catholic  ;  and  the  number  which  appeared  in 
February,  1871,  was  the  last. 

The  North  'British  by  no  means  depended  upon  Edinburgh 
men  for  its  matter.  Its  principal  contributor  on  foreign 

1  It  is  to  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Douglas  and  Professor  Fraser  that  I  am 
indebted  for  these  particulars  as  to  the  North  British  Review. 


THE    VICTORIAN  ERA  :    1848-1880         639 

politics  at  one  time  was  Sir  M.  E.  Grant-Duff;  William 
Rathbone  Greg  wrote  constantly  upon  domestic  affairs  ;  and 
Sir  David  Brewster,  under  Mr.  Campbell  Eraser's  regime^ 
scarcely  missed  a  single  number.  Mr.  T.  H.  Green  con- 
tributed Inter  alia  a  memorable  paper  on  the  philosophy  of 
Aristotle  ; *  and  persons  so  different  in  opinion  and  spirit 
from  the  founders  of  the  periodical  as  James  Hannay  were 
also  enrolled  in  the  list  of  its  supporters.  Much  of  the 
best  stuff  that  appeared  in  the  Review  came  from  men  who 
were,  or  were  about  to  be,  ornaments  of  the  Scottish  univer- 
sities ;  from  scholars  or  critics,  like  Sellar  and  Shairp  on  the 
one  hand,  and  from  men  of  science  like  Tait  and  Fleeming 
Jenkin  on  the  other.  Some  of  the  North  British  reviewers 
have  already  been  remarked  upon  in  another  connection,  but 
the  present  seems  an  appropriate  place  for  noticing  one  or  two 
others. 

It  was  the  aim  of  at  least  one  of  the  conductors  of  the 
Review  to  avoid,  as  far  as  possible,  the  "  Parliament  House  " 
point  of  view  in  the  discussion  alike  of  political  and  literary 
questions.  But  it  may  be  doubted  if  a  more  serviceable  pen 
was  at  their  command  than  that  of  Henry  Hill  Lancaster2 
(1829-75),  whose  untimely  death  cut  short  a  forensic  career 
of  unusual  promise.  His  posthumous  volume  of  collected  essays 
contains  much  that  is  interesting,  or  even  brilliant,  though 
the  style  may  sometimes  be  too  much  that  of  the  "  full-dress  " 
quarterly  article  ;  and,  in  particular,  he  who  has  doubts  as  to 
the  permanence  of  George  Eliot's  position  in  fiction  will  find 
in  it  a  powerful  statement  of  the  grounds  of  his  scepticism, 
with  such  insistence  upon  the  enormity  of  Maggie  Tulliver's 
elopement  with  Stephen  Guest  as  the  rhetoric  of  Mr.  Swinburne 
could  scarce  improve  upon  in  his  Note  on  Charlotte  Bronte.  A 
far  more  widely-spread  reputation  than  ever  fell  to  Mr. 
Lancaster's  lot  was  enjoyed  by  a  member  of  the  medical 

1  Reprinted  in  his  Works,  vol.  iii. 

2  Essays  and  Reviews.    With  a  Memoir  by  B.  Jowett,  Edin.,  1876. 


640    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

profession,  Dr.  John  Brown  I  (1810-82),  about  whose 
writing  there  lingers  the  charm  that  emanates  from  a  noble 
character  and  amiable  disposition.  How  many  friends  has  he 
won  for  himself  by  his  admirably  touched  sketch  of  little 
Marjorie  Fleming  !  We  may  think  the  conventional  com- 
parison of  him  with  Charles  Lamb  a  thing  inept ;  and  we  may 
sigh  for  the  robust  temperament  of  a  former  generation  which 
could  tolerate  and  enjoy  the  excruciating  pathos  of  Rab  and  his 
Friends^  as  of  little  Nell,  or  of  Paul  Dombey  ;  but  we  cannot 
ignore  the  great  literary  gift  of  one  who  could  write  of  his 
own  father  so  intimately  yet  so  essentially  without  exaggeration 
or  offence.  Of  all  Dr.  John  Brown's  writings  this  biographical 
essay2  most  clearly  demonstrates  the  rich  moral  and  intel- 
lectual endowment  of  its  author. 

George  Gilfillans  (1813-78),  like  Dr.  Brown,  came  of  a 
Seceder  stock,  but  there  the  resemblance  ended.  His 
biographers,  indeed,  say  that  he  "  helped  to  create  modern 
religious  thought  throughout  the  English-speaking  world,"  and 
it  is  certain  that  he  occupied  the  pulpit  of  a  Secession  meeting- 
house in  Dundee.  Yet  there  clung  to  him  a  species  of  mental 
vulgarity  which  robs  almost  all  of  the  immense  amount  he 
wrote  of  any  positive  value.  He  was  a  great  contributor 
to  the  Critic,  to  the  Eclectic  Review,  and  to  the  Dundee 
Advertiser;  and  a  collection  of  his  various  books  would 
occupy  more  space  than  most  private  libraries  can  afford. 
His  most  characteristic  work  is  probably  contained  in  the  three 
series  of  his  Gallery  of  Literary  Portraits  (1845,  1849,  1854)  ; 
but  he  rendered  more  valuable  service  to  his  generation  by 
an  edition  of  the  English  poets  (1853-60),  in  the  days  before 
such  reprints  were  common,  than  by  anything  else.  His  tone 
was  thoroughly  provincial,  his  style  radically  vicious  ;  and, 

1  Horce  Subsecivce,  2  vols.,  1858-61  ;  John  Leech  and  other  Papers,  1882. 
See  Peddie,  Recollections,  1893. 

2  It  will  be  found  in  Cairns's  Memoir  of  John  Brown,  D.D.,  1860. 

3  George  Gilfillan,  by  R.  A.  and  E.  S.  Watson,  1892. 


THE    VICTORIAN  ERA  :    1848-1880        641 

consequently,  as  well  as  by  reason  of  his  admiration  for  the 
"  spasmodic  "  poets,  he  became  a  butt  of  Ay toun  and  of  Maga. 
Yet  there  are  gleams  of  good  sense,  and  traces  of  clear 
perception  in  his  writings  which  not  even  the  eloquence  of  the 
pulpit  and  the  lecture-platform,  in  which  he  so  freely  indulges, 
can  wholly  extinguish  or  obliterate.  With  greater  advantages, 
or  a  larger  stipend,  he  might  have  been  a  tolerable  critic. 

John  Skelton  (1831-97)  was  a  man  of  infinitely  finer 
sensibility,  of  infinitely  purer  taste,  and  of  infinitely  greater 
refinement ;  yet  his  literary  criticism  is  almost  as  unsatisfactory 
although  in  quite  a  different  way,  as  Gilfillan's.  It  was  in 
Eraser's  Magazine  that  "  Shirley  "  became  known,  in  the  late 
fifties  or  the  early  sixties,  to  the  general  public,  and  there  he 
enjoyed  the  distinction  of  being  among  the  first  to  hail  the 
dawn  of  the  literary  genius  of  Dante  Gabriel  Rossetti.  It  was 
a  rare  beginning  for  a  young  critic  ;  but  his  unquestionable 
insight — his  scent  for  the  really  good  in  poetry  or  prose — was 
counteracted  by  a  diffuseness  of  manner  which  grew  worse  as 
time  went  on.  If  the  attempt  were  made  to  define  Sir  John 
Skelton's  style  by  a  negative,  it  might  be  said  to  be  the  precise 
negation  of  what  we  call  trenchant.  Thus  Thalatta  !  (1862), 
his  most  ambitious  novel,  is  difficult  reading,  though  it  has 
good  passages,  and  is  not  so  hopelessly  bad  as  James  Hannay 
would  have  had  the  world  of  Edinburgh  to  believe.1  Even  The 
Crookit  Meg  (i88o),2  too,  which  is  much  shorter,  wants  the 
concentration,  the  directness,  the  unity  of  purpose,  essential  to 
a  successful  story.  And  so  it  comes  about  that  Sir  John  is 
seen  at  his  best  when  it  is  part  of  "the  game"  to  be  discursive : 
as  in  the  more  or  less  auto-biographical  sketches  known  as 
The  Table-Talk  of  Shir  ley. 3  Once  or  twice  he  tried  his  hand  at 
fun  of  the  rollicking  type,  but  neither  Our  New  Candidate 
(1880)  nor  The  Sergeant  in  the  Hielans  (1881)  has  any  of  the 

1  See  Characters  and  Criticisms,  p.  193. 

2  See  Table  Talk  of  Shirley,  second  series,  2  vols.,  1896. 

3  First  series,  1895. 

2  S 


642     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

vitality  of  Glenmutchkin  or  the  Nodes  :  for  which  Skelton  had 
a  warm  admiration.  In  history  he  occupied  himself  much  with 
the  eternal  problem  of  Mary  Stuart,  and  he  composed  an 
ingenious  defence  of  the  Queen  in  the  form  of  a  speech  to  an 
imaginary  jury.1  But  his  best  piece  of  really  heavy  work  is 
his  Maitland  of  Lethington  (1887  and  1888),  the  closing 
passage  of  which,  summing  up  the  career  of  that  singular 
personage,  is  a  really  fine  bit  of  writing.  Sir  John  Skelton's 
mind  was  not  readily  receptive  of  new  ideas.  After  a  literary 
jeunesse  orageuse^  spent  in  shocking  the  Whigs  by  the  paradoxes 
of  a  red-hot  Tory,  he  settled  down  into  a  routine  of  thought 
from  which  it  was  not  easy  to  dislodge  him.  He  distrusted 
innovations,  or  apparent  innovations,  both  in  substance  and  in 
form  ;  and  so  he  emphatically  belongs  as  a  man  of  letters  to 
the  era  with  which  this  chapter  is  occupied  rather  than  to  that 
into  which  he  long  survived.  What  Skelton  lacked  of  concen- 
tration and  brilliance  was  present  in  Patrick  Proctor  Alexander2 
(1824-86),  though  he  perversely  chose  not  to  make  the  most 
of  it.  As  it  is,  the  harvest  of  that  wasted  life  is  very  remark- 
able. Of  his  verse,  whether  serious  or  humorous,  little  need 
be  said,  though  it  is  not  by  any  means  to  be  despised.  But 
his  memoir  of  Alexander  Smith,  prefixed  to  Last  Leaves  (1868), 
is  as  good  a  performance  of  its  kind  as  a  man  need  wish  to 
see  ;  his  Examination  of  Mr.  John  Mill's  doctrine  of  moral 
freedom  is  as  vigorous  and  deadly  assault  as  was  ever  delivered 
upon  the  popular  philosopher  of  the  day  ;  while  his  Occasional 
Discourse  on  Sauerteig,  by  Smelfungus^  is  not  only  the  best 
burlesque  of  Carlyle's  eccentricities  of  manner  that  ever  was 
written — nay,  one  of  the  few  really  good  prose  parodies  of 

1  This  will  be  found  in  his  Essays  in  History  and  Biography  (1883).     It 
appeared  originally  in  1876.     He  also  wrote  the  Mary  Stuart  for  Messrs. 
Goupil's  well-known  illustrated  series  (1893). 

2  See  Skelton's  Table  Talk,  1st  ser.,  ut  sup. ;  and  Knight,  Some  Nineteenth 
Century  Scotsmen,  1902. 

3  The  Examination  and  the  Sauerteig  are  printed  together  in  a  volume 
entitled  Mill  and  Carlyle  (Edin.,  1866). 


THE    VICTORIAN  ERA  :    1848-1880        643 

any  author  that  exist — but  also  a  most  incisive  criticism  of  the 
sage's  favourite  doctrines  as  developed  in  his  Frederick. 

Finally,  mention  shall  here  be  made  of  David  Masson 
(b.  1822),  though,  possessing  the  secret  of  perpetual  youth  as 
he  does,  he  might  equally  well  have  been  reserved  for  the 
concluding  chapter.  The  introduction  to  the  last  of  the 
eleven  volumes  of  the  Register  of  the  Privy  Council  of  Scotland 
edited  by  him  (1880—99)  x  discovers  little  or  no  abatement  of 
that  force  of  character  and  grasp  of  mind  which  so  well  consort 
with  the  office  of  Historiographer  Royal  for  Scotland.  Mr. 
Masson,  an  Aberdonian  by  origin,  went  to  London  to  engage 
in  literature  and  journalism  so  long  ago  as  1847,  and  a  volume 
of  Essays  Biographical  and  Critical  (1856)  contains  a  selection 
of  what  is  best  in  his  earliest  work,  including  a  long  article 
on  Chatterton,  which  was  expanded  into  a  volume  in  1899. 
A  series  of  lectures  delivered  at  the  Edinburgh  Philosophical 
Institution  on  the  British  Novelists  and  their  Style  appeared  in 
1859  j  and  tne  high  reputation  he  had  won  for  himself  in  the 
world  of  letters  is  attested  by  his  appointment  in  the  same  year 
to  be  the  editor  of  a  new  venture — Macmillans  Magazine. 
In  some  respects  Mr.  Masson  may  not  have  been  an  ideal 
editor  ;  but  it  is  certain  that  nothing  trashy  or  meretricious 
invaded  the  columns  of  the  periodical  during  his  nine  years  of 
office.  In  1865  he  became  Professor  of  Rhetoric  and  English 
Literature  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  and  he  held  that 
appointment  for  thirty  years,  during  which  he  rendered  invalu- 
able service  to  the  country  by  his  consistent  advocacy  and 
exaltation  of  the  "  useless  "  in  education  as  the  thing  which 
alone  is  worth  knowing,  and  which  all  Universities  worthy 
of  the  name  exist  to  teach — as  well  as  by  inspiring  the 
successive  generations  of  his  students  with  a  genuine 
ardour  for  what  is  highest  and  best  in  literature.  His 
magnum  opus,  a  Life  of  ^John  Milton,  in  connection  with  the 
history  of  his  time,  had  been  begun  in  1859  and  was  not 
1  See  Register,  second  series,  vol.  i. 


644    LITERARY  HISTORY   OF  SCOTLAND 

completed  until  1880,  which  saw  the  appearance  of  the  sixth 
and  last  volume.  Few  works  published  during  the  last  fifty 
years  have  so  plainly  borne  the  stamp  of  unflinching  industry. 
It  is  a  monument,  or  a  dungeon,  of  learning  ;  but  it  would  be 
affectation  to  pretend  that  it  is  a  masterpiece  of  literature, 
whatever  it  may  be  as  a  repository  of  materials.  Non  omnla 
possumus  omneSy  and  it  is  hard  to  deny  that  Mr.  Masson's  style 
has  always  been  his  weak  point.  It  is  not  merely  rugged,  it  is 
deliberately  and  affectedly  rugged  ;  the  touch  is  seldom  light ; 
there  is  a  studied  absence  of  anything  approaching  to  grace  or 
delicacy  ;  and  throughout  we  are  painfully  conscious  of  the 
baleful  influence  of  his  friend,  Mr.  Carlyle.  Nowhere  are 
these  defects  more  obtrusive  than  in  the  otherwise 
excellent  monograph  on  Drummond  of  Hawthornden  (1873), 
unless  it  be  in  the  introduction  to  the  Globe  edition  of 
Goldsmith,  an  author  whose  conspicuous  elegance  renders 
him  singularly  ill-fitted  for  heavy-handed  treatment.  On  the 
other  hand,  Mr.  Masson  seems  peculiarly  in  his  element  in 
handling  Carlyle  ;  and  his  warmest  admirers  would  find  it 
difficult  to  select  any  piece  or  passage  from  his  writings  which 
so  happily  exemplifies  his  good  qualities  as  the  paper  on 
Carlyle  s  Edinburgh  Daysy  reprinted  in  Edinburgh  Sketches  and 
Memories  (iSga).1  There  the  sense  of  effort  produced  by  all 
his  works  disappears,  either  because  the  effort  had  been 
less,  as  expended  on  a  favourite  theme,  or  because  a  sense  of 
effort  seems  in  keeping  with  the  asperities  of  his  subject  ;  there 
is  no  more  than  a  faint  suggestion  of  "  groanings  that  cannot 
be  uttered  "  ;  and  the  effect  of  the  essay  as  a  whole  is  one  of 
coherence  and  harmony.  Let  us  all  hope  that  this  Nestor  of 
Scottish  literature  may  long  be  spared  to  inculcate  upon  a  new 
generation,  both  by  precept  and  example,  the  lessons  of  courage 
in  opinion  and  thoroughness  in  work  which  he  has  taught  so 
manfully  for  more  than  half  a  century. 

1  The  lectures  on  Carlyle  and  his  Friends  (1885)  are  scarcely  so  good. 


CHAPTER  XII 


THE    CLOSE    OF    THE    VICTORIAN    ERA  I 


THE  concluding  portion  of  the  Victorian  era,  as  regards  the 
literature  of  Scotland,  differs  from  the  early  and  middle  periods, 
in  respect  that  it  can  boast  of  one  name  in  comparison  with 
which  the  names  of  all  other  authors  may  be  said  to  be  almost 
insignificant.  The  years  whose  harvest  formed  the  subject  of 
our  consideration  in  the  preceding  chapter,  saw  much  good 
work  done,  as  we  have  noted  j  but  no  one  in  their  course 
stood  forth  so  conspicuously  as  Mr.  Stevenson  in  the  succeeding 
generation.  It  has  been  his  misfortune  to  become  a  sort  of 
literary  fetish  alike  to  those  who,  having  some  sort  of  education, 
desire  to  be  deemed  superior  beings,  and  to  that  section  of  the 
vast  mass  of  semi-illiterates  which  would  fain  be  thought  to 
possess  some  tincture  of  knowledge  and  refinement.  Hence, 
much  of  the  eulogy  which  has  been  lavished  upon  him  is 
disfigured  by  the  brand  of  affectation  and  unreality.  Cockney 
critics,  with  whom  in  his  good  nature  he  was  pleased  at  times 
to  associate,  have  gushed  over  his  memory  ad  nauseam  ;  while 
the  natural  instinct  of  the  Scot  to  cherish  as  a  valuable  item 
of  the  national  assets  any  product  of  his  country  which  other 
people  have  approved,  has  procured  him  a  band  of  lip-worship- 
pers to  whom  his  peculiar  genius,  if  comprehensible,  must  be 

645 


646    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

merely  abhorrent.  The  day  is  probably  not  far  distant  when, 
on  every  i^th  of  November,  festive  gatherings  will  be  held 
and  "  eloquent "  speeches  delivered  in  honour,  not  of  the 
penetrating  and  fearless  critic  of  Knox  and  Burns,  not  of  the 
brilliant  essayist  of  Virginibus  Puerisque^  not  of  the  hero  of 
Prince  Otto^  but  of  the  moralist  of  Jekyll  and  Hyde,  the  pulpiteer 
of  the  South  Sea  Islands. 

Robert  Lewis  Balfour  Stevenson  *  (better  known  as  Robert 
Louis  Stevenson)  was  born  in  1850,  and  was  the  son  of 
Thomas  Stevenson,  a  distinguished  civil  engineer,  and  a  man 
of  the  highest  character,  though  not  wholly  free  from  the 
defects  attendant  upon  an  austere  type  of  virtue.  It  is 
impossible  not  to  suspect  that  the  less  amiable  aspects  of  his 
idiosyncrasy  are  correctly  indicated  in  the  sketch  of  the  hero's 
father  in  The  Misadventures  of  John  Nicholson,2  a  work  which 
in  this  connection  appears  to  have  escaped  the  notice  of  Louis's 
official  biographer. 

Of  Mr.  Stevenson's  childhood  the  accounts  we  possess  are 
tolerably  full.  His  memory  was  good,  and  reticence  was  not 
one  of  his  characteristics,  at  least  in  later  years,  when  success 
had  knocked  at  the  door.  As  a  child  he  appears  to  have  been 
precocious  ;  but  his  experiences  were  not  widely  different  from 
those  of  any  of  his  contemporaries  who  belonged  to  the  same 
class  of  society.  They  all  had  Calvinistic  nurses  ;  they  all 
learned  "The  Lord's  my  Shepherd  "  ;  and  they  were  all  familiar 
with  choice  extracts  from  M'Cheyne.  When  nursery  days 
were  over,  the  state  of  his  health  prevented  his  benefiting  by 

1  Works,   Edinburgh  ed.,   28  vols.    1894-98.    All  the  more  important 
works  may  be  procured  separately  at  moderate  prices.    The  "  official " 
biography  is  the  Life  by  Graham  Balfour  (2  vols.  1901),  executed,  if  not 
with   brilliancy,   at  least   with   discretion.     It  may  be  supplemented  by 
Mr.  Colvin's  article  in  the  Die.  Nat.  Biog.     Most  of  what  has  been  written 
about   Mr.   Stevenson  is  "  sad   stuff " ;    but   reference   may  be   made   to 
Mr.  Raleigh's  (1895)  and  Mr.  Cornford's  (1899)  monographs,  and  to  an 
article  by  M.  Marcel  Schwob  in  the  New  Review,  February,  1895. 

2  Cassell's  Christmas  Annual,  1887  ;  rep.  for  the  first  time  in  the  Edin. 
ed.,  vol.  xxii.  p.  82. 


THE   CLOSE   OF   THE    VICTORIAN  ERA     647 

the  discipline  of  a  long  course  at  a  good  public  school — the 
sovereign  specific  for  an  only  child.  His  stay  at  the  Edinburgh 
Academy,  then  in  its  zenith  under  Dr.  Hodson,  was  brief; 
and  the  private  seminaries  which  he  afterwards  attended  were 
of  no  great  eminence.  Thus  he  became  a  youth  who  to  many 
of  his  contemporaries  (always  the  sternest,  though  perhaps  not  the 
least  competent,  judges)  seemed  upon  occasion  little  less  than  in- 
sufferable. Vain  and  self-conscious,  he  had  imbibed  the  pestilent 
doctrine  that  conformity  to  current  ideas  in  the  matter  of  dress, 
manners,  and  behaviour  is  the  mark  of  imbecility  and  want  ot 
spirit.  He  sank  to  that  worst  form  of  conventionality  which 
consists  in  being  "unconventional";  for  he  was  ever  the 
"burgess"  playing  the  Bohemian,  and  not  the  true  gipsy.  He 
thought  by  eccentricity  of  garb  and  by  an  apparent  neglect  of 
the  minutiae  of  the  toilet,  to  approve  himself  both  great  and 
good  ;  and,  though  there  was  a  lucid  interval  in  this  course  of 
conduct,  he  returned,  towards  the  close  of  his  third  decade,  to 
a  policy  which,  however  pardonable  in  adolescence,  can  have 
no  justification  in  later  life.  Some  portion  of  the  blame  must 
attach  to  his  father,  who,  himself  a  man  of  means,  considered 
his  grown-up  son  sufficiently  provided  for  on  an  allowance  of 
five  shillings  a  week.  What  Mr.  Stevenson  thought  of  this 
plan  may  be  gathered  from  a  significant  passage  in  John 
Nicholson.*  Yet  this  error  of  judgment  on  the  part  of  the 
parent  need  not  have  dissuaded  the  son  from  seeking  the 
countenance  and  society  of  those  men  of  established  ability  and 
reputation  of  whom  Edinburgh  could  even  then  boast,  and 
who  were  far  from  indisposed  to  welcome  rising  talent,  more 
especially  in  the  person  of  a  young  advocate.2 

Mr.  Stevenson  passed  at  the  Scottish  Bar  in  1875  ;  but 
neither  his  physical  nor  his  mental  constitution  fitted  him  for 
steady  application  to  his  profession.  It  is  unnecessary  here  to 
trace  his  many  wanderings  in  search  of  health.  It  is  enough 

1  Edin.  ed.,  vol.  xxii.  p.  86. 

3  See  Blackwood's  Magazine,  Nov.,  1901,  vol.  clxx.  p.  619. 


648     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

to  record  that,  after  contracting  a  marriage  in  California  in 
1880,  and  attempting  the  experiment  of  residing  in  the  south 
of  England  from  1884  to  1887,  he  was  compelled  to  face  the 
impossibility  of  continuing  to  reside  in  this  country,  and  finally 
made  his  home  in  Samoa  in  1889.     There  he  resided  till  his 
death  in   1894,  busy  with  literary  work,  and  engrossed  in  his 
spare  time  with  the  politics  of  the  island,  and  the  domestic 
affairs  of  his  own   household    and    homestead.     Those    who 
profess    to   take  an  overwhelming  interest   in   the  South  Sea 
Islands  will  find  ample  information  about  them  and  their  inhabi- 
tants in  some  o£his  later  works  and  in  his  posthumous  letters.1 
From  early  youth  Mr.  Stevenson  "  played  the  sedulous  ape  " 
(in  his  own  famous  phrase)  to  authors  of  all  kinds  and  of  all 
ages.     By  thirteen,  he  had  applied  the  method  of  the   'Book  of 
Snobs  to  a  study  of  the  inhabitants  of  Peebles  ;  and  the  date  of 
his  first  published  performance — a  tract  on  The  Pent/and  Rising 
— is  1866.     He  reckons  the  Covenanting  authors  among  his 
literary  preceptors,  but  the  influence  of  Sir  Thomas  Browne  is 
much  more   perceptible  in  his  writing  than  that  of  Wodrow. 
At  his  best,  it    is    impossible  to  pluck  out  the  heart   of    his 
mystery  by  means  of  any  theory  of  imitation.     His  deliberately 
and    professedly    imitative    performances   are    no    more    than 
ingenious  and  painstaking.     Tod  Lapraik's  story  in  Catriona  is 
a  creditable  enough  exercise  on  a  model  of  incomparable  excel- 
lence.    The  poems  in  the  Scots  vernacular2  are  perhaps  less 
happy.     They    never    lose  sight  of  Robert  Fergusson,    with 
whom  Mr.  Stevenson  appears  at  one  time  to  have  thought  that 
he  had  some  special  intellectual  and  even  moral  affinity  ;  and 
every  turn  of  phrase  is  diligently  laboured  after  his  fashion. 
But  the  general  effect  is  unsatisfactory.     Although  there  are 
good  lines  here  and  there,3  the  verse  never  runs  smoothly,  or  at 

1  Vailima  Letters,  ed.  Colvin,  2  vols.,  1895. 

2  Most  of  them  will  be  found  in  Underwoods  (1887). 

3  E.g.,  the  excellent  stanza  in  the  Loivden  Sabbath  Morn  beginning  : — 

"  Wi'  sappy  unction  hoo  he  burkes 
The  hopes  o'  them  that  trust  in  works," 


THE   CLOSE   OF   THE    VICTORIAN  ERA     649 

its  ease  ;  and  the  poet  is  composing  in  a  foreign  and  unfamiliar 
tongue  as  plainly  as  though  he  were  Burns  writing  rhymed 
heroics  in  English. 

By  the  time,  then,  that  he  came  into  his  kingdom,  Mr. 
Stevenson  had  so  completely  absorbed  the  contributions  of  his 
predecessors  that  his  style  was  something  very  different  from  a 
mere  pastiche  or  mosaic.  It  possessed  organic  unity  ;  it  was 
informed  with  individuality ;  and  it  remained  defiant  of 
analysis  into  its  original  elements.  Yet  to  the  last  he 
remained  peculiarly  sensitive  to  the  infection  of  what  he  read. 
That  he  should  have  found  the  mannerisms  of  Carlyle  catch- 
ing is  intelligible  enough ;  but  that  he  should  have  detected  in 
the  prose  of  Livy  a  subtle  influence  for  evil  argues  a  degree  of 
susceptibility  at  which  it  is  hard  for  a  normally  constituted 
person  not  to  scoff.  No  man,  it  is  certain,  laboured  more 
assiduously  than  Stevenson  at  the  formation  of  a  style  of 
writing  which  should  be  dignified  and  worthy.  He  was  the 
chief  and  leader  of  that  movement  for  the  resuscitation  of  good 
English  which,  like  all  such  movements,  was  productive  or 
many  distressing  consequences,  but  which  was  the  inevitable 
and  salutary  reaction  against  such  slip-slop  as  writers  so  well 
found  in  other  respects  as  Anthony  Troliope  and  Mrs. 
Oliphant  were  not  ashamed  to  rest  content  with.  It  is  rash  to 
draw  a  hard-and-fast  line  between  things  so  intimately  con- 
nected as  form  and  matter;  but  it  seems  not  unjust  to  say  that 
for  Stevenson  the  effort  came  to  be,  not  to  find  appropriate  lan- 
guage for  a  superabundance  of  ideas,  but,  to  find  ideas  to  be 
clothed  in  the  exquisitely  appropriate  language  which  he  had 
ever  at  command.  Of  imagination  he  had  no  plethora  ;  but 
his  gift  of  vocabulary  and  diction  was  so  rich  and  so  patiently 
cultivated  that  he  seemed  to  make  one  idea  do  the  work  of 
two.  No  writer  in  our  time — not  even  Mr.  Pater — has  had 
an  ear  like  his  for  the  rhythms  and  cadences  of  English  prose  ; 
and  none  has  been  so  keenly  alive  to  the  virtue  of  a  well- 
placed  polysyllable.  "  The  tumultuary  and  grey  tide  of  life," 


650    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

"  an  endless  company  of  attenuated  clouds,"  "  the  momentous 
and  nugatory  gift  of  life  " — these  three  phrases  selected  at 
random  are  illustrations  of  that  keen  sense  of  the  values  of 
words  and  names  to  which  almost  every  page  of  his  writing 
bears  witness. 

That  this  rare  and  admirable  talent  failed  to  secure  for  him 
the  recognition  of  the  public  need  scarcely  be  said.  For  about 
twelve  years  from  the  commencement  of  his  serious  authorship 
he  wrote  for  a  comparatively  limited  circle,  and  it  was  within 
that  period,  I  venture  to  think,  that  most  of  his  best  work 
was  done.  To  the  Portfolio,  to  Macmillan's  Magazine^  and 
above  all  to  the  Cornhill,  then  under  the  direction  of  Mr. 
Leslie  Stephen,  he  was  contributing  during  the  'seventies  and 
the  early  'eighties  stuff  which  found  great  acceptance  later  on 
when  he  had  made  his  name.  Also,  in  Temple  Bar  he  was 
essaying  his  first  flights  in  fiction  ;  and  the  present  writer  can 
recollect  the  sensation  of  mingled  delight  and  stupefaction 
with  which  in  the  summer  of  1878  he  perused  the  New 
Arabian  Nights  in  the  pages  of  London  :  a  weekly  Conservative 
review,  founded  by  Robert  Glasgow  Brown,  *  and  edited 
during  part  of  its  brief  existence  by  Mr.  W.  E.  Henley.  But 
to  workmanship  of  such  consummate  delicacy  and  perfection 
the  great  mass  of  readers  naturally  declined  to  pay  any  heed. 
Treasure  Island  (1883),  it  is  true,  did  something  to  stir  their 
apathy  ;  for  here,  no  question,  was  the  best  story  of  adventure 
that  had  been  published  in  England  since  the  appearance  of 
Lorna  Doom.  But  Prince  Otto  (1885)  merely  increased  the 
bewilderment  of  the  average  person,  and  it  was  not  until  the 
following  year  that  Mr.  Stevenson  performed  the  operation  so 
aptly  described  by  Mr.  Frederick  Greenwood  as  "  cutting  the 
string."  In  1886  there  appeared  in  paper  covers  The  Strange 

1  Brown,  with  two  other  fellow-members  of  the  Speculative  Society, 
had  been  associated  with  Stevenson  in  the  Edinburgh  University 
Magazine  (1871),  commemorated  in  the  volume  known  as  Memories  and 
Portraits. 


THE   CLOSE   OF   THE    VICTORIAN  ERA     651 

Case  of  Dr.  Jekyll  and  Mr.  Hyde,  a  tolerable,  but  by  no  means 
an  exceptional,  specimen  of  its  author's  art,  its  theme  being 
dual  personality,  which  had  always  possessed  for  him  a  strong 
fascination,  and  which  he  had  already  handled  to  better  purpose 
in  the  powerful  short  story  of  Markheim  (1885).  What  used 
to  be  called  "  Shilling  Shockers "  were  then  in  high  fashion, 
and  the  public  pounced  upon  "Jekyll  and  Hyde  with  avidity. 
They  not  only  found  in  it  a  sufficiently  thrilling  narrative,  but 
they  had  little  difficulty  in  scenting  out  a  highly  edifying 
allegory.  The  pulpit  was  then,  as  it  probably  still  is,  the  most 
valuable  advertising  medium  in  the  country  ;  and  the  ministers 
of  religion  of  all  denominations  were  not  slow  to  seize  upon 
the  new  book  and  the  comparatively  unknown  writer,  and 
enlist  them  as  allies  in  the  cause  of  morality.  Thenceforward 
the  vessel  of  Mr.  Stevenson's  fortunes  sailed  in  comparatively 
smooth  waters  ;  he  was  hailed  no  longer  as  a  perplexing,  but 
as  an  ethically  sound — a  "  helpful  " — writer  ;  and  his  previous 
works,  read  in  the  light  of  so  improving  a  parable,  were 
welcomed  at  once  as  adminicles  ot  virtue  and  as  masterpieces 
of  literature. 

The  year  of  Jekyll  witnessed  the  appearance  of  Kidnapped, 
which,  like  Treasure  Island  and  The  Black  Arrow — a  piece  of 
mere  "tushery,"1  not  published  as  a  book  until  1888 — had 
originally  made  its  bow  in  a  periodical  for  the  young  adorned 
with  rude  wood-cuts  and  printed  upon  the  greyest  of  paper  in 
the  bluntest  of  type.  Kidnapped  was  the  first  of  a  series  ot 
works  of  fiction  which  came  to  a  close  with  the  fragmentary 
and  anachronistic  Weir  of  Hermiston  (1896).  The  list  includes 
the  gloomy  Master  of  Ballantrae  (1889),  Catriona  (1893),  a 
sequel  to  Kidnapped,  and  St.  Ives  (1897),  which  was  completed 
by  another  hand.  In  quite  a  different  vein  are  the  tales 

1  An  expressive  word,  derived  from  the  expletive  "Tush  ! "  and  employed 
by  Mr.  Stevenson  and  his  friends  to  signify  the  stilted  and  unreal  jargon 
in  which  the  historical  novel  dealing  with  the  Middle  Ages  is  often 
written.  "  Tushery  "  in  literature,  with  all  its  faults,  was  preferable  to 
Jink  "  in  life — the  most  depressing  thing  conceivable  to  read  about. 


652    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

written  in  collaboration  with  his  step-son  :  The  Wrong  'Box 
(1889),  which  is  riotous  farce  streaked  with  horror;  The 
Wrecker  (1892),  perhaps  the  most  disappointing  of  all  his 
works  (who  does  not  shudder  at  the  "  Hebdomadary  Picnics"  ?) ; 
and  The  Ebb  Tide  (1894),  which,  in  the  character  of  the 
loathsome  Huish,  contains  at  least  one  delineation  of  great 
meYit.  Few  judges  will  probably  be  disposed  to  deny  that  of 
all  these  Kidnapped  is  the  best.  Less  than  any  other  does 
it  convey  the  impression  of  the  author's  mind  being  perpetually 
on  the  rack  of  invention.  Moreover  the  design  of  the  book 
gives  ample  scope  for  the  elaboration  of  episodes,  and  Mr. 
Stevenson  was  essentially  a  master  of  episodes  rather  than  of 
construction.  In  the  character  of  Alan  Breck  he  had  one  of 
his  happiest  inspirations ;  and  with  all  deference  to  the 
numerous  admirers  of  Miss  Barbara  Grant  in  Catriona,  who  is 
almost  the  only  really  good  thing  in  the  way  of  womankind 
that  he  produced,  the  story  is  none  the  worse  for  the  total 
absence  of  female  interest.  In  Kidnapped^  to  sum  up,  the 
characteristic  weaknesses  of  the  author  are  for  the  time  being 
in  abeyance,  and  he  comes  near  to  realising  his  own  lofty  ideal 
of  romance.  Yet  even  in  Kidnapped  there  is  something 
lacking.  We  are  aware,  as  Mr.  Raleigh  puts  it,  of  the 
"  finished  literary  craftsman  who  has  served  his  period  of 
apprenticeship,"  but  we  suspect  that  he  has  contracted  the 
habit  of  merely  "  playing  with  his  tools,"  though  the  business 
calls  for  serious  work  ;  and  the  suspicion  was  never  banished 
by  any  subsequent  performance.  To  define  the  missing 
element  is  not  easy  ;  we  may  call  it  backbone,  fecundity  of 
imagination,  knowledge  of  life,  anything  we  please,  without 
hitting  the  true  shade  of  meaning.  It  seems  to  correspond  in 
the  mental  sphere  to  health  and  spirits  in  the  physical  ;  and  these 
blessings  Mr.  Stevenson  was  doomed  to  enjoy  in  very  scanty 
measure.  Not  that  he  was  morbid  in  the  worst  sense  of  the 
term.  The  doctrine  he  preaches  is  that  of  duty  and  courage, 
and  it  was  the  doctrine  which  he  carried  systematically  and 


THE   CLOSE   OF  THE    VICTORIAN  ERA     653 

strenuously  into  practice.  Yet  even  when  he  preaches  it  most 
forcibly  it  comes  to  us  with  the  unmistakable  air  of  the  closet, 
not  to  say  the  hot-house. 

If  there  is  any  substantial  foundation  for  the  view  which 
has  just  been  advanced — and  to  the  "common  Stevensonian  " 
that  view  must  needs  appear  to  be  rank  and  inexcusable  heresy — 
it  will  naturally  follow  that  the  really  noteworthy  and  precious 
addition  made  by  Mr.  Stevenson  to  our  literature  consists  of 
those  works  in  which  a  soupfon  of  the  flavour  of  the  lamp,  a 
hint  of  pose,  a  strain  of  affectation,  instead  of  being  incon- 
gruous or  disagreeable,  are  absolutely  indispensable  ingredients. 
It  is  in  these  that  we  get  the  true,  the  original,  the  essential, 
Stevenson  ;  it  is  there  that  we  find  what  no  other  writer  has  to 
bestow.  Applying  this  stringent  test,  what  shall  we  have  left  ? 
We  shall  have  the  New  Arabian  Nights  and  the  stories 
collected  with  them,  such  as  The  Pavilion  on  the  Links,  A 
Lodging  for  the  Night,  The  Sire  de  Maletroifs  Door,  and 
Providence  and  the  Guitar  ;  we  shall  have  Virginibus  Puerisque 
(1881)  ;  we  shall  have  Prince  Otto ;  we  shall  have  the  Familiar 
Studies  of  Men  and  'Books  (1882)  ;  we  shall  have  Memories  and 
Portraits  (1887)  ;  we  shall  have  the  dramas  written  with  Mr. 
Henley,  Deacon  'Brodie,  'Beau  Austin,  and  Admiral  Guinea ;  and 
in  poetry  we  shall  have  that  inimitable  tour  de  force,  the  Child1 's 
Garden  of  Verses  (1885).  And,  having  these,  we  shall  have  all 
of  Stevenson  that  is  choicest  and  best  worth  having,  save  for 
Will  0'  the  Mill  (1878),  Thrown  Janet  (1881),  and  one  or 
two  other  tales  and  essays,  mostly  of  a  date  comparatively 
early. 

In  these  writings  we  perceive  at  its  very  best  "  the  exquisite 
charm  of  manner,  in  which  you  can  see  that  the  author  is 
happy  too,  and  is  applauding  himself  in  his  heart  like  a  literary 
Little  Jack  Horner."  z  In  one  sense  more  artificial  than  his 

1  Scots  Observer,  January  26,  1889,  vol.  i.  p.  265.  The  article  from 
which  these  words  are  taken  is  an  admirable  one,  and  I  should  conjecture 
the  author  to  be  Mr.  Lang. 


654    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

later,  more  ambitious,  and  more  didactic  work,  they  are  truly 
less  so  ;  for  the  subtle  aroma  of  freshness  and  of  youth  pervades 
them  all,  and  the  artifice  seems  to  "  come  natural."  Phrases 
which  elsewhere  would  sound  pedantic  and  far-fetched,  here 
ring  true  ;  and  when  you  read  how  Silas  Q.  Scuddamore 
"  nosed  "  all  the  cracks  and  openings  of  his  famous  Saratoga 
Trunk  "  with  the  most  passionate  attention,"  you  cannot 
choose  but  acknowledge  that  the  language  is  wholly  in 
keeping  with  the  tone  of  the  story,  and  that  a  phraseology  less 
rococo  were  manifestly  out  of  place.  Think,  too,  of  the 
wonderful  dawn  in  the  Sire  de  Maletroifs  Door  : — 

"  The  hollow  of  the  sky  was  full  of  essential  daylight,  colourless 
and  clean,  and  the  valley  underneath  was  flooded  with  a  grey 
reflection.  A  few  thin  vapours  clung  in  the  coves  of  the  forest  or 
lay  along  the  winding  course  of  the  river.  The  scene  disengaged  a 
surprising  effect  of  stillness,  which  was  hardly  interrupted  when  the 
cocks  began  once  more  to  crow  among  the  steadings.  Perhaps  the 
same  fellow  who  had  made  so  horrid  a  clangour  in  the  darkness  not 
half  an  hour  before,  now  sent  up  the  merriest  cheer  to  greet  the 
coming  day.  A  little  wind  went  bustling  and  eddying  among  the 
tree-tops  underneath  the  windows.  And  still  the  daylight  kept 
flooding  insensibly  out  of  the  east  which  was  soon  to  grow  incan- 
descent and  cast  up  that  red-hot  cannon  ball,  the  rising  sun." 

Mannered,  no  doubt,  and  studded  here  and  there  with  un- 
expected and  recherche  words  like  "  clangour  "  and  "  incandes- 
cent." But,  for  that  very  reason,  peculiarly  accommodated  to 
its  context.  Not  a  trace,  either,  be  it  observed,  of  the  "  prose- 
poet."  And  every  now  and  then,  in  the  midst  of  this  brjlliant 
writing,  you  chance  upon  some  touch  of  nature,  some  flash  of 
insight  into  humanity,  which  refreshes  and  soothes  instead  ot 
dazzling  :  such,  for  instance,  as  the  fine  touch  about  James 
Walter  Ferrier  :  "  I  have  rarely  had  my  pride  more  gratified 
than  when  he  sat  at  my  father's  table,  my  acknowledged 
friend."  But,  indeed,  the  whole  passage  in  Memories  and 
Portraits  concerning  that  wayward  and  ineffectual  genius  marks 


THE   CLOSE   OF   THE    VICTORIAN  ERA     655 

the  highest  point  of  Stevenson's  achievement  as  a  writer  of 
English  prose. 

A  graceful  fancy,  a  playful  humour,  not  without  a 
background  of  grimness,  a  nice  taste  of  the  terrible,  a  tucn 
for  the  close  observation  and  the  satirical  presentation  of 
character  ;  these,  combined  with  an  unerring  literary  tact,  are 
the  qualities  for  which  the  works  I  have  ventured  to  indicate 
as  his  greatest  are  honourably  conspicuous.  The  "  shorter 
catechist "  no  doubt  was  there  too,  but  he  was  kept  in  restraint, 
and  never  really  got  his  horns  out  until  the  expatriation  of 
"  Hamlet."  *  Thereafter,  though  he  continued  to  judge  himself 
and  his  productions  by  as  severe  a  standard  as  of  yore,  he 
learned  to  take  himself  au  serieux^  to  suffer  fools  gladly,  to 
descant  on  morals,  and  to  lose,  bit  by  bit,  the  ironically 
humorous  outlook  upon  life  which  had  been  the  salt  of  his 
earlier  work.  What  new  birth  of  intellectual  power  there 
might  have  been  in  him,  had  he  been  spared,  no  one  of  course 
can  conjecture  with  any  certainty.  There  might  have  been 
some  great  and  unforeseen  development  in  the  scope  and  depth 
of  his  accomplishment  ;  his  powers  of  imagination  might  have 
received  a  fresh  accession  of  strength.  I  do  not  think  this 
probable  ;  and  we  may,  I  conceive,  be  reasonably  confident 
that  we  should  never  have  had  from  him  another  masterpiece 
like  Prince  Otto.  In  that  irresistible  romance  he  expended 
once  for  all,  to  the  last  penny,  the  stores  of  his  peculiar  genius  ; 
and  Samoa  was  not  the  place  in  which  his  treasure-house  could 
be  replenished.  Youth  had  passed  away,  and  the  world  of 
Europe  with  its  entrancing  activities  had  been  left  behind  for 
ever  ;  what  could  the  Southern  Archipelago  offer  by  way  of 
inspiration  in  its  stead  ? 

How  Mr.  Stevenson's  work  will  stand  the  test  ot  comparison 
with  that  of  his  great  predecessors  in  literature,  posterity  must 
determine  for  itself.  But  at  least  there  can  be  no  dispute  as  to 

1  By  far  the  best  summing  up  of  Mr.  Stevenson  will  be  found  in  Mr. 
Henley's  sonnet,  Apparition,  in  A  Book  of  Verses,  2nd  ed.,  1889,  p.  41. 


656    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

his  superiority  to  all  his  contemporaries  and  to  all  his  juniors — 
Scotland  alone  being  brought  into  the  account.  It  is  not  merely 
that  he  is  immeasurably  greater  than  those  who  have  "  played 
the  sedulous  ape  "  to  him  :  the  men  who  conceive  that  to 
escape  from  the  commonplace,  you  must  needs  be  meretricious, 
and  that  to  be  enthusiastic  is  to  be  choice.  He  is  also  greater 
from  a  literary  point  of  view  than  the  ablest  of  his  country- 
men who  have  betaken  themselves  to  literature.  None  of 
these  is  more  remarkable  than  James  Matthew  Barrie  (b. 
1860),  who  served  his  apprenticeship  on  the  newspaper  press, 
and  who  was  the  chief  agent  in  the  resuscitation  of  the  tale  of 
Scottish  life  and  manners.  His  Auld  Licht  Idylls  (1888)  and  A 
Window  in  Thrums  (1889)  portrayed  human  character  as  it 
presents  itself  in  a  Scotch  provincial  town  with  great  fidelity 
and  humour,  and  for  some  mysterious  reason  caught  the  fancy 
of  the  English  public  to  which  the  greater  part  of  the  dialogue 
must  have  been  wholly  unintelligible.  The  Little  Minister 
(1891)  pursued  the  same  theme  ;  but  by  this  time  Mr.  Barrie 
had  accurately  gauged  the  taste  of  his  readers,  and  the  cynical 
disregard  of  true  art — the  studied  "  playing  to  the  gallery  " — 
which  marked  that  romance  and  the  drama  based  upon  it,  has 
been  a  prominent  feature  in  all  Mr.  Barrie's  subsequent  work. 
No  author  of  his  capabilities  condescends  to  write  with  his 
tongue  so  obviously  in  his  cheek  ;  and  he  has  his  reward.  The 
truth  is  that  Mr.  Barrie's  real  strength  lies  in  satire  ;  in  satire 
of  a  unique  and  mordant  flavour,  quite  distinct  from  that  of  the 
professional  satirist,  but  infinitely  more  pungent.  The  Admirable 
Crichton  might  be  appealed  to  in  proof  of  this  assertion  ;  and 
testimony  scarcely  less  convincing  will  be  found  in  the  files  of 
the  St.  James's  Gazette,  the  Edinburgh  Evening  Dispatch, 
and  the  Scots  Observer,  where,  as  his  discriminating  admirers 
are  aware,  much  of  his  most  characteristic  writing  lies 
concealed.  Much,  therefore,  of  his  later  stuff  must  to 
them  appear  unsatisfying  :  the  two  Tommy  books,  for  example, 
which,  in  addition  to  much  that  is  delightful,  contain  much 


THE   CLOSE   OF   THE    VICTORIAN  ERA     657 

that  is  cheap  and  undistinguished.  Nor  can  they  readily 
forgive  Margaret  Ogilvy  (1896),  an  exercise  compared  with 
which  the  labours  of  the  resurrectionist  are  praiseworthy,  and 
which  many  men  (I  believe)  had  rather  lose  their  right  hand 
than  set  themselves  to  attempt.  Pure  satire,  it  is  true,  is  an 
alarming  form  of  art  to  which  the  public  never  takes  kindly  either 
on  or  off  the  stage.  The  mass  of  mankind,  like  Miss  Blanche 
Amory,  must  have  emotions,  and  love  to  revel  in  "  mes  larmes  "  ; 
but  Mr.  Barrie  has  already  satisfied  their  needs  with  excellent 
results  to  himself.  Will  he  not  dedicate  at  least  a  portion  of  his 
time  to  the  cultivation  of  the  rare  faculty  which  he  possesses  in 
so  extraordinary  a  degree  ? 

The  vogue  of  Mr.  Barrie's  weaver-bodies  and  elders  ot  the 
Original  Secession  was  not  long  in  bringing  into  the  field  a 
host  of  rivals  ;  and  the  "  Kailyard  "  School  of  Literature,  as 
it  has  been  termed,  presently  burst  into  existence.  The 
circulating  libraries  became  charged  to  overflowing  with  a  crowd 
of  ministers,  precentors,  and  beadles,  whose  dry  and  "  pithy  " 
wit  had  plainly  been  recruited  at  the  fountain-head  of  Dean 
Ramsay  ;  while  the  land  was  plangent  with  the  sobs  of  grown 
men,  vainly  endeavouring  to  stifle  their  emotion  by  an  elaborate 
affectation  of  "peching"  and  "hoasting."  Two  writers  or 
the  class  referred  to  stand  out  with  especial  prominence,  one  the 
yean  qui  rzV,  the  other- the  Jean  qui  pleure^  of  the  movement. 
Samuel  Rutherford  Crockett  (b.  1860)  abandoned  the  ministry 
of  the  Free  Kirk  for  the  wider  sphere  of  usefulness  which  the 
career  of  letters  affords.  His  first  effort  was  a  collection  of 
short  stories  entitled  The  Stickit  Minister  (1893),  and  this  was 
followed  up  by  The  Raiders  (1894),  a  tale  of  adventure,  the 
scene  of  which  is  laid  in  the  highlands  of  the  South-west  of 
Scotland.  In  the  same  year  came  the  Lilac  Sunbonnet,  and  its 
successors  have  been  legion,  averaging  about  three  a  year,  none, 
however,  disclosing  any  gift  possessed  by  the  author  which  had 
not  been  apparent  in  his  earlier  books,  and  each,  rather,  marking 
a  further  stage  of  declension  in  literary  ability.  In  the  Stickit 

2  T 


658     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

Minister  and  the  Raiders  there  were  unquestionably  evidences 
of  the  faculty  of  the  story-teller,  of  a  certain  rude  power  of 
imagination,  and  of  a  knack  of  presenting  conventional 
character  with  force  and  spirit.  Given  proper  care  and 
efficient  discipline,  these  might  have  become  valuable  servants  ; 
but  they  have  been  overwhelmed  by  less  admirable  qualities, 
until  they  now  appear  to  be  non-existent.  In  point  of  style, 
Mr.  Crockett  had  never  much  to  boast  of,  and  he  early  displayed 
an  unhappy  facility  for  picking  up  the  most  irritating  man- 
nerisms of  Mr.  Kipling.  But  the  crudeness  of  his  writing 
is  a  comparatively  trifling  fault.  What  has  seriously  to  be 
deplored  is  the  perpetual  substitution  of  gross  and  meaningless 
buffoonery  for  humour,  and  the  presence  ot  a  rich  vein  of 
essential  coarseness.  These  defects  are  conspicuous  in  the 
Lilac  Sunbonnet,  a  perfect  triumph  of  succulent  vulgarity  ; 
though  how  nauseous  it  is — how  skilfully  it  makes  its  appeal 
to  some  of  the  worst  traits  in  the  national  character — no  one 
who  is  not  a  Scot  can  really  know. 

The  vulgarity  of  the  works  of  "  Ian  Maclaren  "  (the  Rev. 
John  Watson,  b.  1850)  is  less  robust  and  blatant  than  that  of 
Mr.  Crockett's  ;  but  it  is  none  the  less  offensive  that  it  is  more 
subtle  and  insidious.  It  might,  indeed,  be  plausibly  maintained 
that  even  the  Sunbonnet  is  preferable  to  Beside  the  'Bonny  Brier 
Bush  (1894),  and  The  Days  of  Auld  Lang  Syne  (1895),  for  it 
gives  indications  of  vigour  to  which  the  compositions  of  Ian 
Maclaren  make  no  pretence.  Without  professing  to  decide  so 
nice  a  question  of  taste,  we  may  allow  that  there  is  a  perfectly 
distinct  flavour  in  the  work  of  the  two  authors.  In  Mr. 
Crockett  we  have  the  boisterous  horseplay  of  the  bothie  ;  in 
Mr.  Maclaren  we  have  the  slobbering  sentiment  of  the  Sabbath 
school,  with  a  dash  of  "  gentility."  In  that  quality,  however, 
he  must  yield  precedence  to  the  more  numerous  but  less 
ambitious  productions  of  "Annie  Swan"  (Mrs.  Burnett  Smith), 
which  are  nothing  if  not  genteel,  and  which  constitute  an 
inexhaustible  magazine  of  solecisms,  well  worth  a  cursory  visit 


THE   CLOSE   OF   THE    VICTORIAN  ERA     659 

of  inspection.  Of  other  "Kailyard"  writers,  it  is  unnecessary  to 
mention  any  save  "  Gabriel  Setoun  "  (Thomas  Nicoll  Hepburn, 
b.  1861),  who,  if  he  has  not  achieved  success  on  such  a  colossal 
scale  as  the  writers  just  mentioned,  has  done  something  to 
deserve  it.  His  Barncraig  (1893),  his  Sunshine  and  Haar  (1895), 
and  his  Robert  Urquhart  (1896),  are  neither  much  better  nor 
much  worse  than  the  average  of  contemporary  books  which 
profess  to  portray  provincial  life  in  Scotland.  There  is  the  due 
allowance  of  elders,  and  whisky,  and  pathos,  and  "wut";  but 
perhaps  a  few  hints  of  human  nature  which  are  allowed  to 
escape  through  a  conventional  exterior  militated  against  their 
achieving  a  conspicuous  triumph. 

What  the  Scottish  public  really  thought  ot  the  Kailyard 
writers  is  naturally  a  little  difficult  to  decide.  Of  genuine  and 
whole-hearted  admirers  there  may  have  been  a  select  circle.  I 
should  conjecture  that  amusement  at  the  "facility"  of  the 
English  and  American  public,  was  at  least  as  widely  spread  as 
admiration.  If  the  English  and  American  public  chose  to 
pay  for  what  they  took  to  be  accurate  presentations  of  the 
Caledonian  on  his  native  heath,  why,  it  was  no  business  of  any 
"  brither  Scot "  of  the  author's  to  dispel  the  illusion.  A  few, 
no  doubt,  there  were  who  resented  this  holding  up  of  their 
fellow-countrymen  to  the  ridicule  and  contempt  of  all  sane 
and  judicious  human  beings.  And  it  is  natural  to  suppose  that 
some  such  feeling  inspired  the  author  of  The  House  with  the 
Green  Shutters^  a  work  whose  appearance  in  the  autumn  of 
1901  electrified  the  novel-reading  world.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
it  appears  to  be  very  doubtful  whether  that  remarkable  per- 
formance can  be  traced  to  any  reaction,  whether  conscious  or 
unconscious,  against  the  Crocketts  and  Maclarens.  George 
Douglas  Brown  z  was  born  at  Ochiltree,  in  Ayrshire,  in  1869. 
Having  proceeded  to  Balliol  as  an  exhibitioner  on  Mr.  Snell's 

1  See  an  article  by  Mr.  A.  Melrose  in  the  Bookman  for  October,  1902, 
and  one  by  Mr.  Whibley,  in  M'Clurc's  Magazine  for  November,  1902  ;  the 
latter,  I  am  assured,  a  far  more  trustworthy  account  of  the  man, 


66o    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

foundation,  he  turned  journalist  when  his  Oxford  career 
was  over  ;  and  his  work  in  that  capacity,  though  thorough 
and  painstaking,  was  hardly  ever  brilliant.  A  critique  of  Burns, 
written  for  Maga  J  on  the  occasion  of  that  poet's  centenary, 
was  perhaps  his  most  noteworthy  achievement  during  the  years 
of  his  apprenticeship.  But  excellent  critic  as  he  was — and  the 
fragments  of  his  commentary  on  Hamlet,  if  published  to  the 
world,  may  leave  his  eminence  in  that  department  beyond  all 
cavil — his  heart  was  in  constructive,  rather  than  analytical  or 
expository,  literature.  He  took  an  intense  interest  in  the  way 
to  do  everything  ;  and  the  methods  of  fiction  were  for  him  a 
subject  of  prolonged  and  serious  study.  Thus,  much  of  the 
book  for  which  he  will  be  remembered  had  been  written 
before  it  took  shape  as  a  whole  ;  and  it  might  almost  be 
described  as  the  work  of  his  lifetime. 

Mr.  Brown  was  keenly  sensitive  to  impressions  of  every 
description.  That  he  could  reproduce  them  with  startling 
vividness  any  reader  of  the  Green  Shutters  will  admit.  There 
is  no  hint  here  of  the  conventional  and  the  trite  :  here,  rather, 
is  a  series  of  chases  vues.  And,  indeed,  we  miss  something  ot 
the  point  of  the  book  if  we  forget  that  it  is  to  a  large  extent 
autobiographical.  Whether  the  picture  of  Barbie  which  he 
puts  before  us  is  an  accurate  representation  of  Scottish  or 
Ayrshire  life  is  immaterial  :  the  main  thing  is  that  the  author 
had  eyes  to  see,  and  ears  to  hear,  and  that  what  he  submits  to 
his  reader  is  neither  more  nor  less  than  Barbie  as  he  himself 
saw  and  heard  it.  The  story  is  not  cheerful  ;  it  is  in  parts 
grim  and  shocking.  But  it  is  never  sympathetically  petty  or 
squalid,  though  one  of  its  defects  is  an  occasional  obtrusion  of 
undue  animus.  The  writer  is  too  prone  to  make  capital  out  of 
the  physical  peculiarities,  or  even  blemishes,  of  his  characters  ; 
and  the  sketch  of  the  parish  minister,  for  example,  in  spite  of 
its  cleverness,  is  defaced  by  too  obvious  an  infusion  of  vindic- 
tiveness.  Yet  the  picture  of  the  two  Gourlays — father  and 
1  August,  1896  ;  vol.  clx,  p.  184. 


THE   CLOSE   OF   THE    VICTORIAN  ERA     66 1 

son — who  are,  in  truth,  the  really  important  personages  of  the 
book,  is  superb,  and  (we  may  be  certain)  absolutely  true  to 
life.  Of  the  two,  perhaps  the  son  is  the  better.  Never  has  a 
certain  side  of  college  life  in  Scotland  been  portrayed  with  a 
more  vigorous  and  faithful  hand  than  Mr.  Brown's.  It  is 
melancholy  to  think  that  that  hand  lies  still  in  death.  Mr. 
Brown  died  in  1902,  and  we  shall  never  know  the  full  extent 
of  his  powers  and  resources.  He  was  no  mere  impressionist 
with  a  gift  of  glib  and  picturesque  language  ;  and  the  pains  he 
bestowed  upon  the  Green  Shutters  entitle  us  to  assume  that 
success  would  not  have  meant  for  him  the  extinction  of  his 
genius.  He  was  essentially  a  thoughtful  man,  and  reading 
had  made  him,  in  Bacon's  expression,  a  "  full "  one.  He 
has  left  no  immediate  successor  ;  but  his  intimate  friend  Mr. 
David  Storrar  Meldrum  *  (b.  1865),  though  he  deals  with 
a  less  gloomy  and  passionate  side  of  life,  gives  promise  of 
stepping  into  the  front  rank  of  those  who  endeavour  to  depict 
what  they  have  seen  in  the  lives  of  their  countrymen,  and  not 
merely  to  repeat  what  a  hundred  others  have  taken  at  second 
hand  from  a  hundred  predecessors.  The  Conquest  of  Charlotte 
(1902)  is  sufficiently  provoking  in  many  ways.  It  is  not  by 
any  means  a  "  plain  tale  "  from  Kirkcaldy,  and  sometimes  the 
style  is  pIus-quam-M.eredithizn  in  its  allusiveness  and  obscurity. 
But  it  has  temperament  and  atmosphere  ;  and  in  the  character 
of  Rab  Cook  the  author,  despite  himself,  as  it  sometimes  appears, 
has  achieved  a  triumph.  He  may  find  a  solemn  warning 
against  his  besetting  sins  in  the  literary  career  of  "  Benjamin 
Swift  "  (William  Romaine  Paterson,  b.  1871),  who  has  success- 
fully contrived  to  stifle  considerable  natural  abilities  in  the 
frantic  effort  to  be  "  clever  "  at  all  costs. 

Contemporaneously  with  the  flourishing  of  the  "  Kailyard  " 
school,  we  were  treated  to  a  Celtic  revival  or  "renaissance." 
Its  herald  was  Mr.  William  Sharp  (b.  1856),  a  critic  of  some 

1  It  is  to  Mr.  Meldrum  that  I  am  indebted  for  the  information  upon 
which  much  of  the  above  criticism  is  founded. 


662     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

industry,  who  compiled  an  anthology  under  the  name  of  Lyra 
Celtica  in  1896.  Its  chief  apostle  was  a  mysterious  being, 
known  as  "Fiona  Macleod,"  whose  Pharais  (1894),  Mountain 
Lovers  (1895),  Sin  Eater  (1895),  and  Washer  of  the  Ford 
(1896),  contain  the  more  important  part  of  her  work.  These 
volumes  are  destitute  neither  of  charm  nor  merit  ;  but,  if  they 
represent  the  Celt  of  the  Western  Islands  as  endowed  with 
the  imagination  and  the  feelings  of  a  poet,  they  also  portray 
him  as  a  maudlin  and  inefficient  nincompoop.  Also,  they  are 
too  liberal  of  "word-painting,"  and  many  of  the  descriptions  of 
natural  scenery  are  quite  kaleidoscopic  in  their  colouring.  To 
find  the  Celt  in  a  more  human  guise  we  must  repair  to  the  works 
of  Mr.  Neil  Munro  (b.  1864),  an  author  of  too  high  promise 
and  too  sound  performance  to  be  identified  with  any  little 
clique  or  coterie  of  writers.  John  Splendid  (1898),  is  a  good 
romance  of  the  Stevensonian  pattern,  with  abundant  re- 
miniscences of  Alan  Breck  ;  Doom  Castle  (1901)  is  a  stronger 
work,  memorable  for  its  sketch  of  the  Marquis  of  Argyll, 
though  disfigured  by  preciosity  of  language  ;  and  The  Shoes  of 
Fortune  (1901),  in  which  we  make  the  acquaintance  of 
Clementina  Walkinshaw,  is  thin  and  unsatisfying.  So  far  he 
has  done  nothing  so  good  as  his  first  book,  The  Lost  Pibroch 
(1896),  which  consists  of  short  pieces  of  really  uncommon 
excellence.  Here  we  have  the  very  breath  and  atmosphere  of 
the  Highlands,  and  the  Celt  is  presented  to  us  as  a  man  and  a 
brother,  and  not  as  a  moonstruck  imbecile.  What  Mr. 
Munro  is  to  make  of  the  Western  Islands  his  Children  of 
Tempest  will  soon  show.  Meanwhile,  he  has  many  good  years 
before  him  ;  and  it  is  hard  to  believe  that  he  will  not  be  able 
to  discover  some  means  of  bestowing  his  riches  upon  the 
world  without  having  recourse  to  the  somewhat  faded  con- 
vention of  the  novel  with  the  doltish  hero,  and  the  heroine 
who  begins  with  not  a  little  aversion. 

In  the  more  ordinary   routine  of  the  novel,   few  names  of 
distinction  are  to  be  met  with.     But  it  would  be  ungrateful 


THE   CLOSE   OF   THE    VICTORIAN  ERA     663 

not  to  mention  Mrs.  Walford  (b.  1845),  the  daughter  of  Mr. 
John  Colquhoun,  who  wrote  The  Moor  and  the  Loch.  Her 
first  novel,  Mr.  Smith  :  A  Part  of  his  Life  (1874),  showed  a 
good  deal  more  than  mere  promise,  and  combined  a  humour 
scarcely  less  exhilarating  than  Miss  Rhoda  Broughton's  with  a 
delicacy  of  handling  not  then  generally  associated  with  that 
popular  writer.  Since  her  earliest  success,  Mrs.  Walford  has 
written  a  long  series  of  works,  of  different  degrees  of  merit, 
but  none  of  them  wholly  bad,  even  when  a  didactic  purpose  is 
too  callously  obtruded,  and  some  of  them  displaying  in  a  high 
degree  those  powers  of  minute  observation  which  so  qualify 
her  sex  for  excelling  in  the  novel  of  manners.  Among  her 
best  books  maybe  reckoned  Pauline  (1877),  Cousins  (1879), 
Troublesome  Daughters  (1880),  The  Baby's  Grandmother  (1885), 
and  A  Stiff-necked  Generation  (1888).  The  sketch  in  the 
Baby's  Grandmother  of  what  is  sometimes  called  a  "  bounder  " 
(it  is  a  good-hearted  one  in  this  case)  is  an  admirable  specimen 
of  firm  and  delicate  workmanship.  Mr.  John  Buchan  (b.  1875) 
took  to  literature  early,  and  a  goodly  number  of  volumes 
already  bear  his  name.  Sir  Quixote  of  the  Moors  (1895)  and 
The  Half-hearted  (1900)  are  two  among  his  performances  ;  but 
his  talent  finds  most  congenial  occupation  in  such  tales  of  the 
archaeological-supernatural  order  as  are  collected  in  his  Watcher 
by  the  Threshold  (1902).  Miss  Jane  Helen  Findlater  and  Miss 
Stewart  embarked  on  their  literary  career  together  in  The 
Hon.  Stanbury  (1894).  The  former  has  achieved  her  principal 
success  in  The  Green  Graves  of  Balgowrie  (1896)  ;  the  latter, 
after  boldly  taking  for  her  theme  in  The  Rhymer  (1900)  the 
Edinburgh  life  of  Burns,  has  more  than  justified  the  promise 
of  that  work  by  her  romance  of  the  '45,  Poor  Sons  of  a  Day 
(1902). 

Of  poetry  of  the  first  order  the  closing  decades  of  the 
nineteenth  century  in  the  British  Isles  were  not  prolific  ;  or, 
rather,  it  should  be  said  that  most  of  it  that  came  to  light  was 
the  work  of  "  old  hands  " — of  hands  that  had  made  their  mark 


664    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

in  a  previous  generation.  Scotland,  at  all  events,  can  put  in 
no  claim  to  be  pars  magna  of  any  poetical  movement.  She 
had  enough  of  minor  poets  and  to  spare  ;  and  the  pious 
industry  of  Mr.  Edwards  has  garnered  the  lays  of  the  most 
obscure  bards  from  the  poets'  corners  of  the  most  obscure 
provincial  newspapers.1  It  is  unnecessary  to  condescend  upon 
the  names  and  achievements  of  these  minstrels  ;  but  generally 
it  may  be  said  that  as  compared  with  the  songsters  of  the  first 
Reform  Bill  period,  they  are  less  prone  to  expatiate  upon  the 
pleasures  of  intoxication,  while  equally  willing  to  maunder 
over  "  Wee  Johnnie  "  or  "  Wee  Davie,"  as  the  case  may  be. 
In  a  higher  flight  of  poetry  a  few  lines  of  Mr.  Stevenson's 
reach  well-nigh  the  summit  of  excellence,  while  the  verses 
addressed  by  John  Nichol  (infra,  p.  676)  to  his  wife,2  place 
their  author  upon  a  much  higher  pedestal  as  a  poet  than  any 
of  his  more  formal  and  elaborate  efforts.  But  the  rest  is 
sadly  common-place.  The  present  Duke  of  Argyll  (b.  1845), 
was  rash  enough  to  essay  a  new  metrical  version  of  the  Psalms 
(1877),  no  less  meritorious  than  his  tale,  in  rhymed  heroics,  of 
Guido  and  Lita  (1875),  or  his  libretto  for  the  opera  of  Diarmid 
(1897).  The  Earl  of  Southesk  (b.  1827)  has  also  disclosed  a 
turn  for  poetry,  and  his  Jonas  Fisher  (1875),  written  in  num- 
bered stanzas  of  four  lines,  with  alternate  rhymes,  was  thought 
so  "  daring "  on  its  first  appearance  as  to  be  attributed  to 
Robert  Buchanan.  Mr.  John  Davidson  (b.  1857),  a  native  of 
Barrhead,  has,  since  he  became  a  London  journalist,  published 
certain  volumes  of  poetry,3  which  have  caused  him  to  be 
greeted  with  rapture  as  positively  the  poet  of  the  future.  They 
show  little  trace  of  their  author's  extraction,  and  indeed  fall  in 
well  with  the  prevailing  fashion  of  verse  in  the  metropolis.  But 
they  are  much  preferable  to  such  woful  attempts  to  reproduce 

1  See  Modern  Scottish  Poets,  ed.  Edwards,  16  vols.,  Brechin,  1880-97,  a 
monument  of  wasted  toil. 

2  They  will  be  found  in  Knight's  Memoir  of  John  Nichol,  p.  172. 

3  Ballads  and  Songs,  1894  ;    Fleet-street  Eclogues,  1893  and  1896  ;  New 
Ballads,  1897  ;  The  Last  Ballad,  and  other  poems,  1899. 


THE   CLOSE   OF   THE    VICTORIAN  ERA     665 

the  Stevensonian  prose  fantasy  as  Perfervid  (1890),  ostensibly 
Caledonian  in  scene  and  character,  or  that  astoundingy^*  pas, 
Earl  Lavender  (1895).  Probably  his  most  successful  essay  has 
been  the  Scaramouch  in  Naxos  (1888),  which  belongs  to  hispre- 
London  period.  Two  translations  from  the  classics  deserve  to 
be  noted — the  version  (1886)  of  the  Odes  of  Horace  by  Mr. 
T.  R.  Clark,  and  that  of  the  Idylls  of  Theocritus  (1894)  by 
Mr.  J.  H.  Hallard. 

Few  have  sought  to  write  verse  in  the  vernacular  with 
dignity  or  success.  Even  Mr.  Stevenson,  as  has  been  indi- 
cated, fell  short  there.  None,  in  the  opinion  of  the  present 
writer,  can  compare  in  this  department  with  Mr.  James  Logic 
Robertson  (b.  1846).  In  his  Orel/ana  and  other  Poems  (1881), 
Mr.  Robertson,  it  is  conceived,  made  a  false  start.  He 
attempted  satire  ;  but  the  satire  misses  fire.  He  had  done 
better  in  an  earlier  volume  of  Poems  (1878),  wherein  the  octo- 
syllabics of  Tammas  Wilson  have  the  root  of  the  matter  in 
them,  and  he  has  come  to  his  own  in  the  Ochil  Idylls  (1891), 
and  Horace  in  Homespun  (1900),  which  embodies  what  was 
best  in  a  previously  published  work.  In  these  lyrics  Mr. 
Robertson  strikes  the  true  note  :  his  dialect  is  idiomatic ;  his 
humour  is  unostentatious  yet  not  superficial,  and  he  is  never 
merely  jocose,  or  woebegone,  or  noisy.  His  only  serious  rival 
in  Scots  verse  is  Mr.  James  B.  Brown,  who  writes  under  the 
name  of  "  J.  B.  Selkirk,"  and  whose  Poems  (1869,  1883,  and 
1896)  make  highly  agreeable  reading. 

In  philosophy  and  theology  the  years  we  are  now  dealing 
with  have  been  tolerably  productive,  and  the  establishment  by 
the  late  Lord  Gifford  of  the  Lectureship  known  by  his  name 
has  provided  a  common  meeting-ground  for  the  two  subjects. 
Those  indeed  who  are  disposed  to  deride  "  natural  religion  " 
may  extract  some  amusement  from  that  liberal  foundation,  for 
it  has  happened  at  least  once  that  in  the  four  University  towns 
of  Scotland  four  different  lecturers  were  simultaneously  enun- 
ciating principles  which  no  human  ingenuity  can  prevent  from 


666    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

being  mutually  destructive.  A  considerable  proportion  of  the 
theologico-philosophical  output  of  the  time  might  be  summed 
up  by  a  cynic  as  a  bold  attempt  to  pour  new  wine  into  old 
bottles  ;  in  other  words,  to  remove  the  substratum  of  fact  upon 
which  Christianity  has  hitherto  been  thought  to  rest,  and  yet 
to  retain  the  ethical  superstructure  with  the  familiar  asso- 
ciations, the  familiar  turns  of  thought,  and  the  familiar 
vocabulary.  This  is  particularly  true  of  those  philosophers 
who  have  espoused  that  "  neo-Hegelianism  "  which  is  chiefly 
associated  with  the  name  of  Mr.  T  H.  Green.  Of  these, 
one  of  the  most  forcible,  as  well  as  the  most  typical,  is  un- 
doubtedly Mr.  Edward  Caird  (b.  1835),  formerly  Professor  of 
Moral  Philosophy  in  Glasgow  University,  and  now  Master  of 
Balliol.  His  more  important  works — to  wit  his  two  exposi- 
tions of  the  Thilosophy  of  Kant  (1878  and  1889)  and  his 
Evolution  of  Religion  (1893) — ac^  to  nar<^  thinking  a  lucid  and 
attractive  style  of  exposition.  But  nowhere  is  his  method 
more  happily  illustrated  than  in  a  much  smaller  book  on  the 
Religion  and  Social  Philosophy  of  Comte  (1885),  a  singularly 
thorough  and  searching  piece  of  criticism  considering  its  size. 
To  the  same  school  of  thought  belonged  William  Wallace 
(i  837-97),*  Whyte's  Professor  of  Moral  Philosophy  at  Oxford, 
about  whose  rugged  personality  there  hung  a  singular  charm  ; 
and  David  George  Ritchie  (i853~i9O3),2  Professor  of  Moral 
Philosophy  at  St.  Andrews,  who  perhaps  might  have  achieved 
something  more  solid  than  several  volumes  of  essays,  if  he  had 
read  less,  and  concentrated  his  energies  more  on  some  par- 
ticular branch  of  political  philosophy,  the  subject  that 
attracted  him  most. 

The  chair  of  Hamilton  and   Fraser  is  at  present  worthily 
occupied    in    Edinburgh    by    Andrew    Seth    Pringle    Pattison 

1  See  his  Prolegomena  to  his  translation  of  the  Logic  of  Hegel  (1892-94)  ; 
the  posthumous  Lectures  and  Essays  on  Natural  Theology  (1899)  ;  and  the 
little  S.P.C.K.  work  on  Epicurus  (1882). 

2  See  his  Principles  of  State-Interference  (1891),  Natural  Rights  (1895), 
and  Studies  in  Political  and  Social  Ethics  (1902). 


THE   CLOSE   OF   THE    VICTORIAN  ERA     667 

(b.  1856),  who  won  his  spurs  by  an  exposition  of  the 
philosophical  views  of  Thomas  Reid.1  His  speculative  atti- 
tude may  be  inferred  from  a  collection  of  papers  entitled 
Mans  Place  in  the  Cosmos  (1897),  and  may  be  fairly  de- 
scribed as  strongly  hostile  to  the  materialistic  views  of 
which  Mr.  Herbert  Spencer  is  the  great  apostle.  It  is  indeed 
a  somewhat  curious  fact  that  the  "  Synthetic  Philosophy,"  as 
it  is  pretentiously  termed,  has  found  practically  no  support  in 
the  Scottish  Universities,  except  from  Alexander  Bain,  and  he 
belongs  to  a  byegone  generation.2  A  distinguished  Aber- 
donian,  and  pupil  of  Bain's,  George  Groom  Robertson 
(i842-92),3  did  indeed  profess  a  system  of  hedonism,  but 
the  sphere  of  his  work  was  the  University  of  London,  and  the 
chair  he  filled  had  been  founded  by  George  Grote.  He  was 
the  first  editor  of  Mind^  a  quarterly  periodical  founded  in  1876, 
which  opened  its  pages  to  all  schools  of  thought,  and  was  also 
the  author  of  a  masterly  summary  of  the  life  and  work  of 
Hobbes  (1886)  in  the  "Philosophical  Classics"  series. 

Mr.  Pattison's  colleague,  Simon  Laurie  (b.  1829),  Professor 
of  Education  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  is  no  less 
hostile  to  Empiricism,  though  it  would  probably  be  difficult 
to  "  label "  him  as  a  member  of  any  one  school.  His 
Metaphysica  Nova  et  Vetusta  (1884)  and  his  Ethica  (1885),  are 
not,  it  may  be,  attractive  reading  to  the  general,  but 
they  have  established  their  author's  claim  to  consideration  in 
the  world  of  philosophical  inquiry.  An  equal  enthusiast  with 
Mr.  Laurie  in  the  cause  of  education,  Thomas  Davidson 
(1840-1900),  led  the  life  of  a  wandering  scholar,  abandoning 
his  native  Buchan  for  the  United  States  of  America.  His 
erudition  is  said  to  have  been  prodigious,  and  his  contributions 
to  periodical  literature  were  frequent ;  but  a  perusal  of  his  little 

1  See  his  Scottish  Philosophy,  1885,  3rd  ed.,  1899. 

2  In  the  press  it  has  found  a  persistent  advocate  in  Mr.  Hector  Mac- 
pherson,  of  the  Edinburgh  Evening  News,  whose  Herbert  Spencer  (1900), 
gives  a  clear  and  well-balanced  view  of  that  gentleman's  system. 

3  See  his  Philosophical  Remains,  ed.  Bain  and  Whittaker,  1894. 


668    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

work  on  Aristotle  (1892)  suggests  a  doubt  whether  he  was  not 
apt  to  lose  sight  of  such  of  the  phenomena  presented  by  the 
subject  of  his  investigation  as  did  not  happen  to  suit  the  thesis 
which  for  the  time  being  he  was  ardently  supporting.1 
Philosophy  can  also  boast  of  two  brilliant  amateurs  in  the 
persons  of  Mr.  Arthur  James  Balfour  (b.  1848)  and  Mr. 
Richard  Burdon  Haldane  (b.  1856). 

A  share  of  the  patois  or  the  Neo-Hegelians  has  been 
appropriated  by  a  school  of  writers,  chiefly  belonging  to  the 
Free  Church,  who  combine  a  maximum  of  unction  with  a 
minimum  of  what,  in  the  age  of  Chalmers  and  Candlish, 
would  have  been  accounted  essential  belief.  They  have  much 
to  tell  us  of  "  fresh  religious  intuitions,"  of  "  a  passion  for 
righteousness,"  and  of  the  "  civic  sense "  ;  and,  roundly  in- 
veighing against  dogma,  though  subscribers  of  the  formula  of 
their  denomination,  they  endeavour  so  to  restate  ancient  truths 
that  they  may  commend  themselves  to  that  singular  organ 
"  the  modern  conscience."  Long,  indeed,  is  the  road 
they  have  traversed  since  the  days  of  the  middle-Victorian 
Broad  Church  movement  ;  and  eager  is  the  appetite  with 
which  they  gulp  down  the  arbitrary  speculations  of  Teutonic 
or  Batavian  criticism.  The  most  sceptical  member  of 
the  band  was  Alexander  Balmain  Bruce  (1831-99),  2 
whose  teaching  is  not  readily  distinguishable  rrom  Socinianism. 
In  his  scheme  of  Christianity,  the  Incarnation  (as  tradi- 
tionally understood),  the  Resurrection,  and  the  Ascension, 
appear  to  have  little  or  no  place  ;  and  even  when 
simple  matters  are  in  question,  his  guidance  is  not  easy  to 
follow.  The  old  divines  were  frequently  wrong-headed  and 
fantastical ;  but  it  may  be  doubted  if  they  ever  surpassed  in 
subtlety  and  confusion  of  counsel  Dr.  Bruce's  exposition  of  the 

1  For  an  account  of  Davidson,  see  Knight,  Some  Nineteenth  Century 
Scotsmen,  1902.     His  most  important  work  was  The  Philosophical  System 
ofRosmini,  1882. 

2  See  his  Parabolic  Teaching  of  Christ  (1882),  his  Kingdom  of  God  (1889), 
and  his  contributions  to  the  Encyclopedia  Biblica. 


THE   CLOSE   OF   THE    VICTORIAN  ERA     669 

parable  of  the  Unjust  Steward.  Dr.  George  Adam  Smith 
(b.  1856)  has  earned  a  considerable  reputation  by  his  commen- 
taries on  the  Book  of  Isaiah  (1889-90)  and  the  'Book  of  the  Twelve 
Prophets  (1896—98)  as  well  as  by  his  Historical  Geography 
of  the  Holy  Land  (1894).  His  proficiency  in  the  Hebrew 
tongue  may  be  indisputable,  but  it  is  no  less  beyond  con- 
troversy that  his  English  is  of  a  flamboyant  and  Corinthian 
order,  more  suitable  to  the  pulpit  than  to  the  study.  He  appears 
to  think  that  in  decanting  the  new  wine  of  the  "  higher 
criticism,"  the  great  thing  is  to  give  it  "  a  head."  A  much 
superior  writer,  in  so  far  as  writing  goes,  is  Dr.  Marcus  Dods 
(b.  1834),*  who  presents  his  message  in  language  the  equable 
and  often  dignified  current  of  which  is  rarely  if  ever  interrupted 
by  any  of  those  lapses  into  the  familiar  or  the  trivial  which 
the  "  religious  public  "  appears  to  love.  The  most  erudite,  as 
well  as  the  most  powerful  intellectually,  of  this  group  was  Dr. 
Andrew  Bruce  Davidson  (1831—1902),  than  whom  few  in  these 
islands  stood  higher  as  a  Hebrew  scholar  and  commentator. 
But  from  any  one  of  these  it  was  a  melancholy  descent  to 
Henry  Drummond  (1851-97),  whose  notorious  Natural  Law 
in  the  Spiritual  World  (1883)  is  a  masterpiece  of  intellectual 
quackery.  Designed  to  reconcile  evolution  with  Christianity, 
it  forms  a  nauseous  compound  of  which  one-half  is  extremely 
dubious  science  and  the  other  extremely  dubious  religion. 

On  the  conservative,  or  old-fashioned,  side  in  theology  there 
has  been  nothing  like  a  concerted  attempt  to  counteract  the 
influence  of  the  innovators.  The  "moderate,"  as  opposed 
to  the  innovating,  party  has  been  disorganised.  It  is  felt 
that  something  must  be  yielded ;  but  no  man  knows  the 
precise  amount  which  it  will  be  safe  to  yield.  That  is  not 
a  frame  of  mind  which  conduces  to  the  production  of  really 
valuable  work.  Yet  in  the  field  of  Biblical  criticism  James 
Robertson  (b.  1840),  Professor  of  Hebrew  in  the  University 

1  See  his  Gospel  according  to  St.  John,  1897  ;  and  his  Erasmus,  and  other 
Essays,  1891, 


6;o    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

of  Glasgow,  has  combined  learning  with  something  of  that 
cautious  temperament — that  indisposition  to  accept  unverified 
conjectures — which  should  form  an  essential  part  of  every 
critic's  mental  equipment  ;x  while,  in  the  region  of  doctrine, 
William  Milligan  (1821-93),  Professor  of  Biblical  Criticism 
in  the  University  of  Aberdeen  from  1860  onwards,  has  ex- 
pounded the  facts  of  the  Resurrection  (1882)  and  the 
Ascension  (1891),  together  with  the  consequences  which 
flow  from  them,  with  great  sincerity  and  literary  power, 
and  in  complete  harmony  with  the  orthodox  tradition  of 
Christendom.  It  is,  indeed,  a  singular  circumstance  that, 
while  the  latitudinarian  movement  of  the  middle  of  the 
nineteenth  century  was  almost  wholly  confined  to  the 
Establishment  among  the  Presbyterian  bodies  in  Scotland, 
more  recent  efforts  to  revolutionise  historical  and  traditional 
Christianity  for  the  benefit  of  the  "  modern  conscience " 
have  proceeded  chiefly  from  within  the  Free  Church,  which, 
not  much  more  than  twenty  years  ago,  as  we  have  seen, 
removed  Dr.  Robertson  Smith  from  the  office  of  a  teacher 
in  one  of  its  colleges  by  reason  of  his  "  unsoundness  "  in 
matters  of  Biblical  criticism.  To  the  Establishment  also 
belongs  the  greatest  Scottish  theologian  of  his  generation. 
Robert  Flint  (b.  1838),  after  occupying  the  chair  of  Moral 
Philosophy  in  St.  Andrews  from  1864  to  1876,  was  removed 
in  the  latter  year  to  the  chair  of  Divinity  in  Edinburgh,  which 
he  still  holds.  His  Philosophy  of  History^  the  first  part  of  which 
appeared  in  1874,*  was  a  colossal  undertaking,  which,  if  what 
remains  to  be  carried  out  is  anything  like  what  has  been  already 
executed,  will  indeed  have  been  worthily  performed.  Pro- 
found learning,  extensive  reading,  absolute  fairness,  and  an 
unerring  grasp  of  the  drift  and  meaning  of  the  thinkers  whom 
he  passes  in  review,  are  characteristics  of  Dr.  Flint's  work  ; 

1  See,  inter  alia,  his  work  on  The  Poetry  and  the  Religion  of  the  Psalms 
(1898). 

2  Vol.  i.  of  a  new  edition  was  published  in  1893. 


THE   CLOSE   OF   THE    VICTORIAN  ERA     671 

and  his  masculine  style,  studiously  purged  of  extravagance  of 
every  sort,  is  rendered  attractive  by  its  very  austerity.  The 
same  excellences  of  form  and  matter  mark  the  results  of  those 
studies,  the  necessary  prosecution  of  which  has  retarded  the 
completion  of  the  Philosophy.  His  Theism  (1877),  his  Antl- 
theistic  Theories  (1879),  and  now  his  Agnosticism  (1903),  are 
models  of  what  such  treatises  should  be  ;  and  no  one  has 
shown  a  better  example  than  he  has  in  his  method  of  con- 
troversy. It  would  be  improper  not  to  note  that  all  his  dis- 
tinguishing merits  are  concentrated  in  his  Pico1  (1884),  the 
most  lucid  and  interesting  account  to  be  found  in  our  language 
of  an  author  whose  works  are  somewhat  out  of  the  beat  of  the 
ordinary  English  student. 

In  history  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  has  been  busy,  and 
the  Scottish  History  Society,  rounded  in  1886,  has  done  for 
historical  research  a  work  analogous  to  that  which  the  Scottish 
Text  Society  has,  since  1882,  been  rendering  to  literature.2 
There  has  at  last  been  something  like  a  thorough  sifting  or 
original  documents  ;  and,  while  conscious  or  unconscious  bias 
has  not  wholly  disappeared,  men  of  every  variety  of  view  have 
conspired  to  elucidate  obscure  and  controverted  facts.  Dr. 
Thomas  Leishman  (b.  1825)  and  Dr.  George  Washington 
Sprott  (b.  1829)  have  done  admirable  service  in  throwing 
light  upon  the  ecclesiastical  history  of  the  country; 3  and  the 
same  department  of  inquiry  has  occupied  the  attention  of  Mr. 
David  Hay  Fleming  (b.  1849),  who  takes  a  very  different 
point  of  view,  and  to  whom  the  least  suggestion  of  prelacy — 
or,  rather  the  least  hint  that  Presbytery  in  the  form  which 

1  In  the  "  Philosophical  Classics  "  series. 

2  Upon  these  two  societies  has  devolved  the  work  so  well  performed  in 
the  middle  of  the  century  by  more  or  less  private  clubs,  such  as  the 
Bannatyne,  the   Maitland,  and  the  Abbotsford,  all  now  extinct. 

3  See  Dr.  Sprott's  Worship  and  Offices  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  (1882) ; 
his  ed.  of  Knox's  Liturgy  (1868,  1901) ;  his  Scottish  Liturgies  of  the  Reign 
of  James   VI.  (1871,   1901) ;  and  Dr.  Irishman's  ed.  of  the  Westminster 
Directory  (1901). 


672     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

pleased  the  Protesters  or  the  Cameronians  did  not  descend  with 
an  express  commission  from  heaven — is  highly  distasteful.  Mr. 
Fleming  has  taken  a  hand  in  the  Queen  Mary  controversy,1 
and  has  found  a  peculiarly  congenial  subject  for  his  editorial 
industry  in  the  St.  Andrews  Kirk  Session  Register.2  The  vigorous 
exercise  of  the  inquisitorial  powers  vested  in  that  body  evokes 
his  genuine  enthusiasm  ;  and  in  these  matters  he  may  be  said  to 
be  a  disciple  of  Dr.  Alexander  Ferrier  Mitchell  (1822-99), 
Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  History  in  St.  Mary's  College,  St. 
Andrews,  whose  Westminster  Assembly  (1883)  and  Scottish 
Reformation  (1900)  are  painstaking  and  laborious  perform- 
ances, but  are  not  precisely  remarkable  for  breadth  of  view. 

Sir  Henry  Craik  (b.  1846),  the  author  of  the  best  recent 
Life  of  Swift  (1882),  and  the  editor  of  a  work  on  English  Prose 
(1893-96)  on  the  model  of  Ward's  English  Poets^  has  lately 
made  a  valuable  contribution  to  historical  literature  in  his 
Century  of  Scottish  History  (1901).  The  period  with  which  he 
deals  extends  from  the  '45  to  the  Disruption,  and  nowhere 
else  is  it  possible  to  get  so  good  a  view  of  the  development  of 
the  country  during  that  momentous  time.  His  treatment  of 
the  Moderates  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  their  friends 
the  philosophers,  is  particularly  sympathetic  and  skilful  ;  and 
yet  he  does  ample  justice  to  the  genius  of  Dr.  Chalmers. 
Mr.  Peter  Hume  Brown's  (b.  1850)  conception  of  history 
is  severe,  as  befits  the  first  professor  of  Ancient  Scottish 
History  and  Palaeography  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh. 3 
In  writing  the  biographies  of  George  Buchanan  (1890)  and 
John  Knox  (1895),  he  has  acquired  a  share  of  their  stern- 
ness; and  his  History  of  Scotland  (1899-1902),  which  has 
still  to  be  completed  by  the  appearance  of  a  third  volume, 
is  written  wholly  in  the  spirit  of  the  "scientific"  historian  : 

1  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  1897.  2  S.  H.  S.,  2  vols,  1890. 

3  This  chair  was  founded  by  Sir  William  Fraser  (1816-98),  who  made  a 
handsome  fortune  by  compiling  the  family  "  histories  "  of  many  noble 
houses  in  Scotland. 


that  is  to  say,  the  human  interest  is,  of  set  purpose,  eliminated, 
and  scarce  one  of  the  memorable  anecdotes  or  sayings  which 
for  long  have  formed  part  of  Scottish  history  finds  a  place  in 
his  drab  and  sombre  record.  To  impugn  Mr.  Brown's 
authority  would  indeed  be  foolish  and  unwarrantable  ;  yet  it 
is  a  relief  to  turn  from  him  to  Mr.  Andrew  Lang  (b.  1844), 
who,  to  equal  industry  and  research,  adds  a  literary  charm 
which  no  living  writer  can  surpass.  His  Mystery  of  Mary 
Stuart  (1901)  may  be  more  ingenious  than  convincing;  his 
Gowrie  Conspiracy  (1902)  may  have  failed  to  solve  a  problem 
hitherto  found  insoluble;  but  his  History  of  Scotland  ( 1 900- 
1902),  which,  like  Mr.  Brown's  still  awaits  completion,  is 
wholly  admirable,  alike  for  the  "  detachment "  of  mind 
which  the  author  discovers,  for  the  play  of  an  alert  and 
sensitive  intellect,  and  for  the  pure  and  graceful  English  in 
which  he  conveys  his  meaning.  It  seemed  at  one  time  as 
if  Mr.  Lang  were  minded  to  abandon  to  journalism  what 
was  meant  for  much  higher  purposes.  With  a  correct  and 
fastidious  taste,  he  combined  a  keen  sense  of  humour,  a  pene- 
trating wit,  and  the  lightest  of  hands.  Much  of  his  occasional 
verse  is  exquisite,  much  of  his  ephemeral  criticism  inimitable. 
There  are  few  kinds  of  writing  which  he  has  not  essayed  with 
an  astonishing  measure  of  success.  Yet  it  is  eminently  satis- 
factory to  know  that  he  has  been  led,  step  by  step  as  it  were, 
to  this  his  greatest  undertaking  ;  and  it  is  no  undue  disparage- 
ment of  the  high  merits  of  Tytler  and  Burton  to  say  that 
Mr.  Lang  has  been  able  to  produce  what,  from  a  literary  point 
of  view,  is  by  many  degrees  the  best  history  of  his  country 
since  the  Tales  of  a  Grandfather. 

It  need  scarcely  be  said  that  it  was  through  the  London,  and 
not  the  Scottish,  press,  that  Mr.  Lang  found  his  entrance  into 
literature.  For  a  journalist  such  as  he  there  was  no  opening 
in  Scotland,  even  in  his  youth,  when  the  reviewing  of  the 
Scotch  daily  press  was  still  done  to  some  extent  by  experts, 
and  not  on  stated  days  of  the  week  "  in  the  office."  The 

2  U 


674    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

headquarters  of  the  Edinburgh  had  long  ago  been  moved  to 
"  the  Row,"  and  the  Literary  Gazettes  and  Critics  which  were 
started  from  time  to  time  never  lasted  long.  On  a  somewhat 
lower  level,  it  was  found  impossible  to  continue  even  a  "  comic 
paper  "  of  the  penny  Fleet  Street  type  in  Edinburgh  for  more 
than  about  six  months.  One  such  effort,  The  Shadow  (1874), 
was  decidedly  praiseworthy,  and  the  circumstance  that  its 
piece  de  resistance  was  an  elaborate  burlesque  of  Fordun's 
Scotichronicon  shows  perhaps  that  it  had  not  wholly  lost  touch 
of  higher  things.  A  successor,  The  Modern  Athenian  (1878-79), 
was  decidedly  inferior.  In  a  more  elevated  sphere  an  attempt 
was  once  again  made  in  1882  to  establish  an  organ  of  serious 
liberal  thought  for  Scotland,  not  dissimilar  from  what  the 
North  British  had  once  been.  The  Scottish  Review  was 
edited  by  Dr.  W.  M.  Metcalfe  (b.  1840),  a  scholar  and 
antiquary  who  holds  the  charge  of  the  South  Parish  in 
Paisley,  where  the  Review  was  published.  For  eighteen 
years  it  presented  to  the  public,  once  a  quarter,  a  variety 
of  learned  and  intelligent  articles  ;  but  the  struggle  became 
ultimately  too  severe,  and  in  1900  it  perished. 

The  most  curious  experiment,  however,  in  journalism  which 
these  years  witnessed  in  Scotland  was  the  Scots  (afterwards  the 
National]  Observer.  "Founded  by  Mr.  Robert  Fitzroy  Bell  in 
November,  1888,  it  started  with  a  great  flourish  of  trumpets, 
and  in  truth  proposed  to  itself  little  less  than  a  revival  of  the 
literary  glories  of  the  Scottish  capital.  It  soon  became  apparent 
that  such  a  project  was  Quixotic,  or  at  all  events  premature, 
and  Mr.  William  Ernest  Henley  was  summoned  from  the 
Southern  metropolis  to  take  the  helm.  Then  began  a  career 
which,  if  not  protracted,  was  emphatically  merry.  The 
Observer  was  ruthlessly  iconoclastic  ;  and  no  modern  idol,  from 
Mr.  Sala  or  Mr.  G.  R.  Sims  to  Mr.  Ruskin  or  Sir  Lewis 
Morris,  but  was  hurled  without  ceremony  from  its  seat.  It 
attracted  few  new  writers  from  Edinburgh  itself;  no  talent 
lurking  in  the  Parliament  House  was  unearthed  and  put  to 


THE   CLOSE   OF   THE    VICTORIAN  ERA     675 

usury  in  Thistle  Street ;  no  Jeffrey  or  Lockhart  was  forth- 
coming in  response  to  the  proprietor's  summons.  But  Mr. 
Barrie  was  one  of  its  most  valuable  assistants,  and  in  the  course 
of  the  five  years  or  so  of  its  existence,  it  introduced  to  the 
public  much  good  literature,  and  many  good  men  who  have 
since  made  their  mark  in  the  world  of  journalism  or  letters. 
The  greatest  feather  in  its  cap  was  probably  Mr.  Kipling's 
Barrack  Room  Ballads,  which  began  to  appear  in  1889.  But 
it  was  not  isolated  contributions — no  matter  how  superlative  in 
merit — which  gave  the  paper  its  character.  Like  all  journals 
worth  anything,  it  bore  the  impress  of  a  master  personality. 
All  the  writers  tried  to  write  like  Mr.  Henley  ;  and  as  for 
Mr.  Henley,  not  even  Dickens  in  Wellington  Street  (I 
imagine)  can  have  surpassed  him  as  an  omnipresent  and  all- 
pervading  editor.  Much  that  was  crude  and  extravagant, 
doubtless,  appeared  in  its  columns  :  much  that  to  maturer 
years  must  seem  violent,  ill-proportioned,  and  "nimious."  But 
no  contributor  who  looks  back  to  those  pleasant  days  will  find 
anything  to  be  ashamed  of ;  and  in  the  Observer^  taken  as  a 
whole,  he  may  well  find  much  of  which  to  be  proud.  It  is 
scarcely  an  exaggeration  to  say  that  the  whole  terminology  of 
literary  and  artistic  criticism  in  this  country  was  revolutionised 
through  its  agency  ;  and  probably  few  journals  have  exerted  a 
greater  influence  in  proportion  to  their  actual  circulation. 
For  the  Scots  Observer  was  not  popular.  To  the  ignorant  and 
stupid  it  made  no  appeal  :  it  violated  the  dearest  prejudices  of 
the  Caledonian  "  patriot  "  ;  it  mercilessly  wounded  the  sensi- 
bilities of  "literary  gents"  in  London  ;  and  it  alarmed  and 
puzzled  the  serious  and  moderately  intelligent  class  who  buy 
the  sixpenny  weeklies  which  are  not  devoted  to  gossip,  nor  to 
finance,  nor  to  illustrations.  What  could  the  reader  of  the 
Saturday  (already  on  the  "down  grade  ")  make  of  a  review 
which  sneered  at  Sir  Walter  Besant  and  made  game  of  Mr. 
Gosse  ?  Or  what  could  the  patron  of  the  respectable  Spectator 
think  of  an  organ  which  dared,  not  merely  to  hint,  but  to 


676    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

asseverate  with  emphasis,  that  Mr.  Ruskin  as  an  art  critic  did 
not  know  his  business,  or  that  Mrs.  Ward,  as  a  purveyor  of 
religious  fiction,  had  scored  "  the  failure  of  the  season  "  ?  For 
these  reasons  the  Scots  Observer  was  probably  never  at  any 
moment  of  its  career  within  "  measurable  distance  "  of  pros- 
perity, and  the  change  of  its  headquarters  to  London,  from 
which  much  had  been  hoped,  brought  little,  if  any,  improve- 
ment in  its  prospects.  It  finally  changed  hands  in  1894, 
leaving  its  original  proprietor  perhaps  a  wiser,  but  certainly 
not  a  sadder,  man.  It  will  probably  be  long  before  a  capitalist 
is  found  sufficiently  sanguine  to  undertake  a  similar  venture 
North  of  the  Tweed. 

Mr.  Lang  was  one  of  the  most  brilliant  contributors  to  the 
Scots  Observer  for  a  time,  though  he  never  belonged  to  the 
"  inner  ring  "  ;  and  indeed,  Scotland,  which  in  this  department 
generally  runs  at  best  to  "  gifted  Gilfillans,"  contained  only 
one  man  who  could  be  named  in  the  same  breath  with  him  as 
a  literary  critic.1  John  Nichol  (1833-94)2  for  many  years 
lectured  in  Glasgow  University  from  the  chair  of  English 
Literature.  More  than  once  he  desired  to  exchange  it  for 
some  other  in  which  his  subject  would  embrace  rhetoric  and 
one  department  or  another  of  philosophy.  But  his  Bacon 
(1888-89),  in  the  "Philosophical  Classics"  series,  remains 
practically  his  sole  excursion  into  that  neighbouring  realm  ; 
and  it  does  not  compare  particularly  favourably  either  with  his 
monograph  on  Byron  (1880),  or  with  that  on  Carlyle  (1892)  : 
the  latter  an  admirable  piece  of  work.  He  may  have  taken  the 
right  view  of  the  Sage  or  the  wrong  ;  but  no  one  can  deny  the 
dexterity  of  his  workmanship  and  the  correctness  and  lucidity 

1  William  Minto  (1845-93),  sometime  editor  of  the  Examiner,  and  after- 
wards Professor  of  Logic  in  the  University  of  Aberdeen,  though  not 
indeed  a  Gilfillan,  was  at  best  a  painstaking  and  arid  critic.  Mr.  Walter 
Raleigh,  Professor  of  English  Literature  in  Glasgow,  belongs  to  a  much 
younger  generation,  and  can  afford  to  wait  for  some  time  before  a  just 
estimate  of  his  brilliant  gifts  can  be  formed. 

*  See  Memoir,  by  Professor  Knight  (1896). 


THE   CLOSE   OF   THE    VICTORIAN  ERA     677 

of  his  style.  Cursed  with  an  exaggerated  sensitiveness  in  all 
the  affairs  of  life,  Nichol  was  peculiarly  alive  to  anything  like 
bad  taste  or  bad  English.  It  was  a  rare  stroke  of  vengeance 
upon  his  "  enemies "  when  he  found  himself  able,  in  his 
excellent  and  suggestive  primer  of  English  Composition  (1879), 
to  select  most  of  his  specimens  of  what  ought  to  be  avoided 
from  their  writings.  His  poetry  is  good  up  to  a  certain  point, 
but  somehow  lacks  the  true  fire.  Not  even  his  intimate 
friends — and  men  like  Mr.  Lushington,  Mr.  Sellar,  Mr. 
Swinburne,  and  Mr.  Jowett  were  among  them — could  wax 
enthusiastic  over  his  Hannibal  (1873),  or  The  Death  of 
Themistocles  (1881).  His  best  poem,  as  we  have  said,  is  one 
addressed  to  his  wife  shortly  after  their  marriage.  The  truth 
is  that  his  criticism  is  much  more  valuable  than  his  verse.  In 
the  latter  he  may  be  stiff  and  academic  ;  in  the  former  he  is 
always  original  and  fresh.  He  had  an  instinctive  horror  of 
commonplace  and  cant ;  yet  it  never  drove  him  into  the 
fantastic  or  the  incomprehensible.  His  work  on  American 
Literature  (1882)  is  his  most  ambitious  performance;  but  his 
essay  (1882)  prefixed  to  Scott  Douglas's  edition  of  Burns 
sufficiently  displays  all  his  characteristic  qualities  at  their 
best. 

As  in  previous  generations,  many  Scots  have  gone  south 
during  this  period  to  find  their  occupation  and  their  bread  and 
butter  in  London  journalism.  Some  of  them,  like  Mr.  Barrie 
or  Mr.  George  Douglas  Brown,  pass  through  journalism  to 
literature  ;  others  do  not ;  while  some  contrive  to  make 
literature  even  of  their  journalism.  These  last  form  necessarily 
but  a  very  small  band ;  and  the  most  illustrious  name  among 
them  is  that  of  Robert  Alan  Mowbray  Stevenson  (1847-1  goo),1 
with  which  this  chapter  may  very  well  be  brought  to  a  conclu- 
sion. "  Bob  "  Stevenson  was  anything  rather  than  an  easy  or 

1  The  "  Spring-heel'd  Jack  "  of  his  cousin's  Memories  and  Portraits,  and, 
omnium  consensu,  a  master  of  the  art  of  conversation.  See  Mr.  Henley's 
account  of  him  in  the  Pall  Mall  Magazine,  July,  1900. 


6;8     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

prolific  writer.  But  when  he  did  write,  it  was  to  some  effect, 
for  he  wrote  exclusively  on  the  subject  he  knew  best  and  had 
most  at  heart — pictorial  and  plastic  art.  An  essay  on  Rubens, 
an  all  too  brief  treatise  on  The  Art  of  'Velasquez  (1895),!  and 
the  letterpress  for  Mr.  Pennell's  Devils  of  Notre  Dame  (1894), 
comprise  the  whole  of  his  work  that  is  accessible  or  that  is  not 
fragmentary.  Yet  small  as  is  its  bulk,  its  value  is  inestimable. 
The  critic  is  never  pugnacious  or  provocative  ;  but  what  he 
conceives  to  be  error  is  rebuked  and  refuted  the  more  forcibly 
for  the  calmness  and  dignity  of  his  manner.  Here,  you  feel 
instinctively,  is  a  man  who  really  cares  for  painting  qua 
painting,  and  not  merely  because  he  can  connect  it  with  some 
sentiment  or  anecdote,  or  can  deduce  from  it  some  moral 
lesson.  To  pass  from  Mr.  Ruskin  to  Mr.  Stevenson  is  to  pass 
from  thick  darkness,  illuminated  by  dazzling  flashes  of  rhetoric, 
into  the  peaceful  radiance  of  a  summer's  morning  and  a  clear 
sky.  What  was  revolutionary  doctrine  when  Mr.  Stevenson 
commenced  critic  is  probably  rigid  orthodoxy  now.  Rarely 
do  we  hear  Rembrandt  or  Rubens  or  Velasquez  denounced  as 
"  lost  souls."  The  tombs  of  the  prophets  have  been  piously 
ornamented  by  those  who  would  have  been  the  first  to  stone 
them  ;  and  the  president  of  the  Royal  Academy  is  fain  to 
admit  that  Alfred  Steevens  was  an  eminent  sculptor.  This 
may  not  mean  very  much  ;  and  the  traditions  of  two  or  three 
generations  are  not  easily  subverted.  But  if  the  art-criticism 
of  to-day  is,  upon  the  whole,  more  intelligent  than  the  art 
criticism  of  twenty  or  thirty  years  ago — less  dull,  less  perverse, 
less  obstinately  blind — it  is  perhaps  to  Stevenson  more  than  to 
any  other  single  man  that  the  improvement,  such  as  it  is,  must 
be  ascribed. 

Our  survey  of  the  literature  of  Scotland  is  now  at  an  end. 
It  is  customary,  upon  the  completion  of  such  a  task,  to 
indulge,  by  way  of  epilogue,  in  a  few  words  of  retrospect, 

1  Reprinted,  with  a  few  additions,  under  the  title  of  Velasquez,  1899. 


THE   CLOSE   OF  THE    VICTORIAN  ERA     679 

in  which  attention  is  drawn  to  the  more  salient  features  of 
the  territory  which  has  just  been  surveyed.  But  it  is  thought 
that  these  have  been  indicated  with  sufficient  precision  and 
emphasis  in  the  course  of  the  work  ;  and  accordingly  it  is 
proposed  instead  to  hazard  a  sentence  or  two  of  prediction, 
albeit  prophecy  is  to  the  full  as  perilous  an  undertaking  in 
literature  as  in  life. 

Of  one  thing  we  may  be  tolerably  confident,  and  that  is 
that  we  shall  never  witness  a  revival  of  the  old  Scots  tongue 
as  a  medium  of  expression  for  serious  thought  in  prose. 
Philosophers,  historians,  and  men  of  science  will  adhere  to 
the  normal  literary  dialect,  which,  even  in  Scotland,  has  been, 
for  at  least  a  couple  of  centuries,  the  South-midland  English  ; 
and  it  is  impossible  to  conceive  of  its  being  displaced  by  the 
idiom  of  the  early  Scots  Acts  or  of  Pitscottie.  Every  now 
and  then  attempts  may  be  made  to  resuscitate  the  Northern 
English  speech,  but  such  efforts  will  always  have  the  air  of 
being  burlesques,  no  matter  how  solemn  v the  topic  treated  of 
may  be.1 

Nor  is  it  possible  to  anticipate  a  much  brighter  future 
for  the  literary  Doric  in  the  region  of  poetry.  Its  resources 
as  regards  verse  appear  to  be  exhausted,  and  all  its  conventions 
have  been  worn  to  a  thread.  Everything  has  the  air  of  a 
more  or  less — and  generally  a  less — skilful  imitation  of  Burns. 
Burns  himself,  as  we  have  seen,  was  not  "  original "  in  the 
sense  of  having  founded  a  new  school  of  poetry.  He  was 
rather  the  consummation  of  an  old  one  ;  and  for  that  very 
reason  he  presents  an  insuperable  obstacle  to  the  triumph  of 
those  who  also  would  fain  be  disciples.  It  was  easy  for  him 
to  borrow  from  Ramsay  and  from  Fergusson,  and  to  improve 
upon  what  he  borrowed.  It  is  also  possible  for  later  genera- 

1  This  criticism  is  peculiarly  applicable  to  certain  modern  renderings 
of  portions  of  Scripture  into  broad  Scots  :  to  none  more  so  than  to  Mr. 
W.  W.  Smith's  version  of  the  New  Testament  (Paisley,  1901),  the  effect  of 
which  is  ludicrous  and  therefore  disagreeable  in  the  extreme.  . 


68o    LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

tions  to  borrow  from  Burns  ;  but  who  is  to  improve  upon 
him  ?  The  plain  truth  is  that  the  language  in  which  he 
wrote  has  ceased  to  be  a  literary  vehicle  for  intense  and 
genuine  emotion.  And  thus,  while  his  cheaper  and  more 
sentimental  pieces  provide  congenial  models  for  those  whose 
feelings  have  always  an  infusion  of  the  self-conscious  and 
the  second-hand,  we  may  suspect  that  any  modern  compatriot 
with  a  true  lyrical  gift  would  seek  some  other  mode  of  dis- 
playing it  than  the  methods  which  Burns  has  made  immortal. 
A  clearly  marked  separation  between  the  current  spoken  and 
written  dialect  of  a  people  may  in  some  respects  be  a  mis- 
fortune, but  it  is  a  phenomenon  which  may  be  remarked  in 
other  countries  than  Scotland,  and  in  other  ages  than  our 
own. 

The  chief  link  between  the  vernacular  and  the  literary 
(or  what  passes  for  such)  is  now  the  novel  or  tale,  in  which 
some,  or  all,  of  the  characters  discourse  in  broad  Scots.  It 
might  be  pardonable  to  imagine  that  this  form  of  art,  too, 
is  "  played  out "  ;  but  the  rashness  of  the  supposition  becomes 
apparent  from  a  consideration,  first,  of  the  vitality  of  the 
genre,  which  blossoms  forth  anew  at  intervals  of  about  twenty 
years ;  and,  secondly,  of  the  potentialities  of  the  material  with 
which  it  deals.  It  is  difficult  to  exhaust  the  possibilities  of 
any  considerable  section  of  human  society,  from  the  novelist's 
point  of  view.  To  the  seeing  eye  fresh  combinations  will 
ever  be  apparent  ;  new  things  will  continue  to  be  made  familiar 
and  familiar  things  to  be  made  new.  The  "  Kailyard  "  writers, 
after  all,  have  touched  a  mere  fringe  of  the  population.  They 
have  left  little,  it  is  true,  to  be  said  of  precentors  and  beadles. 
But  nowadays  beadles  and  precentors  form  a  comparatively 
small  fraction  of  a  tolerably  numerous  community  ;  and  even 
if  the  "  landward "  portion  of  the  people  can  yield  nothing 
more  (which  is  extremely  doubtful)  the  "  burghal  "  portion 
has  hitherto  scarcely  been  handled  at  all.  Some  day,  perhaps, 
a  writer  will  arise  with  humour  and  observation,  who  can  be 


THE   CLOSE   OF   THE    VICTORIAN  ERA     68 1 

amusing  without  being  "jocose,"  and  sympathetic  without 
being  maudlin,  and  who  can  write  of  Scottish  life  and 
character  with  a  minimum  of  the  dreary  old  wit  about 
ministers  and  whisky.1  Perhaps,  too,  by  the  date  of  his 
appearance  some  one  else  may  have  realised  the  immense 
amount  of  stuff,  as  yet  practically  untouched  and  lying  ready 
to  the  novelist's  hand,  in  the  life  of  the  Scottish  professional, 
commercial,  and  middling  classes.  A  Balzac  would  be  un- 
necessary ;  a  second  Miss  Ferrier  would  suffice,  with  Miss 
Ferrier's  acrimony  a  little  mollified,  though  with  all  her  keen 
scent  for  absurdities  and  foibles  unimpaired.  The  tone  would 
have  to  be  pitched  low,  and  melodrama  would  have  to  be 
rigorously  eschewed.  The  characters  would  talk,  not  in 
Scots,  but  in  Scotticisms  ;  and  the  works  of  such  a  writer 
would  be  a  valuable  repertory  of  those  engaging  idioms. 
Some  obloquy  he  would  infallibly  incur  in  the  conscientious 
discharge  of  his  duty  ;  for  his  localities  and  personages  would 
be  sure  to  be  identified  (however  unjustly)  with  actual  places 
and  human  beings.  But  he  would  probably  reap  a  fairly 
substantial  reward,  to  say  nothing  of  the  pleasure  insepar- 
able from  working  a  new  and  rich  vein  of  character  and 
manners. 

As  regards  the  intellectual  future  of  the  country  generally 
there  is  certainly  no  apparent  cause  for  gloom  ;  and  this  fore- 
cast might  be  expressed  in  more  positively  sanguine  terms  if 
there  were  any  prospect  of  a  diminution  in  the  national 
failings  of  self-consciousness  and  vanity.  The  tendency  to 
reckon  all  Caledonian  geese  as  swans  and  to  lose  a  just  sense 
of  proportion  in  a  rapture  of  patriotic  enthusiasm  is,  of  course, 
assiduously  fostered  by  the  public  press.  It  were  cruel  and 
short-sighted  to  discourage  so  useful  a  virtue  as  local  patriotism. 

1  This  'not  very  lofty  ideal  has  to  some  extent  been  realised  in  an 
unpretending,  but  excellent,  brochure  entitled  Wcc  MacGreegor  (Glasgow, 
1902).     There  are  no  beadles,  nor  is  there  any  drink,  in  it  ;  and  the  dialect  ' 
of  the  West  is  reproduced  with  what  I  am  told  is  astonishing  fidelity. 


682     LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND 

No  one  would  select  the  village  of  Bowden  as  a  suitable  place 
for  delivering  a  diatribe  against  Thomas  Aird,  nor  journey  to 
Kirkintilloch  for  the  express  purpose  of  disparaging  David 
Gray.  But  what  is  commendable  in  a  parish  may  be  un- 
becoming in  a  nation  ;  and  few  impartial  observers  would 
deny  that  too  strong  a  tincture  of  the  merely  parochial  is 
often  perceptible  in  our  ebullitions  of  national  self-satisfaction. 
To  boast  vociferously  of  the  number  of  responsible  and  lucra- 
tive appointments  held  by  Scotsmen  in  the  British  Empire 
may  be  natural.  But  it  is  not  exactly  dignified  ;  and  a 
readiness  to  accept  or  tolerate  the  most  flagrant  "  Kailyard  " 
or  "  Whistlebinkie  "  because  of  the  country  of  its  inspiration 
may,  with  habitual  indulgence,  degenerate  into  a  serious  fault. 
The  achievements  of  the  Scottish  nation  in  the  arts  of  war 
and  peace  are  assuredly  not  so  insignificant  as  to  make  it 
necessary  for  its  members  to  obtrude  them,  in  season  and  out, 
upon  the  notice  of  an  amused  and  admiring  world  ;  and,  in 
particular,  there  is  little  need  for  nervous  apprehension  that 
what  is  best  and  greatest  in  our  literature  will  be  forgotten 
by  anybody  whose  remembrance  is  worth  having.  If  a 
portion  of  our  literary  record  has  at  times  fallen  into  com- 
parative obscurity,  much  of  the  blame  rests  with  those  who 
have  exercised  no  discrimination  in  the  apportionment  of 
their  extravagant  praises,  as  well  as  with  those  who  have 
so  puffed  out  and  magnified  the  figure  of  Burns  as  to  intercept 
the  light  of  cordial  recognition  from  his  predecessors. 

If  this  besetting  weakness,  then  (together  with  certain  others, 
such  as  a  "love  of  rhetoric,  and  admiration  for  bad  models"  z) 
could  by  any  possibility  be  corrected,  a  decided  improvement 
would  be  wrought  in  the  national  habit  of  mind.  But  even 
though  (as  may  well  be  feared)  it  should  prove  too  deeply-seated 
to  be  eradicable,  there  is  no  call  to  despair.  One  circumstance, 
at  all  events,  is  of  happy  omen  for  the  future.  The  conditions 
of  Scottish  life  and  society  seem  almost  to  preclude  the  possibility 

1  Mr.  Sellar  to  Mr.  Nichol,  apud  Knight's  Memoir  of  the  latter,  p.  225. 


THE   CLOSE   OF   THE    VICTORIAN  ERA     683 

of  the  existence  of  a  distinctive  literary  class  or  caste  in  Scotland. 
To  foster  the  growth  of  such  a  class  the  environment  of  a 
huge  capital  appears  to  be  essential.  Edinburgh  is  fortunately 
still  too  small  to  provide  the  requisite  atmosphere  and  surround- 
ings ;  nor  is  it  easy  to  imagine  that  they  will  ever  be  found  in 
the  "second  city  of  the  Empire."  Such  a  thing  as  a  literary 
caste  has,  in  truth,  never  existed  in  the  Scottish  metropolis. 
In  the  age  of  Robertson  and  in  the  age  of  Scott  (as  in 
the  seventeenth  century),  the  great  men  of  letters  had 
each  his  profession.  They  were  lawyers,  or  professors, 
or  clergymen,  or  doctors,  as  the  case  might  be.  Much 
as  we  may  regret  the  glories  of  those  memorable  epochs 
we  may  at  least  rejoice  that  there  are  no  symptoms  of  the 
growth  of  a  body  of  men  prepared  to  maintain  that  the 
practice  of  literature  should  be  reserved  for  a  self-elected 
coterie  of  experts,  and  to  deprecate  the  criticism  of  outsiders 
and  "amateurs"  with  a  shrill  cry  of  "  Procul  este  profani" 

Another  hopeful  indication  lies  in  the  fact  that  at  few  periods 
in  their  history,  probably,  have  the  Scottish  Universities  been 
better  manned  or  more  efficient  than  they  are  to-day.  There 
is  no  reason  why  this  happy  state  of  matters  should  not  be 
indefinitely  prolonged,  provided  that  two  preliminary  conditions 
are  satisfied.  The  bounty  of  benevolent,  but  injudicious, 
millionaires  must  be  directed  into  the  proper  channels,  and 
the  absurd  claim  of  the  successful  "  business  man "  as  such 
to  prescribe  a  curriculum  of  University  study  must  be  sum- 
marily repelled.  The  cult  of  the  "  useless  "  must  be  sedulously 
prosecuted,  and  the  standards  of  the  counting-house  and  the 
market-place  must  be  firmly  rejected  when  they  attempt,  in 
a  seat  of  learning,  to  supplant  the  traditions  inseparably 
associated  with  the  idea  of  a  liberal  education.  These  indis- 
pensable conditions  complied  with,  we  may  be  sure  that  the 
Universities  will  continue  to  turn  out  men  well  fitted  for 
attaining  distinction  in  prose-literature  :  in  scholarship,  in 
philosophy,  in  history,  in  science.  The  national  standard  of 


684    LITERARY  HISTORY   OF  SCOTLAND 

comfort  is  immeasurably  higher,  and  wealth  is  much  more 
widely  distributed,  than  of  old  ;  yet  there  is  no  solid  ground 
for  believing  in  the  degeneracy  of  the  race,  or  for  supposing 
that  the  supply  of  intelligent,  hard-headed,  and  hard-working 
men  is  sensibly  diminishing.  Genius,  indeed,  is  another 
matter.  For  genius  no  man  can  be  answerable.  Its  ways 
are  not  as  our  ways  ;  its  spirit  bloweth  where  it  listeth  ;  and 
no  "system  of  national  education,"  however  well-devised  in 
theory  or  serviceable  in  practice,  can  do  anything  to  affect  its 
production  or  much  to  affect  its  development. 


LIST  OF  SOME  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  AUTHOR- 
ITIES REFERRED  TO  IN  THE  COURSE 
OF  THIS  WORK 

Bannatyne  Club  Publications,  1823-67. 

Brown,  P.  Hume,  George  Buchanan,  1890. 

Brown,  P.  Hume,  Life  of  John  Knox,  1895. 

Burns,  The  Poetry  of,  ed.  Henley  and  Henderson,  4  vols.,  1896-7. 

Burton,  Life  and  Correspondence  of  David  Hume,  1846. 

Carlyle,  Alexander,  Autobiography,  1860. 

Child,  F.  J.,  The  English  and  Scottish    Popular  Ballads,  5   vols., 

1882-98. 

Cockburn,  Life  and  Correspondence  of  Francis  Jeffrey,  2  vols.,  1852. 
Courthope,  History  of  English  Poetry,  vols.  i.  and  ii.,  1895-97. 
Craik,  Henry,  English  Prose  Selections,  5  vols.,  1893-96. 
Early  English  Text  Society  Publications  from  1864  onwards. 
Espinasse,  Literary  Recollections  and  Sketches,  1893. 
Graham,  Rev.  H.  G.,  Scottish  Men  of  Letters  in  the   Eighteenth 

Century,  1901. 
Graham,  Rev.  H.  G.,  Social  Life  of  Scotland  in  the   Eighteenth 

Century,  2nd  ed.,  1901. 

Gummere,  F.  B.,  The  Beginnings  of  Poetry,  1901. 
Henderson,  T.  F.,  Scottish  Vernacular  Literature,  1898. 
Irving,  David,  History  of  Scotish  Poetry,  1861. 
Irving,  David,  Scotish  Writers,  1839. 
Lang,  History  of  Scotland,  vols.  i.  and  ii.,  1900-02. 
Lang,  Life  and  Letters  of  J.  G.  Lockhart,  2  vols.,  1896. 
Laing,   David,  Select  Remains  of  Ancient  Popular  and  Romance 

Poetry  of  Scotland,  1885. 

685 


686  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Lockhart,  J.  G.,  Life  of  Scott,  10  vols.,  Edin.,  1902-3. 

Lockhart,  J.  G.,  Peter's  Letters,  1819. 

Maitland  Club  Publications,  1829-59. 

Mathieson,  W.  L.,  Politics  and  Religion,  1902. 

Murray,   Dr.  J.   A.    H.,  The  Dialect  of  the   Southern  Counties  of 

Scotland,  1873. 

New  Spalding  Club  Publications,  from  1887  onwards. 
Oliphant,  Mrs.,  Annals  of  a  Publishing  House,  2  vols.,  1897. 
Rae,  Life  of  Adam  Smith,  1895. 
Scott,  Sir  Walter,  Minstrelsy  of  the  Scottish  Border,  ed.  Henderson, 

4  vols.,  1902. 

Scott,  Sir  Walter,  Miscellaneous  Prose  Works,  passim. 
Scottish  History  Society  Publications  from  1886  onwards. 
Scottish  Text  Society  Publications  from  1883  onwards. 
Smith,  G.  Gregory,  Specimens  of  Middle  Scots,  1902. 
Smith,  G.  Gregory,  The  Transition  Period,  1900. 
Spalding  Club  Publications,  1839-70. 
Spottiswoode  Society,  1844-51. 
Ward,  H.,  The  English  Poets,  4  vols.,  1 880-81. 
Warton,  History  of  English  Poetry,  1774-81. 
Wodrow  Society  Publications,  1842-50. 


GLOSSARY 


A  per  86,  an  extraordinary 
or  incomparable  person. 

Aboif,  above. 

Ail  WOSp,  a  bunch  of  straw 
hung  at  a  tavern  door. 

Air,  previously. 

Air,  heir. 

Alanerly,  only. 

Allan,  every  sort. 

Als,  also. 

Anamalit,  enamelled. 

Anerdancis,  adherents. 

Anerdar,  adherent. 

Anerly,  only. 

Annaly,  alienate. 

Anneuche,  enough. 

Areir,  back,  gone. 

Ark,  meal  girnel. 

Assyith,  indemnify. 

At,  that. 

AttOUT,  over,  across,  about. 

Aumrie,  cupboard. 

Awin,  own. 

Baird,  bard. 

Bairdit,  adorned  with  trap- 
pings. 

Bak,  bat. 

Band,  bond,  agreement. 

Bankouris,  hangings, 

coverings. 

Bap,  roll,  thick  cake  or 
scone. 

Bar,  boar. 

Bardie,  bold,  insolent. 


Basnat,  helmet. 

Bayne,  prepared. 

Beft,  beaten,  knocked. 

Beir,  noise,  cry. 

Bene,  splendidly. 

Beriall,  beryl. 

Berling,  a  galley. 

Berne,  child,  fellow. 

Besene,  fitted,  furnished. 

Bet,  mended. 

Between  hands,   in    the 
intervals. 

Bewis,  boughs. 

Beyne,  been. 

Beyne,  pleasant,  genial. 

Big,  to  build. 

Bill,  writing,  letter. 

Bink,  bynk,  bench. 

Birkin  bobbins,  the  seed- 
pods  of  the  birch. 

Biz,    to    make    a    hissing 
noise. 

Bla,  blue. 

Blad,  a  large  piece. 

Blak-moir,  blackamoor. 

Blate,  shy. 

Bleir,  grow  thin,  starve. 

Blenk,  glance,  glimpse. 

Blerit,  dimmed. 

Boglll,  spectre,  scare-crow. 

Bogle-bo,  peep-bo. 

Boit,  boat. 

Booring,  boring. 

Bottouns,  boots. 

Bourd,  a  jest. 
687 


BoustOUS,  huge. 

Bow,  a  boll,  a  dry  measure 

used  for  corn. 
Bown,  to  make  ready. 
Brachen,  gruel. 
Brank,  curb. 
Brash,  effort,  attack. 
Brecham,  a  horse-collar. 
Breid,  breadth. 
Breid,  on,  spread  out. 
Broad-band,  to  lay  in,  to 

expose. 

Browderit,  embroidered. 
Brukill,  brittle,  variable. 
Brulyie,  fight. 
Brusit,  embroidered. 
Brymly,  fiercely. 
Buckle,  shell-fish. 
Buird,  board,  table. 
Burely,  stately. 
But,  without. 
By-hand,  out  of  the  way. 
Byrd,  behoved. 
Byrdyng,  burden. 
Byrse,  bristles,  beard. 
Bysyn,  monster,   degraded 

thing. 

Caird,  pedlar,  tinker,  vag- 
rant. 

Callour,  caller,  fresh. 

Campion,  campioun, 
champion. 

Cant,  merry. 

Cap-OUt,  "no  heel-taps." 


688 


GLOSSARY 


Capernoity,  Ipeevish,  irri- 
table. 

Capill,  nag. 

Carling,  a  rude  old  woman 

Carp,  to  speak. 

Cassay,  causeway. 

Cassin,  thrown. 

Castock,  the  core  of  a 
stalk  of  colewort  or 
cabbage. 

Cautel,  caution. 

Celicall,  heavenly. 

Chaftis,  chops,  jaws. 

Chaip,  Schaipe,  escape. 

Chaipes,  established  rate 
or  price. 

Chalmer,  chamber. 

Chancy,  lucky. 

Chap,  to  knock. 

Chappin,  a  quart. 

Chat,  hang. 

Cheiss,  choose. 

Cher,  cheer,  mien,  state  of 
the  spirits. 

Cherbukle,  carbuncle. 

Chitterlilling,  pig's  en- 
trails, contemptible  per- 
son. 

Chymlay,  grate,  brazier. 

Chyre,  chair. 

Clanjamfrey,  disreputable 
crew. 

Clarty,  Clatty,  dirty. 

Clash,  gossip,  talk. 

Cleik,  hold. 

Cleik,  number. 

Clekit,  reproved. 

ClekMt,  hatched. 

Clok,  a  beetle. 

ClOUtit,  patched. 

Clovin  Robbyns,  broken 
men  or  ruffians. 

Comonying,  communing, 
conversation. 

Compt,  to  account. 

Coor,  cover. 

Cop,  cowp,  cup. 


Corss,  body. 
Cost,  side. 
Couthe,  could. 

Cowth,  well  known. 

Craker,  one  who  gossips. 

Creddens,  credit. 

Creinge,  shrug. 

Crowdie,  gruel  or  porridge. 

Cruif,  a  contrivance  for 
catching  salmon. 

Cruppen,  crept. 

Cry  cok,  also  crauch,  cry 
"  beaten." 

Crynis,  diminishes. 

Culroun,  rascal. 

Cummer,  companion,  gos- 
sip. 

Cunning,  rabbit. 

Cwnnandly,  cunningly, 
skilfully. 

Dai,  a  sloven. 
Damais,  damask. 
Dantit,  daunted. 
Dasying,  stupefying. 
Dawted,  indulged,  petted. 
Decoir,  decorate. 
Decupla,  a  kind  of  musical 

harmony. 
Ded,  death. 

Degest,  grave,  composed. 
Deid,  death. 
Deme,  condemn. 
Dem,  secret. 
Derne,  darkness. 
Derrest,  dearest. 
Desie,  daisy. 

Dicht,  make  ready,  array. 
Diligat,  delicate. 
Ding,  Dyng,  hit,  knock. 
Dinsome,  noisy. 
Disjone,  breakfast. 
Dissait,  deceit. 
Dissavabill,  deceitful. 
Disteynyeid,out-distanced, 

excelled. 
Dok,  breech. 


Dother,  daughter. 
Doutsum,  doubtful. 
Dowbill,  double. 
Dowff,  depressed,  gloomy. 
Dowkit,  ducked. 
Drammock,  a  mixture  of 

meal  and  water. 
Dregy,  dirge. 
Bring",  to   sing  in  a  slow, 

melancholy  manner. 
Dud,  a  rag. 
Dunt,  a  large  piece. 
Dyiss,  dice. 
Dyte,  composition. 
DyvOUT,  bankrupt. 

EfiFeir,  to  belong  to. 

Efftyr,  afterwards. 

Ellys,  else. 

Engyne,  genius,  intellect. 

Enteress,  entrance. 

Erdly,  earthly. 

Ess,  ease. 

Ettercap,    a   quarrelsome, 

pugnacious  person. 
Eviredeille,  in  every  part. 
Evitit,  avoided. 
Exercitioun,  putting  into 

practice. 

Exiltree,  axletree. 
Eydent,  industrious. 

Fa,  lot,  chance. 
Facund,  eloquence. 
Failzhe,  fail. 
Faind,  missed. 
Fairnyear,  last  year. 
Fangit,  caught,  seized. 
Fard,  to  embellish. 
Farle,  a  thin  cake  made  of 

oatmeal. 
Fars,  to  stuff. 

Fasoun,  fashion. 
Fastlingis,  almost. 
Fayis,  foes. 
Fechtand,  fighting. 
Feid,  feud,  enmity. 


GLOSSARY 


689 


Feill,  understanding. 

Feill,  many. 

Feir,  in,  together,  in  com- 
pany. 

Felloune,  great. 

Fend,  feynd,  fiend. 

Fensum,  offensive. 

Fenze,  to  feign,  to  dis- 
semble. 

Ferd,  fourth. 

Fere,  companion,  consort. 

Ferly,  wonderfully. 

Fetrit,  fastened. 

Feyr,  fare. 

Fleesh,  fleece. 

Fleggar,  flatterer. 

Fleich,  to  beg  with  impor- 
tunity. 

Flemit,  driven  forth. 

Flet,  the  inner  part  of  a 
house. 

Fleyd,  frightened. 

FlOUk,  a  flounder. 

Flyte,  to  scold. 

Fog,  turf. 

For-tM,  therefore. 

ForwortMn,  wasted,  use- 
less. 

Fow,  full. 

Fowmart,  polecat. 

Fowsea,  fosse,  moat. 

Fowth,  size,  strength, 
plenty. 

Frek,  a  strong  man. 

Frethit,  liberated. 

Frog,  doublet. 

Frosnit,  frost-bitten. 

Frusch,  to  break. 

Fud,  tail. 

Fulyery,  leaved  work. 

Fume,  foam,  froth. 

Fure,  fared. 

Fyellis,  round  towers. 

Fyscnit,  fixed. 

Gailyiounis,  galleys. 
Oaitis,  goats. 


Gapping,  gaping. 
Gappock,  gobbet,  morsel. 
Gawsy,  plump,  well-fed. 
Geir,  money,  moveable  pro- 
perty. 

GeraflOUT,  gillyflower. 
Girnall  ryver,  breaker  of 

meal-chests. 
Girse,  girss,  grass. 
Glaster,  to  bawl. 
Gleib,  portion. 
Gleit,  shine. 
Gloir,  glory. 
Glois,    glose,    the    act    of 

warming    one's    self    at 

the  fire. 

Glowmyng,  scowling. 
Goilk,  gowk,  cuckoo. 
Gooms,  gums. 
Gowdspink,  goldfinch. 
Gowly,  knife. 
Gowp,  gulp,  mouthful. 
GratMt,  adorned. 
Ore,  reward. 
Greissis,  graces. 
Grenis,  groans. 
Grew,  shudder. 
Grit,  great. 
Gros,  rude. 

Groufflingis,  stooping. 
Gudlingis,  base  metal. 
Guschet,  that  part  of  the 

armour     defending     the 

armpit. 

Gyfand,  giving. 
Gympt,  slim. 
Gyng,  gang,  company. 
Gyrd,  let,  attacked, "  went 

for." 

Habuilyement,    habili- 
ment, clothing. 
Habyll,  qualified. 
Haiff,  have. 
Hair,  high,  or  cold. 
Halffltis,  cheeks. 
Hals,  neck. 

2X 


Haltand,  halting,  lame. 
Havins,  conduct. 
Heisit,  hoisted. 
Herreit,  harried,  plundered. 
Hetterent,  hatred. 
Heuch,  bank,  crag. 
Hevaloghe,  heave -a- low, 

an  exclamation. 
Hewin,  heaven. 
Heynd,  person. 
HiriHg,  hiding-places. 
Hing,  hang. 
Hirnis,  corners. 
Hoat,  hot. 
Hoill,  whole. 
Hoilsum,  wholesome. 
Holtis,  high  ground. 
Hooly,  cautiously. 
HOW,  hollow. 
Howff,  haunt. 
Howls,  houghs. 
Howk,  to  dig. 
Howm,  the  low  ground  near 

a  stream. 
Hoyt,  suitable. 
Hurcneon,  hedgehog. 
Huttok,  high  cap. 

Iceschoklis,  icicles. 
Impnis,  hymns,  poems. 
Indoce,  indorse. 
Ingle,  fire,  fireside. 
Invlet,  envied,  hated. 
Ischit,  issued. 

Jad,  a  jade. 

Kail,  broth. 

Ke,  jackdaw. 

Kebuck,  cheese. 

Keist,  cast. 

Kell,    a    woman's    cap   or 

head-dress. 
Kep,  to  catch. 
Ket,  a  hairy  fleece. 
Kipper,  a  spawning  salmon. 
Kirsp,  fine  linen. 


690 


GLOSSARY 


KiBt,  chest. 

Kittle,  ticklish. 

Kittle,  to  tickle. 

Knap,  to  crack. 

Knap,  to  speak  in  a  clip- 
ping or  mincing  manner. 

Kye,  cows,  cattle. 

Kyi,  kiln.  The  kyl's  on 
fire,  a  phrase  used  to 
denote  any  great  tumult 
or  combustion. 

Kyrnellis,  battlements. 

Kythit,  manifested. 


Laif,  rest. 

Lair,  learning. 

Laitis,  manners,  behaviour. 

Lak,  blame. 

Langand,  belonging  to,  re- 
garding. 

Langsumnes,  longwinded- 
ness. 

Lappered,  coagulated, 
curdled. 

Lardon,  trick,  deception. 

Laser,  leisure. 

Lauch,  law. 

Lautee,  loyalty. 

Lave,  rest,  remainder. 

Le,  peace,  tranquillity. 

Leglin,  milk-pail. 

Leid,  language. 

Leid,  lead. 

Leidsterne,  guiding  star. 

Leifis,  lives. 

Leiff,  leave. 

Leisoine,  lawful. 

Leister,  to  spear  fish. 

Lemman,  sweetheart,lo  ver. 

Lesingis,  lying  tales,  lies. 

Lest,  please. 

Leth,  disgust. 

Leuch,  laughed. 

Levys,  lives. 

Liff,  life. 

Lingle, shoemaker's  thread. 


Linkand,  walking  at  a  good 

Na  war,  were  it  not. 

pace. 

Nakyn,  no  kind  of. 

Lorimer,  saddler. 

Nappy,  strong  ale. 

Lounder,  to  beat,  strike. 

Nay.    This  is  no  nay  = 

Lowin',  burning. 

there  is  no  denying  it. 

Lucerne,  lamp. 

Neapkyn,  napkin,  pocket- 

Luckan  gowan,  the  globe 

handkerchief. 

flower. 

Nechyr,  whinny. 

Lufe,  love. 

Neff,  fist. 

Luiche,  laughed. 

Netherit,   oppressed,  kept 

Luifar,  lover. 

down. 

Luntin',  smoking. 

Nicht,    approached,    came 

Lyart,  faded. 

nigh  to. 

Lynde,  lime-tree. 

Noghtyeless,  nevertheless. 

Lynkome,    Lincoln    green 

Nolt,  cattle. 

fabric. 

Norist,  nourished. 

Lyre,  flesh. 

Nowt-feet,  ox-feet. 

Noyand,  molesting. 

Ma,  more. 

Nyxt,  next. 

Maill,  rent,  dues. 

Makar,  poet. 

Oblissit,  obliged,  under  ob- 

Mauch, full  of  maggots. 

ligation. 

Maukin,  a  hare. 

Oe,  grandchild. 

Mawsey,  a  stout  woman. 

On  forse,  of  necessity. 

Mayne,  strength. 

Orra  things,  odds  and  ends. 

Mayss,  makes,  causes. 

Osan,  Hosannah. 

Meary,  merry. 

Ostir  dregar,  oyster  dred- 

Meid, meadow. 

ger. 

Metr,  mare. 

Our,  over. 

Mell,  to  meddle. 

Outane,  besides. 

MenselCSS,  destitute  of  dis- 

Outher, either. 

cretion. 

Oxter,  armpit. 

Menys,  means. 

Oysyd,  used. 

Menzhe,  troop. 

Messe,  mass. 

Pace,  pasche,  Easter. 

Met,  measure. 

Padyane,  pageant. 

Mett,  in  measure. 

PaniS,  pains. 

Milhouse,  mint. 

Panssit,     thought,    medi- 

Moniplyes, tripes. 

tated. 

Moop,  nibble. 

ParOSCh,  parish. 

Mort,  dissolute  woman. 

Partan,  crab. 

Mow,  joke. 

Peax,  peace. 

Muldrie,  moulded  work. 

Peilit,  stripped. 

Munyeoun,   minion,    dar- 

Perqueir, off-  hand. 

ling. 

Pig,  jelly-can,  crockery. 

Murionit,  made  faces  at. 

Flak,  a  small  coin. 

Myth,  to  measure. 

Plat,  stroke,  blow. 

GLOSSARY 


691 


Platt,  plan,  model. 

Pleid,  debate,  cry. 

Pless,  please 

Plet,  folded. 

Pliskie,  plight. 

Pock,  bag. 

Poill,  pole. 

Pose,    hoard     of     money, 

purse. 
Pouerall,  the  masses,  the 

populace. 
Pow-sowdie,    sheep's-head 

broth. 

Preiflt,  proved,  tried. 
Prene,  pin. 
Prevene,  surpass. 
Pringnant,  pregnant. 
Prodissioun,  treachery. 
Prwneis,  plumes  or  adorns 

itself. 

Puddock,  frog. 
Pur,  poor,  poor  thing. 

Quaiff,  coif. 

Quair,  book. 

Queff,  quaich,  drinking  cup. 

Quhele,  wheel. 

Quhill,  till. 

Quiklie,  vividly. 

Qweir,  choir. 

Rad,  afraid. 
Raffel,  doeskin. 
Rak,  reck,  matter. 
Rak  sauch,  twisted  willow. 
Rake,  to  rub. 
Rane,  persistent  cry. 
Rax,  reach,  fetch. 
Ream,  cream,  froth. 
Rease,  rose. 
Redder,  peace-maker. 
Rede,  to  explain,  unfold. 
Regiment,  government. 
Rehator,  enemy. 
Reid,  counsel. 
Reid,  red. 
Rerd,  roar. 


Reset,  receiving  stolen 
goods. 

Resortis,  the  mechanism 
of  an  organ. 

Ring,  reign. 

Roch,  rough,  hoarse. 

Rock,  rok,  a  distaff. 

RoiS,  rose. 

Rombyloghe,  rumbelow, 
an  exclamation. 

Ronnis,  brambles,  thickets. 

Ropeen,  croaking. 

Ross,  rose. 

Rost,  roast. 

Rottle,  rattle. 

Roune,  writing,  or  narra- 
tive. 

Roup,  sale  by  auction. 

Rowmit,  roamed,  perambu- 
lated. 

Rowp,  croak. 

Roy,  king. 

Rude,  cheeks,  the  part  of 
the  face  which  is  red. 

Rug,  pull. 

Ruse,  boast. 

Ryg-bane,  backbone. 

Ryne,  stream. 

Saipheron,  saffron. 

Sakless,  innocent. 

Sals,  sauce. 

Sanctis,  saints. 

Sarde,  vexed,  galled. 

Sasteing,  pole. 

Saulie,  a  mute,  an  under- 
taker's man. 

Saull,  soul. 

Scadlips,  broth,  with  a 
small  quantity  of  barley 
in  it. 

Scaw'd,  faded. 

Schand,  bright. 

Sched,  divided,  parted. 

Scheitting,  cheating. 

Schene,  shining,  beautiful 

Schir,  sir. 


Scho,  she. 

SchOg,  shake. 

Schor,  threaten. 

Scowthered,  scorched. 

Screen,  shawl. 

Schupe,  undertook. 

Schyre,  wholly. 

Segge,  man. 

Seill,  happiness. 

Seirsit,  devised. 

Sekirly,  assuredly. 

Sekkis,  sacks. 

Sesqui  altera,  a  particular 
stop  in  an  organ. 

Sessoun,  season,  seasoning. 

Sesyt,  seized,  taken. 

Sichit,  sighed. 

Singis,  signs. 

Singles,  small  coins. 

Siss,  times. 

Site,  shame. 

Skaild,  scattered,  fragmen- 
tary. 

Skair,  share. 

Skelf,  shelf. 

Skink,  drink. 

SkOWt,  a  boat  or  coble. 

Sle,  skilful,  cunning. 

Slidder,  slippery. 

Slim,  worthless. 

Slop,  slap. 

Smorit,  smothered. 

Sneeshin'  m\\\1  snuff-box. 

Sons,  sonce,  abundance. 

Sowens,  flummery. 

Sownyng,  sounding. 

Spail,  splinter. 

Spass,  space,  room. 

Speir,  ask. 

Spelden,  a  dried  haddock. 

Spell,  tell. 

Spence,  parlour,  pantry. 

Spenser,  butler. 

Spynist,  in  full  blossom. 

Stant,  duty,  task. 

Stawe,  stole  away. 

Stede,  place. 


692 


GLOSS AR Y 


Steik,  shut,  close. 

Steing,  pole. 

Sterne,  star. 

Stevin,  voice. 

Stob,  stab. 

Stog,  stiff,  stout. 

Stowing,  accommodation. 

StOWth,  stealing. 

Straik,  stroke. 

Straitis,  a  kind  of  coarse, 

woollen  cloth. 
Stramash,  disturbance. 
String,  restraint. 
Stummerit,  stumbled. 
Styng,  pole. 
Sua,  swa,  so. 
Sucker,  sugar. 
Suddart,  soldier. 
Sumph,  fool. 
Sunkets,  food,  provisions. 
Suppleis,  punishment. 
Supplie,  assistance. 
Sussie,  hesitation. 
Sutor,  cobbler. 
Swats,  new  ale. 
Swnyeis,  excuses. 
Swouchand,  "  soughing." 
Swyth,  quickly. 

Ta,  take. 

Tait,  a  small  portion. 
Tak,  lease. 

Tapsalteerie,  topsy-turvy. 
Tartan,  pudding  made  of 

red  colewort  mixed  with 

oatmeal. 

Tarveal,  fatigue. 
Tasker,  a  labourer  paid  by 

the  task  or  piece. 
Tauch,  tallow. 
Tawpie,  a  foolish  woman. 
Tawted,  matted. 
Tent,  attend  to. 
Thocht,  though. 
ThOle,  bear,  endure. 


Thraw.to become  distorted. 

Thrinfald,  threefold. 

Through,  bundle. 

Thrummy-tailed,  with 
fringed  or  frayed  petti- 
coat. 

Thyne,  this  place. 

Tite,  soon. 

Tod,  fox. 

Tome,  empty. 

Toist,  toast. 

Toore,  tower. 

Tout,  toot,  blast. 

TOW,  hemp  prepared  for 
spinning. 

Trance,  passage,  lobby. 

Trew,  trewis,  truce,  armi- 
stice. 

Trogged,  dressed  like  vag- 
rants. 

Trou,  trow,  believe  in. 

Trought,  through. 

Trymmil,  to  tremble. 

Tuerittis,  turrets. 

Tuitch,  touch. 

Tulye,  skirmish,  quarrel, 
turmoil. 

Turs,  to  carry  off. 

Twichestane,  touchstone. 

Tyne,  to  lose. 

Udir,  other. 
Ugsum,  ugly,  repulsive. 
Uneis,  with  difficulty. 
Unsell,  wretched. 
Uplands,  upolandis,  rude, 
rustic. 

Varnasyng,   provision, 

store. 

Ver,  worse. 
Visa,  wise.    On  na  viss, 

in  no  wise. 
Vitht,  together. 
Volvis,  wolves. 


Vorschip,  valour. 
Voundir,  wonder. 
Vran,  wren. 

Waillis,  walls,  bulwarks. 

Wait,  wot,  know. 

Wale,  pick,  choice. 

Walk,  wauk,  to  be  awake. 

Walker,  fuller. 

Wally,  ample  large. 

Wally,  trinket,  gew-gaw. 

Wanchancie,  unlucky. 

Wapynnis,  weapons. 

Waught,  a  large  draught. 

Waw,  wall. 

Wedy,  wuddie,  halter,  gal- 
lows. 

Weill,  eddy. 

WiS,  wish. 

Woage,  voyage,  enterprise. 

Wobster,  weaver. 

Wod,  mad. 

Worth,  became. 

Wreuch,  wretched. 

Wss,  use. 

Wyly  COyt,  a  short  jacket 
or  coat  worn  under  the 
vest. 

Wyrreit,  strangled. 

Yan,  than. 

Yeid,  went. 

Yett,  gate. 

Ynewcht,  enough. 

Yow,  ewe. 

Yow,  you. 

Yowff,  a  smart  blow. 

Yude,  went. 

Zeemsel,  keeping. 
Zeirdit,  buried. 
Zerne,  move. 
Zharnit,  desired. 
Zung,  young. 


INDEX 


A  man's  a  man  for  a'  that, 

425 

Aaron's  Rod  blossoming,  259 
Abbot,  The,  466 
"  Aberdeen  Doctors,"  The,  260 
Aberdein,  Blyth,  52 
Academy,    The     Edinburgh, 

315  n.,  431  11.,  647 
Acts  of  Parliament— 

1424,  May  26,  c.  25,  115 
March  12,  c.  24,  115 

1449,  c.  6,  115  et  seq. 

1491,  c.  13,  47 

1496,  c.  3,  47 

1503,  c.  2,  47 
„      c.  37,  46 

1532,  c.  2,  47 

1542,  c.  12,  loo  n. 

1555.  c.  40,  1 10 

1690,  c.  23,  352 
„     c.  58,  224 

10  Anne,  c.  10,  224 
c.  12,  352 

Adam  Blair,  517,  520  n.,  524 
Adamson,  John,  235  «. 
Adamson,  Patrick,  171  et  seq., 

246 

Address  to  the  Deil,  414,  422 
Address  to  the  Unco  Guid,  413 
Aden,  0  desie  ofdelyt,  214 
Admiral  Guinea,  653 
Admonitioun,      Buchanan's, 

149 

Admonitioun,  Hume's,  229 
Advyce  to  a  Courtier,  63  n. 
Advyce    to   Lcsom   Mirriness, 

204 

Aefond  kiss.  415  et  seq. 
Aeneid,  The,  Douglas's  trans- 
lation of,  71,  81-86,  123 
Afflek,  James,  63  n. 
Aganis   Sklanderous    Tungis, 

170,  206,  207 
Aganis  the  Opfressioun  of  the 

Contounis,  202 
Aganis  the  Theivis  of  Liddis- 

daill,  202 

Aird,  Thomas,  56^,  636,  682 
Albania,  379 
Alec  Forbes,  618 
Alexander     III.,    Stanza    on 

death  of,  6 


Alexander,    Patrick    Proctor, 

642 
Alexander,   Sir   William,   233 

et  seq. 

Alexander,  William,  619,  636 
Altare  Damasceintm,  280 
Altiora  Peto,  620 
Amours,  Mr.,  1371. 
Analecta,  Wodrow's,  299,  302, 

et  seq. 

Anatomie  of  Humors,  232 
Ancram,  Robert,  Earl  of,  233 
And  you  shall  deal  the  funeral 

dole,  447 
Annals  of  a  Publishing  House, 

499  «-,  5°9.  614 
Annals  0}  the  Parish,  550  et 

seq. 

Annie  Laurie,  399 «. 
Annuity,  The,  612 
Anster  Fair,  27,  562 
Answer,  Knox's,  156 
Answer     to    Curat    Caddel's 

Satyre,  246 
Answer,    The.    to    the   Kingis 

Flyting,  91 
Antiquary,   The,  459,   469  «., 

472,  473 
Appelation    to    the    Nobility, 

Knox's,  136 

Arbuthnot,  Alexander,  200 
Arbuthnot,  Dr.,  371 
Ardmillan,  Lord,  321  n. 
Argenis,  Barclay's,  245  ct  seq. 
Argyle,  Earl  of,  244 
Argyle,  Marquis  of,  224 
Argyll,  the  8th  Duke  of,  631, 

632 

Argyll,  the  gth  Duke  of,  664 
Armour,  Jean,  408 
Armstrong,  Dr.,  371 
Armstrong's  Good  Night,  191  n. 
Arnold,    Mr.   Matthew,   2  n., 

597,  609 
Art  of  Preserving  Health,  The, 

37i 

Asloan  MS.,  5  n. 
Assembly,   Pitcairne's,   249  et 

seq. 
Astronomical          Discourses, 

Chalmers's,  575 
At  Beltayne ,  26 
Auld    Farmer's     Salutation, 

&c.,  414,  419 

693 


Auld  House,  The,  400 
Auld  Lang  Syne,  235,  384 
Auld  Licht  Idylls,  656 
Auld  Maitland,  193 
Auld  Reikie,  402 
Auld  Robin  Gray,  399 
"Aureate"  style,  The,   56  et 

seq.,  86,  89,  122,  et  passim 
Aurora,  Alexander's,  234 
Austen,  Miss,  542,  543 
Autobiography.Dav'd  Hume's, 

325 
Autobiography,  Dr.  Carlyle's, 

314  et  seq.,  362 
Autobiography,     Dr.    Somer- 

ville's,  362  n. 
Autobiography,      Mrs.      Oli- 

phant's,  614 

Awntyrs  of  Arthure,  The,  9 
Ayala,  3,  46  n. 
Ayrshire  Legatees,  The,  550 
Ayton,  Sir  Robert,  234  et  seq., 

246,  384 
Aytoun,  W.  E.,  536,  586-596, 

641 

B 

Bagehot,  Walter,  184  n.,  430  n. 
Baillie,  Joanna,  185,  359,  399 
Baillie,  Lady  Grizel,  399 
Baillie,  Robert,  258, 261  n.,  280, 

285-289 
Bain,  Alexander,  629  et  seq., 

667 

Balcanquhall,  Walter,  270 
Balfour,  Mr.  A.  J.,  668 
Balfour,  Sir  James,  285  n.,  305 
Ballad  to  the  Derisiouti,  &c., 

208 
Ballads,  the  Problem  of  the, 

discussed,  181  et  seq. 
Ballantine,  James,  564,  565 
Ballantyne.     See  Bellenden, 

John 
Ballantyne,  James,  431,  433, 

436,  527  et  seq. 
Ballantyne,  John,  &  Co.,  433, 

435 

Ballantyne,  Thomas,  633 
Ballot,  Ane,  of  our  Lady,  68 
Ballot,  Ane,  of  the  Captane  of 

Hie  Castell,  170 
Ballate  against  evil  women,  54 


694 


INDEX 


Balnaves,  Henry,  133 
Banishment  of  Poverty,  The, 

248 
Hanks  of  Helicon,   The,  206, 

216,  218  et  seq. 
Bannatyne,   George,  69,  207, 

208 

Bannatyne  MS.,  5  n  ,  207,  385 
Bannatyne,  Richard,  162,  283 
Barbour,  John,  9,  14-20,  22,  36 
Barcaple,  Lord,  638 
Barclay,  John,  245  et  seq. 
Barclay,  Robert,  272 
Barclay,  William,  167  n. 
Barnard,  Lady  Anne,  399 
Baron,  Robert,  254,  305 
Barrack-room    Ballads,    186, 

675 
Barrie,  Mr.  J.  M.,  656  et  seq., 

675-  677 

Barring  of  the  Door,  The,  382 
Basilikon  Doron,  165  «.,  167, 

214  «. 
Baynes,     Thomas     Spencer, 

577  n.,  627,  631 
Beaton,  Cardinal,  133,  143  ct 

seq.,  168 
Beattie,  James,  319,  332,  363, 

374  et  seq.,  428 
Beau  Austin,  653 
Beleaguered  City,  A,  615,  616 
Bell,  Henry  Glassford,  564 
Bell,  Mr.  R.  F.,  674 
Bellenden,  John,  113  «.,  120, 

121,  158 

Bellenden,  William,  304 
Berkeley,  Bishop,  334,  335 
Bessy  Bell  and  Mary  Gray, 

386 
Biographia        I'resbyteriana, 

296  n. 

Bishop's  Walk,  The,  604 
Black,  Dr.,  chemist,  315 
Black,  John,  633 
Black,  William,  620  et  seq. 
Blackie,  John  Stuart,  509,  608 

et  seq.,  635 

Blacklock,  Dr.,  377  n.,  406 
Blackwood,  John,  620 
Blackwood,  William,  435,  458 

;;.,  499  et  seq.,  508,  516 
Blackwood's   Magazine,    482, 

493,  501  etseq.,  508,  516,  520, 

521,  531,  536,  550,  562,  587, 

589,  590,  612,  613  et  seq.,  633, 

660 

Blaikie,  Dr.,  638 
Blair,  Hugh,  319,  320, 357,  358, 

407,  428 
Blair,  Robert  (d.  1666),  291  ct 

seq.,  302,  303 
Blair,  Robert  (d.  1746),  371  el 

seq. 
Blind  Harry.    See  Harry  the 

Minstrel. 

Blyth  Abetdein,  52 
Blythsome    Bridal,    The.    28, 

248,  382 

Boece,  Hector,  21,  113,  158 
Bon  Gaulticr Ballads,  523,  593 

et  seq. 
Bonnie  Charlie,  400 


Bonnie  Dundee,  444 
Bonnie  Lesley,  410,  417 
Bonny  Heck,  382,  395 
Bonny  Kilmeny,  533  et  seq. 
Book-hunter,  The,  622 
Booke,  The  Compendious,  &c. 

See     Gude     and      Godlie 

Ballatis. 

Border.    See  Minstrelsy. 
Borland  Hall,  605 
Boston,  Thomas,  325,  353,  354 
Boswell,  James,   320  n.,  338, 

368,  489 

Boswell,  Sir  Alexander,  427 
Both-well,  587 
Both-well  Brig,  191  n.,  246 
Bower,  Walter,  112 
Boyd,  A.  K.  H.,  637  d  seq. 
Boyd,  Robert,  292 
Boyd,  Zachary,  240 
Boyle,  Patrick,  327  n. 
Bradley.  Mr.  Henry,  13  «. 
Braid  Clailh,  401 
Brash,  Ane,  of  Wowing,  58,  67 
Brewster,  Sir  David,  494,  639 
Bride  of  Lammennoor,   The, 

459  et  seq.,  461 
BrifnaU  Banks,  444  et  seq. 
Brii>s  of  Ayr,  The,  412  n. 
Broad-church  movement,  625 
Brodie,  Alexander,  268,  294 
Brotherly     Examination, 

Gillespie's,  259 
Brougham,  Lord,  483,  492  et 

seq.,  502  «.,  580,  583  etseq. 
Brown,  Dr.  John,  640 
Brown,  George  Douglas,  659- 

66r,  677 

Brown,  John,  272,  273 
Brown,  Mr.  J.  B.,  665 
Brown,  Mr.  P.  Hume,  133, 149, 

672  et  seq. 
Brown,  Thomas,  483,  493  el 

seq.,  496 

Browne,  Sir  Thomas,  239,  648 
Browning,    Robert,    65,    602, 

605,  607.  613 

Bruce,  James,  of  Kinnaird,  632 
Bruce,  Michael,  376  etseq. 
Bruce,  Mr.  Robert,  270 
Bruce,  the  Rev.  A.  B.,  668 
Brunton,  Mrs.,  541  etseq. 
Brns,  The,  14,  15  et  seq.,  36 
Buchan.  Mr.  John.  663 
Buchanan,  David,  136  «.,  156 
Buchanan,  George,   113,  145- 

151,  244,  358  11. 
Buchanan,  Robert,  586,  601- 

603,  664 
liuik  of  Alexander  the  Great, 

The,  15 
Bulie,  The,  of  Four  Scoir  Thrc 

Questions,  152 
Bulte,  The,  of  the  Howlat,  4, 38 

ct  seq. 
Bnke,    The,    of  the    Law    of 

Armys,  117  et  seq. 
Burell,  John,  200 
Burne,  Nicol,  156,  157,  170 
Burnet,  Gilbert,  267,  295 
Burnett.    See  Monboddo. 
Burns,  Robert,  28,  65,  70,  86, 


91,  216,  220,  319,  352  n.,  385 

»•,  356,  389,  395,  4°o,  4°i, 
403,  404-428,  430,  490,  491, 
530,  564,  6 10,  646,  649,  660, 
679,  680 

Burthen  of  Issachar,  Max- 
well's, 271 

Burton,  John  Hill,  326,  622, 
"23,  673 

Burton,  Robert,  233 

Bush  aboon  Traqnair,  The, 
Crawford's,  395 

Bush,  aboon  Traqnair,  The, 
Shairp's, 

Burke.  Edmund,  265,377  «. 

Busk  ye,  buskye.y)$ 

Butler,  Bishop,  332,  356 

Byron,  Lord,  433,  444,  482 

Bysset,  Abacuck,  208  n.,  250 


Ca'  the  yowes  to  the  Knowes, 

398 11. 

Cadell,  Robert,  435 
Caird,  John,  627 
Caird,  Mr.  Edward,  666 
Calderwood,  David,  257,  276, 

277,  280-285,  585 
Calderwood,  Henry.  334,  630 
Caledonia,  Chalmers's,  567 
Caledonian  Mercury,  The,  482 
Caller  Hcrrin',  399 
Caller  Water.  402,  403 
Cam'  ye  by  A  thole,  53-) 
Cameron,  John,  304 
Campbell,  Dr.  George,  332 
Campbell,  Dr.  John,  313,  358, 

363 

Campbell,  John  M'Leod,  569 
Campbell,  John  Francis,  429, 

631 

Campbell,  Lord,  492  n. 
Campbell.  Thomas,  562  n. 
Candlish,  Dr.  R.  S.,  575  n.,  668 
Cant,  Andrew,  260,  261  etseq. 
Cant,  Andrew,  secundus,  262 
Cant,  Andrew,  tertius,  262 
Captain  Paton's  Lament,  522 

et  seq. 
Carle  now  the  King's  Come, 

185,  442 
Carlyle,  Dr.   Alexander,   314, 

315,  318,  325,  326,  327  «.,  330, 

348'  353.  361  et  seq.,  372  n. 
Carlyle.  Thomas,  470  et  seq., 

516,  523,  565,  569,  642,  644, 

649 

Carruthers,  Robert,  636 
Castle  of  Indolence,  the,  370, 

375  n. 
CV i to 7mm,  Hamilton's,  131  et 

seq. 

Catechism,  The  Shorter,  259 
CaMona,  648,  651,  652 
Caxton,  84 
Celtic  Scotland,  623 
Chaltlcc  Manuscript,  The,  502 

et  seq.,  518 

Chalmers,  George,  567 
Chalmers,  Thomas,  494,  573- 

579,  581,  617,  638,  668,  672 


INDEX 


695 


ChamaeUon.  149,  150  et  seq. 
Chambers,  Robert,  537  etseq., 

636 

Chambers,  William,  537  elseq. 
Chambers  s  you  rnal,$tf  et  seq. 
Charles  I.,  225.  277 
Charles  1 1.,  269 
Charles  V.,  Robertson's.  318, 

347,  349 

Charteris,  Henrie,  88,  273  n. 
Charteris,  Lawrence,  273  ». 
Chartier,  Alain,  121 
Chaucer,  9,  10,  23,  29,  31,  32, 

58  n.,  63,  76,  188,  220 
Cheap  Magazine,  The,  537 
Cheer,  boys,  cheer  !  608 
Chepman.Walter,  46, 52, 67  «., 

211 
Cherry,  The,  and  the  Sloe,  170, 

206,  216  etseq.,  382,  389,  413 
Chevy  Chase,  192 
Child,  Professor,  181  «.,  189, 

386 

Child's  Garden  of  Verses,  653 
Choice  Collection,  Watson's,38i 

et  seq. 

Chough  and  Crow,  The,  359 
Christabel.  438 
Christis  Kirk  on  the  Green,  27 

et  seq.,  382,  385,  389 
Chronicles  of  Carlingford,  The, 

615 
Chronykil,      Wyntoun's,     20 

et  seq. 
Churchill.Charles,  172,  313  n., 

374,  602 
City  of  Dreadful  Night,  The, 

60211. 
Clarinda,  Mistress  of  my  Soul, 

4t3,  410 

Clark,  Mr.  T.  R.,  665 
Clarke,  Dr.  Samuel,  356 
Cleanness,  10 


Cleghorn,  Jame^,  501 
Cleland,  William,  24 


382 


48  et  seq., 


Clerk  of  Tranent,  10  ».,  38 

Clerk,  John,  361 

Cleveland's  Sang,  446 

Clout  the  Caldron,  412  n. 

Clyde,  The,  379 

Cockburn,  James,  240 

Cockburn,  Lord,  316,  363  n., 
448,  484,  485  n.,  488,  489,  568 

Cockburn,  Mrs.,  399 

Coleman,  Thomas,  259 

Coleridge,  S.  T.,  438,  506,  517 

Colkelbie's  Sow,  42,  43,  78 

Colonsay,  Lord,  568 

Colvil,  Samuel,  192  «.,  237, 
H<> 

Combe,  George,  497  n. 

Common  Sense,  the  Philoso- 
phy of,  365  et  seq. 

Commonitorium,  152 

"  Communal "  theory  of  bal- 
lads discussed,  182  et  seq. 

Compendious  and  breve 
Tractate,  Lauder's,  200 

Compendius  Tractive,  Ken- 
nedy's, 155 

Complaint,  The.  of  Bagsche,  91 


Complaint,     The,     of    Schir 

David  Lyndsay,  90 
Complaint  upon  Fortune,  171 
Complaynt  of  Scotland,    The. 

121-129.   174  «•>  !92  n-<  2I3, 

221  etseq. 

Conclusions,  Hamilton's,  156 
Confession,  Ane  schorl  Catho- 

lik,  156 
Confession,  The    "  Negative," 

156 

Conquest  of  Charlotte,  The,  661 
Considerations  modestae,  257 
Constable  Archibald,  433, 435, 

482,  qS^etseq.,  499,  501,  503, 

506,  536,  520 
Cook,  Douglas,  184 
Cook,  Dr.  George,  565, 571, 581 
Corn  Rigs,  417  et  seq. 
Cottagers  of  Glenburnie,  The, 

54 1 
Cottar's  Saturday  Night,  The, 

409,  412 
Connsell  to  his  Son,  Maitland's, 

204 
Counterblast  to  Tobacco,i6$  n., 

167 

County  Guv,  446 
Courant,  file  Edinburgh,  482, 

624,  635 

Course  of  Time,  Pollok's,  380 
Court  of  Love,  The,  24,  81 
Court  of  Venus,  Tlie,  201 
Courthope,  Mr.  W.  J.,   5  n., 

55,  72,  81  et  seq.,  189  et  seq. 
Cout,  The,  ofKeilder,  437 
Cowper,  Bishop,  269 
Cowper,  Mr.  John,  269,  278 
Cowper,  William,  27 
Craft  of  Deying,  The,  116 
Craig,  John,  156 
Craig,  Sir  Thomas,  246 
Craigie,  Mr.,  36  »  ,  122,  201  «. 
Craik,  George  Lillie,  442  «. 
Craik,  Sir  Henry,  672 
Cranstoun,  Mr.,  169,  209 
Crawford,  Robert,  395 
Cresseid,  The  Testament  of,  31 
Crichton,  James,  245,  255 
Critical  Review,  The,  372,  483 
Crockett,  Mr  S.  R.,  657  et  seq. 
Cromwell,    Oliver,    286,    293, 

295,  329,  33°,  368 
Crook  in   the   Lot,   Boston's, 

353  n. 

Cruise  of  the  Midge,  The,  561 
Cry  of  Blood,  The,  242 
Cumnor  Hall,  375 
Cumrie,  Elizabeth,  Lady,  240 
Cunningham,  Allan,  562 
Cursing,  Sir  John  Rowll's,^ 
Cypress  Graze,   Drummond's, 

238  et seq. 
Cyril  Thornton,  559  et  seq. 


D 

Daemonologie,  by  James  VI., 

167 

Daft  Days,  The,  402 
Dallas,  Eneas  Sweetman,  633 


Dalrymple,  James,  O.S.B.,  160 

et  seq. 
Dalrymple,    Sir    David.    See 

Hailes 

Damian,  John,  48 
Dance,   The,  in   the   Queenis 

Chalmer,  58 
Dance,  The,  of  the  Sevin  deidly 

Synnis,  64,  65,  394 
Daughter  of  Heth,  A,  621 
David  I.,  3 

David  Elginbrod,  618 
Davidson,  Dr.  A  B.,  669 
Davidson,  John  (1563),  155  n. 
Davidson,  John  (b.  1857),  664, 

665 

Davidson,  Thomas,  667 
Day  Estivall,   Of  the,  229  et 

seq. 

De  Confusione,  157 
DeJureRegni,  148,  152 
De  Sphaera,  Buchanan's,  146 
De  Unione,  Hume's,  274 
Deacon  Brodie,  653 
Death  and  Dr.  Hornbook,  414, 

422 
Defence  ofCrissell  Sandilands, 

171 

Defoe,  Daniel,  237 
Dekker,  233 
Delitiae,MusanimScoticarum, 

•  245 

"  Delta."      See    Moir,   David 

Macbeth 

Dempster,  Thomas,  232,  246 
Deploratioun,  The,  of  Quene 

Magdalene,  91 
Destiny,  542,  544,  545  et  seq. 
Destruction  of  1'roy,  The,  10, 13 
Detectio,  Buchanan's,  147 
Devoritwith  Drcme,  54  n.,  64 
Dialogue    betuix    Experience 

and  ane  Courteour,  95,  96, 

109  n. 
Dialogues  concerning  Natural 

Religion,  323 
Diary,    Alexander    Jaffray's, 

294 

Diary,  Brodie  of  Brodie's,  294 
Diary,  Lament's,  294 
Diary,  Mr.  James  Melville's, 

163 

Diary.  Xicoll's,  293 
Dick  o'  the  Cow,  191  n. 
Dickens,  Charles,  491,  543, 613 
Dickson,  David,  258,  259,  260, 

273,  281  et  seq. 
Dido  and  Aeneas,  242  et  seq. 
Disciple,  The,  607 
Discipline,  542 
Disputation,  Burne's,  156 
Dissertation  on  Miracles,  332 
Diurnal   of  Remarkable  Oc- 

currents,  162 
Dods,  Dr.  Marcus,  669 
Donald  Caird,  185,  443  et  seq. 
Donald  of  the  Isles,  3 
Donald  Oure,  Epitaph  on,  68 
Doomesday,  Alexander's,  234 
Douglas,  Francis,  397 
Douglas, Gavin,  41  «.,  61 ;«.,  70- 

86,  123,  272 


696 


INDEX 


Douglas,  Mr.  David,  638 
Douglas,  Mr.  Robert,  271 
Douglas,  Home's,  330,  358, 

359,  362  «.,  372,  378 
Douglas,  History  of  the  House 

of,  274  et  seq. 
Dowie  Dens  of  Yarrow,  The, 

199 

Dnepdaily  Burghs,  590 
Dregy,  The,  53,  69 
Dreme,  The,  89 
Droich's  Part  of  the  Play,  The, 

59 

Drummond,  Henry,  669 
Drummond,     William,    235- 

240,  252,  272,  382 
Dryden,  Scott's   edition  and 

Life  of,  433,  451 
Duel,   The,  of  Wharton  and 

Stuart,  191  11. 
Duff,  Dr.,  263  n.,  266 
Dunbar,  William,  4,  9,  41  n., 

43  n.,  48-70,  76,  86,  87,  204, 

219,  220,  394 
Dunbar' s  Complaint,  50 
Dunbar's  Remonstrance,  50 
Duncan  Gray,  30,  419 
Dundee,  Viscount,  224 
Duns,  Dr.,  638 
Durfey,  Tom,  385 


Early  Scots,  116  «. 
Easter  Hymn,  53 
£66  Tide,  The,  652 
Edgar,  John  George,  633 
Edgeworth,  Miss.  542,  543 
Edinburgh     Review      (1755), 

ISI  «..  355,  483 
Edinburgh  Review  (1802),  433, 

483-499,  501,  505,  51611.,  536, 

638,  674 

Edward  III.,  12 
Edward  VI.,  134 
Rliskybalauron.    See  Jewel 
Elegy,  Lithgow's,  231,  232 
Elibank,  Lord  Patrick,  361 
Eliot,  George,  615,  618,  639 
Elizabeth,  Queen,  148 
Elliot,  Jane,  399 
"Eloquence,"  The  Tradition 

of,  308,  319  etseq.,  568 
Elphinstone,  William,  47 
Elwin,   The    Rev.   Whitwell, 

369  «. 
Encyclopedia  Britannica,  409, 

451,  495,  5i6  n.,  626 
Entail,  The,  558  et  seq. 
Epigoniad,  The,  372  et  seq. 
Epistle  to  a  Young  Friend,  410, 

413 

Epistle  to  Da-vie,  413 
Epistle  to  John  Rankine,  410, 

412  «. 

Epistle  to  Montcreif,  229 
Epistle  to  Robert  Graham,  412 
Epistle  to   William  Simpson, 

400,  412  n. 
Erceldoune,  Thomas  of.    See 

Rymour 
Erkenwald,  10 


Erskine,  Dr.  John,  347,  353  «. 
Erskine,      Ebenezer,     267  n., 

355  «• 

Erskine,  Thomas,  569,  610 
Espinasse,  Mr.,  635  n. 
Essay  on  Man,  Pope's,  190 
Essay  on   Miracles,   323,  332 

et  seq. 

Essay  on  Truth,  332 
Essayes    of   a    Prentise,    by 

James  VI.,  165 
Essays,  Moral   and  Political, 

323,  325 
Evangelical     party     in     the 

Church,  353,  569  et  seq. 
Evergreen,  The,  70,  385 
Ewie,   The,   wi'    the    Crookit 

Horn,  398 

Excursion,  The,  489  et  seq.,  600 
Exhortation  to  the  Scottes,i25  n. 


Fables,   Henryson's,  29,  33  et 

seq. 

Fables,  Ramsay's,  388 
Fables,  Wilkie's,  373 
Fairfoul,  Mr.  Andrew,  300 
Fair  Helen  of  Kirconnell,  194 

et  seq. 

Fair  Maid  of  Perth,  The,  468 
Fair  to  Sec.  620 
Falconer,  William,  373  et  seq. 
Familiar  Studies  of  Men  and 

Books,  653 

Farewell  to  the  Clyde,  231 
Farewell     to     Northberwiclte 

Law,  231 
Faythful  Admonition,  Knox's, 

135 
Felicitie  of  the  Life  to  Come, 

229 
Ferdinand,    Count    Fathom, 

451 

Ferguson,  Adam,  359  etseq. 
Fergusson,  David,  155 
Fergusson,  Mr.  James,  271 
Fergusson,     Robert,    28,    86, 

401-404,  412,  422,  648 
Ferrier,  James  Walter,  654 
Ferrier,    Miss,    542-548,    619, 

68 1 

Ferrier,  Professor,  508,  629 
Findlater,  Miss  J.  H.,  663 
Fingal,  428 
Firmilian,  589  et  seq. 
First  Blast   of  the   Trumpet, 

Knox's,  135,  137 'etseq.,  152 
Flagellum  Sectariorum,  152 
Fleming,  Mr.  David  Hay,  671, 

672 

Fletcher,  Andrew,  308-311 
Fletcher,  Mr.  David,  301 
Flint,  Dr.  Robert,  670,  671 
Flower  and  the  Leaf,  The,  24 
Flowers  of  the  Forest,  The,  399 
Flov'frs  of  Zion,  236 
Flyting,  The,  between  Dunbar 

and  Kennedy,  4,  53  «. 
Flyting  The,  between    Mont- 

gomerie  and  Polwarth,  215 

et  seq. 


Folie,  The,  of  ant  Auld  Manis 

'(arryand  Sfc.,  205 
Forbes,  John,  256,  257 
Forbes,  Patrick,  256,  257 
Forbes,  Principal,  631 
Forbes,  William,  256  et  seq. 
Fordun,  John,  112 
Forth  Feasting,  235,  236 
For  the  sake  of  somebody,  387 
Fortunes  of  Nigel,   The,  458, 

465,  466 

Fourfold  State,  Boston's,  325 
Fowler,  William,  200 
Franciscanus,  Buchanan's,  146 
Fraser,  Alexander  Campbell, 

629,  638,  639 

Fraser,  Sir  William,  672  n. 
Free     Disputation,      Ruther- 
ford's, 262 

Freedom,     Harbour's     apos- 
trophe to.  1 6 

Freeman,  Mr.  Edward,  I,  3  n. 
Freiris  of  Berwik,  The,  59,  65 
Furnivall,  Mr.  F.  J.,  221  ;(. 


Gaberlunzie  Man,  The,  412  n. 
Galbraith,  in  n. 
Gait,  John,  549-559,  6l9 
Gaiden  of  Zion,  Boyd's,  240 
Gardenston,  Lord,  320  «. 
Gau,  John,  130,  131 
Gawane,  The  Awntyre  of,  8,  9, 

13 
Gawayne     and     the     Green 

Knight,  9,  12  n.,  13 
Geddes,  Alexander,  395 
Gentv  Tibby  and  Sonsy  Nelly 

386 

Geoffrey  of  Monmouth,  10  n. 
Gest  Hystorialle,  The,  8,  9 
Gibbon,  Edward,  328,  329,  344, 

348-  449 

Gilford,  William,  236,  498 
Gilford  Lecture,  627,  629,  665 
Giltillan,  George,  577  n.,  640, 

676 

Gilfillan,  Robert,  564 
Gillespie,  George,  258,  259 
Gillies,  R.  P.,  430  n.,  468  n. 
Glencairn,    Alexander,     Earl 

of,  200 
Clciniintchkin  Railw ay,  590  et 

seq. 
Go,  fetch  to  me  a  pinto'  wine, 

410,  414 
God  gif  ye  war  Johne  Thom- 

sounis  man,  50 
Godly    Letter    of     Warning, 

Knox's,  136 
Godly  Prayer,  Montgomerie's, 

212 
Golagros  and  Gawayne,  10  n., 

38 
Goldyn  Targe,  The,  53,  56,  57, 

67  n.,  190 

Good  Words,  636  et  seq. 
Gordon,  Alexander,  230 
Gordon,  James,  291 
Gordon,  Sir  Robert,  of  Stra- 

loch,  254,  291 


INDEX 


697 


Gower,  9,  10,  76 
Grahame,  James,  380 
Grahame,  Simeon,  232  et  seq. 
Grant,  James,  621 
Grant,  James  Augustus,  632 
Grant,  Mrs.,  of  Laggan,   539 

et  seq. 
Grant,  Sir  Alexander,  628  et 

seq. 

Grant-Duff,  Sir  M.  E.,  639 
Grave,  The,  371  et  seq. 
Gray,  David,  586,  599  et  seq., 

682 

Green,  Mr.  J.  R.,  i 
Green  grow  the  Rashes  O,  417 

et  seq. 

Gregory,  Alexander,  363 
Gret  Gest  off  Arthure,  The,  8,  9 
Grose,  Francis,  424 
Grotius,  149 
Grub,  George,  625 
Gudeand  Godlie  Ballatis,Tlic, 

172  et  seq. 

Gudt  Counsals,  206 
Guest,  Dr.,  5  n. 
Gummere,  Professor,   181  n., 

182  et  seq. 

Guthrie,  Dr.  Thomas,  575  n. 
Guthrie,  Mr.  James,  271 
Guthrie,  Mr.  William,  272 
Guy  Mannering,  449  n.,  458, 

466,  468.  469  et  seq.,  473,  475 

et  seq. 
Gyre-Carling,  The,  43 


H 

Habbie  Sintson,  247  et  seq.,  382, 

389.  393.  4°2  «-,  412  »-,  413 
Hailes,  Lord,  70,  357 
Haldane,  Mr.  R.  B.,  668 
Halket,  George,  395 
Mallard,  Mr.  J.  H.,  665 
Halloo,  my  Fancy,  249,  382 
Halloween,  28,  412  n.,  413,  422 
Hallow/air,  402,  403,  et  seq. 
Hamilton,  Archibald,  157 
Hamilton,   Elizabeth,  540   et 

seq. 

Hamilton,  John,  156 
Hamilton,  John  (Archbishop), 

131  et  seq.,  155 
Hamilton,  Sir  William,  496- 

498,  5°5.  5°9,  5i6 
Hamilton,  Thomas,  504,  559 

et  seq. 
Hamilton,  William,  of   Ban- 

gour,  395 
Hamilton,   William,   of    Gil- 

berttield,  382,  395 
Hanna,  Dr.,  610,  638 
Hannay,  James,  623,  635  et 

seq.,  639,  641 
Hannay,  Patrick,  230 
Hardyknute,  185 
Harlaw,  185,  446 
Harry  the  Minstrel,  35-38,  395 
Harryson,  James,  125  n. 
Hay,  John,  156 
Hay  now  the  Day  dauis,  213 
Haye,  Sir  Gilbert,  117  et  seq. 


Hazlitt,  William,  471  «.,  472, 
491 

Heart  of  Midlothian,  The,  391, 
470,  473.  477  et  seq. 

Hepburn,  T.  N.  See  "  Setoun, 
Gabriel " 

Hedderwick,  James,  600 

Helenore,  396 

Henderson,  Alexander,  258, 
259,  260,  271 

Henderson,  Mr.  T.  F.,  23  «., 
27,  28  n.,  31,  41,  55,  82,  83, 
in  «.,  187  11.,  195  n.,  404  n. 

Henley,  Mr.  W.  E.,  7O«.,  184, 
211  11.,  404/1.,  412,  413,  511, 
602, 650, 653,655  «.,  674  et  seq. 

Henry  VII.,  50 

Henryson,  Robert,  29-35, 63  n., 
220 

Hepburn,  Robert,  482 

Herd,  David,  412,  566,  567 

Hermit,  Beattie's,  375 

Heroes,  Scott's,  461  et  seq. 

Heroines,  Scott's,  461  et  seq. 

Heryot,  63  «. 

Hew,  of  Eglinton,  Sir,  yet  seq. 

Hewison,  Mr.,  145*1. 

Hev  Johnnie  Cope,  191  n.,  395 

"  Higher  Criticism,"  The,  668 
et  seq. 

Highland  Mary,  410 

Highland  Widow,  The,  458  n. 

Highlanders,  attitude  of  Low- 
landers  towards,  3  et  seq., 
249,  309 

Hilda  Among  the  Broken  Gods, 
605 

Hill,  Dr.  George,  354,  571 

Hind  let  loose,  Shields's,  272, 
273 

Hislop,  James,  564 

Historia  Marjoris  Britannia, 
114 

Historical  View  of  the  English 
Government,  368 

Historical  Vindication,  Bail- 
lie's,  285 

Historic,  The,  of  Squyer  Mel- 
dntm,  92  et  seq. 

Historic  of  the  House  of  Setoun, 
162 

Historic  of  Scotland,  Leslye's, 
1 60  et  seq. 

Historic  and  Cronicles  of 
Scotland,  Pitscottie's,  157  et 
seq. 

History  of  America,  Robert- 
son's, 347,  349,  350  et  seq. 

History  of  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land, Calderwood's,  280  et 
seq. 

History  of  the  Church  of  Scot- 
laud,  Spottiswoode's,  151, 
277  et  seq. 

History  of  Civil  Society,  360 

History  of  England,  Hume's, 
324,  327  et  seq.,  368 

History  of  Europe,  Alison's, 
566 

History  of  the  Kirk,  Row's,29O 

History  of  the  Reformation, 
Knox's,  136,  iy)  etseq. 


History 'of  Scotland,  Burton's, 
622 

History  of  Scotland,  Drum- 
mond's,  237,  272 

History  of  Scotland,  Mr.  Hume 
Brown's,  672,  673 

History  of  Scotland,  Mr.  A. 
Lang's,  673 

History  of  Scotland,  Robert- 
son's, 347 

History  of  Scotland,  Tytler's, 

S^S 

History  of  Scots  Affairs,  291 
History  of  the  Sufferings,  S/c., 

Wodrow's,  299  et  seq. 
Hogg,   James,    185,   407,  427, 

430  11.,  437,  501  n.,  503,  505, 

508,  529-536,  580 
Holiday  House,  619 
Holinshed,  21 
Holy  Fair,  The,  28, 412  «.,  413, 

422 
Holy   Willie's  Prayer,  412  «., 

414,  421  et  seq. 
Home,  Henry.     See  Kames 
Home,  John,  322,  325,  358  et 

seq.,  371,  372,  428,  457 
Horner,  Francis,  317  n.,  483 
Hosack,  John,  625 
House  of  Fame,  The,  81 
House,    The,    with  the  Green 

Shutters,  659  et  seq. 
Howie,  John,  303 
Huchown,  8-14,  22 
Hume,  Alexander,  minister  of 

Logic,  228  et  seq. 
Hume,     Alexander,     school- 
master, 250  etseq. 
Hume,  Anna,  275 
Hume,  David,  313,  314,  317, 

318,   322-336,  338,  343,  344, 

359,  364.  367.  368,  372  etseq., 

411,  422,  428,  432,  481 
Hume,  David,  of  Godscroft, 

246,  274  et  seq. 
Hume,  George,  561  n. 
Hume,   Sir  Patrick,   of    Pol- 

warth,  215  et  seq.,  228 
Humphry  Clinker,  371,  454 
Hunter,  Mr.  Robert,  318 
Hutcheson,  Francis,  337,  338- 

34°,  343,  344.  356 
Hutton,  Dr.,  geologist,  315 
Hutton,  Mr.  R.  H.,  184,  430  «. 
Hymns,  Hume's,  228  et  seq. 


In  prays  of  Women,  54 

Inglis,  Lord  President,  243  n. 

Inglis,  Sir  James,  in  n.,  121 

Inheritance,  The,  542,  543, 544, 
546  et  seq. 

Innes,  Cosmo,  623 

Innes,  Thomas,  357 

Inquiry  concerning  the  Prin- 
ciples of  Morals,  323 

Inquiry  into  the  Human 
Mi  nil,  Reid's,  363,  364  et  seq . 

Instntctiones,  John  Forbes's, 
257 


698 


INDEX 


Ireland,  John  of,  119 
Irenicum,  John  Forbes's,  257 
Irving,  David,  5  «.,  567,  568 
Irving,  Edward,  569,  616,  617 
Island  of  the  Scots,  The,  588 

589 

Isle  of  Palms,  The,  508,  510 
It   was   a'  for  our  RtgfUfu 

King,  410,  414  etseq. 
Ivanhoe,  464,  466 

J 

!  affray,  Alexander,  294,  295 
ames  I.,  21,  23-29 
ames  II.,  158 
ames  IV.,  3,  44,  46  et  seq.,  73 

158 
James  V.,  27,  43,  87,  142,  158 

159,  161,  191 

James  VI.,  164  et  seq.,  191,  214, 
224,  234,  235,  271,  276,  278, 
280 

James  Dog,  58 
Jamie  Telfer,  191  »».,  193,  198, 

199 

amieson,  John,  567 
ardine,  Dr.  John,  361 
ebb,  Bishop,  268 
effrey,  Francis,  316,  367,  441, 
483,  485-492,  496  H.,  568 
Jekyll  and  Hyde,  646,  651 
Jenkin,  Fleeming,  639 
Jennys  Bawbee,  427 
Jessie  the  t 'lower  of  Dunblane, 

427 

Jewel,  Urquhart's,  253  et  seq. 
John  Cowper,  388,  390  et  seq., 

393 

John  the  Reve,  41,  78 
John  Tod,  400 
Johnet  Reid,  etc.,  171 
Johnie  Armstrong,  199 
Johnny  Gibb,  619 
Johnson,    Dr.     Samuel,    188, 
313  11.,  320  ;(.,  338,  358  11., 
429,  489 
Johnston,  Arthur,    149,    245, 

358  n. 

Johnston,  Robert,  285 
Johnstoun,  Patrick,  63  n. 
Jok  and  Jyuny,  The  Wowing 

of.  44 
Jolly   Beggars,    The,    412    n., 

413,  414,  424  et  seq.,  610 
Jonson,  Ben,  236 
Joshua  Redivivus,  262 
Journal,  Scott's,  435,  466,  614 
Journal    of  a    Tour   to    the 

Hebrides,  368 
Julia  de  Roubigne,  455 
Justified      Sinner,      Private 

Memoirs   of    a,     302,     531 

et  seq. 

Justing,  The,  91 
Justing  and  Debait,  The,  208 

K 

"Kailyard"     literature,    511, 

619,  657  et  seq.,  680  et  seq. 
Kames,  Lord,  356  et  seq. 


Katie  Stewart,  616 

Keith  Charles,  397 

Kenilwotth,  465.  466 

Kenmnrc's  on  and  awa',  417 

Kennedy,  Quintine,  155 

Kennedy,  Mr.    Andro,    Testa 
menl  of,  53  ».,  65-67 

Kennedy,  Walter,  4,  49  n.,  60 
et  seq.,  63,  76 

Ker,  John,  627 

Kidnapped,  651,  652 

Kilbarchan.        See     Habbi 
Simson 

King,  Adam,  156 

King   Arthur  and  Sir  Corn- 
wall, 189 

King  Berdok,  43 

King  Hart,  71,  81 

Kingis  Quair,  The,  23  et  seq. 

Kingsley,  Henry,  636 

Kinloch,  Dr.  David,  246 

Kinmunt  Willie,  185,  191,  193 

Kipling,   Mr.,    185,    602,    658 
675 

Kirk,  Robert,  290 

Kirkaldy,  Sir  William,  170 

Kirkton,  James,  268,  295,  505 
et  seq. 

Knox,  John,  113,  133-145, 
152,  153,  155,  156,  157,  158, 
1 80,  265,  279,  282,  283,  585, 
646 

Knox,  Mrs.,  610 

Kyd,  in  n. 

Kynd  Kittok,  53 

Kynlouch,  in  n. 


LaQuadrilogue  Invectif,  121 
Lads,    The,    of    Wamphray, 

191 11. 
Lady,  The,  of  the  Lake,  433, 

439,  44 i 

Laidlaw,  William,  437,  506 
Laing,  David,  505  n.,  568 
Laing,  Malcolm,  243,  481 
Laird  of  Cockpen,  The,  399 
Lament,  The,  413 
Lament   of    the    Master    of 

Erskyn,  209,  210 
Lament  for  the  Makaris,  9,  53, 

61,  62  et  seq.,  65 
Lament,  John,  294 
Lamp  of  Lothian,  The,  537  n. 
Lancaster,  Henry  Hill,  639 
Land  o'  the  Leal,  399 
Lang,  Mr.  Andrew,  142  n.,  186 

et  seq.,  457  ;».,  461,  653  ».,  673, 

676 

Large  Declaration,  The,  271 
Lass,  The,  oj  Patie's  Mill.  387 
Last  Blast  of  the  Tnimpet,  152, 

153 

Last  of  the  Lairds,  The,  559 
Last  Speech   of  a    Wretched 

Miser,  391,  41211. 
Latin,  66  n.,  112,  244  etseq. 
^auder,  Sir  Thomas  Dick,  560 

et  seq. 
Lander,  William  (1556),  200 


Lauder,    William    (d.    1771), 

246,  358  n. 

Laurie,  Mr.  Simon,  667 
Law,  Robert,  295,  296 
Law,  Mr.  T.  G.,  ngn.,  131 
Lay,  The,  of  the  Last  Minstrel, 

433,  438  et  seq.,  441 
Lay  of  the  Love-lorn.  The,  594 
Lays  of  the  Scottish  Cavaliers, 

587 
Leader  Haughs  and  Yarrow 

383 

Lectures.  Blair's,  357 
Lectures  in    Divinity,   Hill's, 

354 

Lee,  Principal,  565 
Legend  of  the  Lymmaris  Lyfe, 

171  etseq. 

Leighton,  Alexander,  268 
Leighton,    Robert,     268-270, 

272,  301 

Leishman,  Dr.  Thomas,  671 
Leith  Races,  28, 402 
Lekpreuik,  Robert,  169  «. 
Lenore,  Burger's,  432 
Leslie,  John,  494 
Leslye,  John,  160-162 
Lethington.    See  Maitland. 
Letter  to  Lord  Brougham,  580, 

583  et  seq. 
Letter   to     the    Commonalty, 

Knox's,  136 
Letters,   Rutherford's,  262    et 

seq.,  273 
Letters  and  Journals,  Baillie's 

286  et  seq. 
Letters  from   the   Mountains, 

539  el  seq. 
Lewd  Ballet,  170 
Lewie  Gordon,  395 
Lewis,  M.  G  ,  437 
Lex  Rex,  262 
Leyden,  John,  185,  219,  380, 

437 
Life,  The,  of  God  in  the  Soul  of 

Man,  267  et  seq. 
Life  of  Burns,  Lockhart's,  524 
Life  of  John  Knox,  M'Crie's, 

566 

Life  of  Johnson,  Bos  well's,  368 
Life  of  Milton,  Masson's,  643, 

644 
Life  of  Scott,  Lockhart's,430  «., 

517,  523,  524  et  seq. 
Life-Drama,  A,  597  et  seq. 
Lindsay,    Robert.      See    Pit- 

scottie 

Lithgow,  William,  230  et  seq. 
Little  Dunkeld  Case.WI  etseq. 
Little  Minister,  The,  656 
Lives  of  the  Bishops  of  Mort- 

lach  and  Aberdeen,  113 
Lives  of  the  Lindsays,  625 
Livingstone,  David,  632 
Livingstone,  John,  292  et  seq . 
Lockhart,   John  Gibson,  315, 
362  11.,  430  n.,  434  «.,  435, 
442,  448,  449,  452,  466,  495, 
502,  503,  504,  505,  507,  515- 
529,  530  11.,  531,  620,  624 
Lockhart,  L.  W.  M.,  620 
!x>ckhart,  Mungo,  63  n. 


INDEX 


699 


Lodging,  A,  for  the  Night,  653 

Logan,  John,  376  etseq. 

Logic  o'  Buchan,  395 

London.  650 

London  Poems,  601 

London  thow  art,  &c.,  51 

Lord  of  the  Isles,  The,  18 

Lord  Maxwell's  Good-night, 
191  ;/.,  196  et  seq. 

Lord  Sonlis,  437 

London  Hill,  191  «.,  246 

Lounger,  The,  456,  539  w. 

Love,  Dr.,  263 

Love  is  like  a  dizziness,  535 
et  seq. 

Lowell,  Mr.,  on  Dunbar,  55 

Lowlanders,  attitude  of  to- 
wards Highlanders,  3  etseq. 

Lucky  Spence's  last  Advice, 
392,  412  «. 

Lucky  Wood,  390 

Lucy'sFlittin',  437 

Lttggie,  The,  600 

Lydgate,  9,  76 

Lyell,  Sir  Charles,  580,  631 

Lykc-urake  Dirge,  193 

Lyndsay,  Sir  David,  43,  481;., 
56.  59.  67  «.,  69,  82  «.,  86-109, 

HO,  I2O,  121,  158  «.,  219 

"  Lysimachus  Nicanor,"  242 


M 

M'Andrew's  Hymn,  374 
Macaulay,     Lord,     328,    493, 

494  «• 

Maccall,  William,  633 
M'Cosh,  James,  630 
M'Crie,  Dr.,  452  «.,  566 
M'Culloch.  J.  R.,  495,  505  n. 
Macdonald,  George,  606,  607, 

617-619 
Mackay,  Charles,  564  n.,  607 

et  seq. 

Mackay,  Eric,  608 
Mackay,    Mr.  Aeneas,  47,  48, 

114  it.,  157  n. 

Mackenzie,  Dr.  George,  568 
Mackenzie,     Henry,    319    «., 

354  «-i   359.   362',   407,    455 

etseq.,  503,  53911. 
Mackenzie,  Mr.  Murdoch,  301 
Mackenzie,  Sir  George,  2441;., 

305-308,  382 
Mackintosh,  Sir  James,  495  »., 

502  n. 

"  Maclaren,  Ian,"  658 
Maclaurin,  Colin,  321,  354 
M'Lehose,  Mrs.,  407  et  seq. 
M'Lennan,    John    Ferguson, 

631 

"  Macleod,  Fiona,"  662 
Macleod,    Norman,   604,  625, 

637 

Macleod  of  Dare,  621 
M'N'aught.  Marion,  263  et  seq. 
M'Neill,  Mr.  G.  P.,  7,6711. 
Macpherson,  David,  83  n. 
Macpherson,  James,  428  et  seq. 
Macpherson,      Mr.      Hector, 

667  11. 


M'Pherson's  Farewell,  425 
McWard,  Robert,  272,  273 
Madman's  Love,  The,  563 
Maga.  See  Blackwood's  Maga- 
zine 

Maggie  yohnstoun,  390,  391 
Maggie  Lauder,  248,  383 
Maggie's  Tocher,  383 
Maida,  Scott's  lines  concern- 
ing epitaph  on,  442  et  seq. 
Maidment,  James,  568 
Maitland,  Sir  John,  207 
Maitland,  Sir    Richard,    162, 

170,  201-207,  216 
Maitland,  William,  149  et  seq., 

20 1 

Maitland  MS.,  5  n.,  63  «.,  207 
Major,   John,   23,  24,  25,   113 

et  seq.,  133,  158  ». 
Malachi  Malagrowther,  Letters 

of,  453  et  seq. 
Malcolm  Canmore,  3 
Mallet,  David,  318 
Man  of  Feeling,  The,  455  et  seq. 
Mannyng,  Robert,  7 
Mansel,  Dean,  498,  630 
Mansfield,  Lord,  318 
Mansie  Waugh,  559,  562 
Margaret  Maitland,  616,  617 
Margret  Fleming,  171 
Markheim,  651 
Marmion,  18,  433,   439,   441, 

442,  444,  488,  49° 
Marriage,  542,  543 
Marriage,  The,  of  Sir  Gawain, 

189 

Marryat,  Captain,  561 
Martin,    Sir    Theodore,    589, 

593  et  seq. 

Mary  of  Lorraine,  137 
Mary,   Queen  of    Scots,    136 

et  seq.,  146  etseq.,  152,  191, 

276,  277,  466,  481,  672 
Mary  Tudor,  137 
Mary  Morison,  413,  415 
Massacre  of  the  Macpherson, 

The,  594 
Masson,  Mr.  David,  239,  643 

et  seq. 

Master  of  Ballantrae,  The,  651 
Mathieson,  Mr.  W.  L.,  225  n. 
Matthew  Wald,  517,  524 
Maxwell,  James  Clerk,  631 
Maxwell,  John,  242,  271 
Maxwell,  Sir  Herbert,  15 
Maxwell,     Sir    W.     Stirling, 

104  n.,  623 

Meldrum,  Mr.  D.  S.,  661 
Melville,  Andrew,  246 
Melville,  Mr.  James,  153,  163, 

164 

Melville,  Sir  James,  147,  n.  163 
Member,  The,  549 
Memoirs,  Blair's,  291  et  seq. 
Memoirs   of    the    affairs    of 

Scotland,  306 
Memoirs  of  a  Highland  Lady, 

436  ;;. 

Memorable       Characteristics, 

Livingstone's,  293 
Mcmoriale,  Richard  Banna- 

tyne's,  162 


Memorialls,  Law's,  295 

Memorialls  of  the  Tmbles, 
Spalding's,  290 

Memorials,  Sir  James  Mel- 
ville's, 163,  166 

Memorie  of  the  Somennlles, 

275  a- 
Memories  and  Portraits,  653, 

654 

Merle,  The,  and  the  Nightin- 
gale, 53 

Merry  Wives  of  Musselburgh's 
Welcome,  &c.,  394 

Mersar,  63  n. 

Metcalfe,  Dr.  W.  M.,  674 

Methven,  Paul,  170 

Mickle,  William,  Julius,  185  , 
375 

Middle  Scots,  116  n. 

Mill,  Mr.  John,  367,  493,  630, 
642 

Millar,    Andrew,    bookseller, 

313 
Millar,  John,  322,  367  et  seq., 

486 

Miller,  George,  537 
Miller,  Hugh,  348  n.,  575  «., 

580-585 

Miller,  James,  537  n. 
Miller,  William,  564 
Milligan,  Dr.  William,  670 
Mine  is  Thine,  620 
Minstrel,  Beattie's,  375  et  seq. 
Minstelsy     of     the     Scottish 

Border,  186,  433,  437  et  seq., 

530 

Minto,  William,  676  n. 
Miracles.    See  Essay. 
Mirror,  The,  456,  539  n. 
Miser.    See  Last  Speech. 
Miscellaneous    Prose     Works, 

Scott's,  448  et  seq.,  453 
Miserie  thefrute  of  Vyce,  202 
Miss  Marjoribanks,  615 
Mitchell,  Professor,  173,  178, 

1 80,  672 
Moderate  party  in  the  Church, 

352  et  seq. 
Moir,    David    Macbeth,    559, 

562 

Moir,  George,  516  n. 
Monarchic.  The,  95,  96,  109  «. 
Monboddo,  Lord,  357 
Moncreiff,  Lord,  620 
"  Monolog    recreative,"  The, 

124 

Monro,  Alexander,  321 
Montgomerie,    Alexander,   4, 

208,   209    «.,   212-219,    228, 

241,  382 

Montgomery,  James,  562  n. 
Monthly  Review,  The,  483 
Montrose,    Marquis    of,    224 , 

243  et  seq.,  293 
Moray  Floods,  The,  561 
Morison.  Dr.  Robert,  305 
Morte  Arthure,  9,  12,  13 
Motherwell,  William,   563  et 

seq. 

Munro,  Mr.  Neil,  662 
Mure,  Colonel,  628  n. 
Mure,  Sir  William,  241  et  seq. 


INDEX 


Murray,  Dr.  J.  A.  H.,  3  «.,  7, 

116  n. 
Murray,  Sir  David,  of  Gorthy, 

233 

Muschet,  George,  240 
Musical  Museum,  Johnson's, 

408,  418 

My  Jo  Janet.  383 
My  Luve  is  like  a  red,  red  rose, 

414 

My  Nanie,  O,  417 
My  Schools  and  Schoolmasters. 

58i 
Myllar,  Andro,  46,  52,  67  »»., 

209 
Mylne,  Robert,  250 

N 

Nairne,  Lady,  309 

Napier,  John,  of  Merchiston, 

200 

Napier,  Macvey,  493,  498 
Napier,  Mark,  243,  297,  622 
Napoleon  Buonaparte,  Lije  of, 

449  et  scq. 
Natural  History  of  Religion, 

324 

Naval  Tactics,  Clerk's,  361 
Navigatioun,  The,  213 
Narratives  of  Scotch  Catholics, 

1 60 

Neaves,  Lord,  612,  613 
Neilson,  Mr.  George,  10  etseq. 
Neilson,  Mr.  W.  A.,  121  n. 
Nepenthes,  167 
New    Arabian    Nights,    The, 

65°,  653 

New  Testament,  119 
New    Yeir,     Maitland's,    204, 

205 
New  Yeir  Gift  to  the  Queue 

Mary,  209 
Nichol,  John,   5  n.,   664,   676 

etseq. 

Nichol,  John  Pringle,  497  «. 
Nicholson,  William,  564 
Nicol,  William,  407,  416 
Nicoll,  John,  293 
Nicolson,     Alexander,       611 

et  seq. 

Nisbet,  Murdoch,  119 
Noctes   Ambrosianae,    507  et 

seq.,  512  etseq.,  517,  530 
Nonnan  Sinclair,  587 
"  North,    Christopher."      See 

Wilson,  John  (d.  1854). 
North    British    Review,   The, 

573  H-,  638  et  seq.,  674 
Novelists'  Library,  451 


Observer,  The  Scots  (National) 

184,  653  11.,  656,  674  et  seq. 
Ode  to  the  Cuckoo,  377  et  seq 
Ode  to  the  Gmvdspink,  402 
Ode  to  Independence,  371 
Ode  to  Leven  Water,  371 
Of  ane  Jilak-moir,  58 
Of  the  Warldis  Instabilitie,  50 


Old  Mortality,  462,  466,  468, 

474  et  seq. 

Oliphant,  Laurence,  617,  620 
Oliphant,    Mrs.,  493,  499   n., 

509,  613-617,  649 
Olrig  Grange,  603,  604  et  seq. 
Omen,  The,  549.  550 
On   the   late  Captain  Grose's 

Peregrinations,  414 
Ordination,  The,  412  n.,  413, 

422 
Origin  of  the  Distinction   of 

Kanks,  367 

Orpheus  and  Eurydice,  31 
Orthographie,    Alexander 

Hume's,  251  etseq. 
Orygynale    Clironykil,    Wyn- 

toun's,  20  et  seq. 
Ossian,  428 
Otterbourne,  185,  199 
Outram,  George,  612 


Pagan,  Isabel,  398*1. 

Paip,  The,  that  Pagane  full  of 

Pryde,  178 
Police    of  Honour,   The,    71, 

73-81,  20 1 

Palinodia,  Buchanan's,  146 
Panmure,  Lord,  582 
Papyngo,    The    Testament   of 

the,  90,  in  n.,  120 
Paraphrases,  The,  378  et  seq. 
Park,  Mungo,  632 
Parlemcnt  of  Foules,  The,  38 
Parlcment  of  the  Thre  Ages, 

The,  10,  13 
Passage,  The,  of  the  Pilgremer, 

200 

Passionate  Sparke,  The,  232 
Paterson,  Ninian,  246 
Paterson,  W.  R.    See  "  Swift, 

Benjamin  " 
Patie  Birnie,  390 
Patience,  10 
Paton,  Sir  J.  Noel,  610 
Patronage  in  the  Church,  352 
Pattison,  Mr.  Pringle,  365,  667 
Paul's  Letters,  451 
Pavilion  on  the  Links,  The, 

653 

Payn,  James,  538 
Pearl,  The,  10,  14 
Peblis  to  the  Play,  26  et  seq., 

44 
Peden,    Alexander,    Life    of, 

296  et  seq.,  452  n. 
Pennecuick,    Alexander    (d. 

1722),  394 
Pennecuick,    Alexander    (d. 

(1730),  393  etseq. 
Pentland  Hill,  191  n. 
Peregrine  Pickle,  454 
Perell  of  Paramours,Tlie,  63 ;;. 
Peter's  Letters,  312,  316,   486, 

499  et  seq.,  504,  508  «.,  518 

et  seq. 
Petition,    The,    of   the    Gray 

Horse,  AuldDunbar,  50 
Phantasies,  617 


Phil  Blood's  Leap,  602 
Philiphaugh,  191  n. 
Philosophical  Essays,  323 
Philosophy  of  History,  670 
Philosophy  of  Rhetoric,  358 
Philotus,  no,  226  et  seq. 
Piccadilly,  620 
Piers  Plowman,  78 
Pilgreme's  Farewell,  The,  230 
Pinkerton,  John,  208,  216,  567 
Piper    of    Kilbarchan.      See 

Habbie  Simson 
Pirate,  The,  455,  458,  462,  467 
Pitcairn,  Robert,  567 
Pitcairne,  Dr.,  246,  249,  273, 

304 

Pitscottie,  120,  157-160,  679 
Plainstanes    and    Causeway, 

402,  412  n. 

Playfair,  John,  494,  505  n. 
Pleadings,  Mackenxie's,  307 
Poacher,  The,  439 
Poet's  Wish,  The,  389  etseq. 
Polemo-Middinia,  237,  382 
Political  Discourses,  323 
Pollard,  Mr.  A.  W.,  12  n. 
Pollok,  Robert.  380 
Poor  Mailie,  The  Death  and 

Dying  Words  of,  413,    419 

et  scq. 
Poor  Mailie's    Elegy,  412  n., 

419  et  seq. 
Pope,  55,  373,  375 
Popular    Tales   of   the    West 

Highlands,  429,  631 
Practical  Commentary,  Leigh- 
ton's,  269 

Praises  of  Women,  The,  200 
Pratt,  John  Burnett,  624  n. 
Predestination,  Knox  on,  136 
Primitive  Marriage,  631 
Prince  Otto,  646,  650,  653,  655 
Pringle,  Thomas,  501 
Promine,  The,  215  «. 
Proud  Maisie,  185,  447 
Providence   and    the  Guitar, 

653 

Provost,  The,  554  et  scq. 
Psalms,   The,   Boyd's  version 

of,  241 
Psalms,      The,      Buchanan's 

Latin  version  of,  146,  149, 

233 

Psalms,  The,  James  VI.'s  ver- 
sion of,  234 

Psalms,  The,  Mure  of  Rowal- 
lan's  version  of,  242 

Psalms,  The,  Rous's  version 
of,  241 

Pyslyll  off  Swete  Susanc,  The, 
8,  9,  13,  14 


Quair,  The  Kingis,  23  et  seq. 
Quarterly  Review,  The,  432  n., 

433,  45i,  453,  486,  498,  506, 

517,  624,  633,  635 
Queen    in    France,   The,   594, 

595  el  seq. 
Queen's  Marie,  The,  191,  193, 

199 


INDEX 


701 


Queen's  Wake,  Tlu,  533  et  seq. 
Quentin  Durward,  463,  466 


Rab  and  his  Friends,  640 
Rabelais,   Urquhart's,   252  et 

seq. 

Race  problem,  I 
Raid,  The,  of  Reidswire.  191  n. 
Raleigh,  Mr.  Walter,  652, 676  n. 
Ramsay,    Allan,  70,   86,   211, 

216,  220,  384,  385-393,  395, 

396,  400,  401,  412,  417,  422 
Ramsay,  Andrew,  246 
Ramsay,  Dean,  627,  657 
Ramsay,  William,  628 
Ramsay  of  Ochtertyre,  316  «. 
Rankine,  W.  J.  M.,  612 
Rare  Adventures,  Lithgow's, 

230 

Rat  is  Raving,  116  «. 
Rauf,  Coilzear,  38, 41  etseq..  78 
Reach,  Angus  Bethune,  633 
Recreations    of    a     Country 

Parson,  637 
Redgaunllet,  464 
Regiment.    See  First  Blast 
Reginald  Dalton,  517,  524 
Reid,  Thomas,  363-367,  630, 

667 
"  Remonstrance,"    The,    264, 

271 

Renwick,  James,  267  n.,  300 
Refutation,  Tyrie's,  156 
Register  of  Scottish  Anns,  88 
Rerum  Scoticanim  Historia, 

Buchanan's,  47,  148 
Reulis  and    Cautelis,    81  n., 

165  et  seq. 
Rich,  Barnaby,  226 
Riddell,  John,  567 
Ritchie,  David  George,  666 
Rob  Roy,  458,  467 
Robene  and  Makyng,  29,  385 
Robene  Hude,  78,  no 
Robert  I.,  15  et  seq. 
Robert  II.,  9,  13 
Robert  Falconer,  618 
Robertson,    Dr.  James,    669, 

670 
Robertson,    George    Croom, 

667 

Robertson,  John,  627 
Robertson,  John  (journalist), 

633 

Robertson,  Joseph,  624  ct  seq. 
Robertson,  Mr.  J.  L.,  665 
Robertson,    Rev.    R.    J.,    of 

Forteviot,  571  it. 
Robertson,   William,     151  n., 

314,  3i8,  338,  346-353,  354. 

355,  4°7,  481,  492, 683 
Rock,  The,  and  the  Wee  Pickle 

Tow,  396 

Roderick  Random,  454 
Rodger,  Alexander,  564 
Rokeby,  415  «.,  433,  441  et  seq., 

444  ft  seq. 

Roland  Furious,  200 
Holland,  John.  200,  201 


Rollock,  Hercules,  246 
Rollock,  Robert,  155 
Romance     and     Prophecies, 

The,  of  Thomas  Rymour,  7 
Romaunt  of  the  Rose,  The,  81 
Rondel  of  Luve,  Scott's,  211 
Ros,  Sir  John,  63  «. 
Ross,  Alexander,  396  et  seq. 
Rons,  Francis,  241 
Row,  Mr.  John,  290 
Row,  John,  secundus,  29011. 
Row,  Mr.  William.  291 
Rowll,  43,  63  n. 
Ruddiman,    Thomas,    81  n,, 

272,  482 

Ruddiman,  Walter,  482 
Rudiments,  Ruddiman's,  482 
Rule  Britannia,  370 
Russel,  Alexander,  633  et  seq. 
Russell,  James,  295  n. 
Rutherford,      Samuel,      258, 

262-267,  273 
Rymour,  Thomas,  6-8 


Sabbath,  The,  380 

Sage,  John,  272 

Saint  Gelais,  121 

St.  Ives,  651 

Si.  Ronan's  Well,  458  n. 

Saints,  Legends  of  the,  15 

Saintsbury,     Mr.,     149,    372, 

432  n.,  485  «.,  491 
Salem  Chapel,  615 
Sandford,  Sir  Daniel,  321 
Sanity   Briggs,    Epitaph    on, 

248,  382 

Satan's  Invisible  World  Dis- 
covered, 290 
Satire  on  the  Age,  Maitland's, 

203 

Saturday  Review,  184,  675 
Satyre,  Ane  pleasant,  of  the 

Three  Estaittis,  59,  88,  90  it., 

96-109 

Sawyeyohnny  Comin',  399 
Scaliger,  Joseph,  149 
Scenes  of  Infancy,  380,  437 
Schaw,  Quintyne,  63  it.,  76 
Schir    Chantecleir    and    the 

Foxe,  34 
Scot,  Sir  John,  of  Scotstarvet, 

245 

Scot  Abroad,  The,  622 
Scotch  Presbyterian  Eloquence, 

297 

Scotch  Sermons,  626 
Scotichronicon,  112,  674 
Scotorum  Historia,  113 
Scots  Magazine,  The,  482  et  seq. 
Scotsman,   The,   in    n.,    482, 

495,  633  el  seq. 
Scots  Wha  Ha'c,  35,  413 
Scots  Worthies,  303  it. 
Scott,  Alexander,  no  n.,  208- 

212 

Scott,  Hew,  624 
Scott,  Lady  John,  399  n. 
Scott,  Michael,  561 
Scott,  Sir  Walter,  2.  18,  70,  72, 


81  it.,  185,  186,  190,  198, 
199  n.,  207  it.,  236  n ,  296, 
315,  321,  326,  338,  359,  407, 
427,  430-480,  484,  485,  491, 
499  ».,  506,  512,  517,  525 
et  seq..  533,  540,  561,  614,  683 

Scott,  Mr.  W.  R.,  339  it. 

Scottish  Review,  Tlie,  674 

Scougal,  Henry,  267  et  seq. 

Scougal,  Patrick,  267 

Sea-board  Parish,  The,  617 

Seasons,  The,  370,  600 

Secret    Commonwealth,    The, 
290 

"  Select  Society,"  The,  338 

Self-Control,  541 
Selkirk."     See  Brown,  Mr 


J.  B. 

ellar,  Wfflia 


Seilar,  William   Young,  628, 

639,  677 
Sempill,  Francis,  248 
Sempill,  Robert  (d.  1595),  170 

et  seq. 
Sempill,  Robert  (d.  1659),  246 

et  seq. 

Sempill,  Sir  James,  246 
Serk,  The  bluidy,  30 
"  Setoun,  Gabriel,"  659 
Seuin  Sages,  Rolland's,  201 
Shadow,  The,  674 
Shaftesbury,  Lord,  317,  339 
Shairp,  Principal,  405  «.,  609 

et  seq.,  630.  639 
Sharp.  Mr.  W.,  2  n.,  661,  662 
Sharpe,  Charles   Kirkpatrick, 

298,  437,  5°5  «• 
"Shepherd,  The."    See  Noctes 

Ambrosiamz  and  Hogg 
Shields,  Alexander,  272,  273 
Shipwreck,  The,  373  et  seq. 
"  Shirley."    See  Skelton 
Sibbald,  James,  567 
Sibbald,  Sir  Robert,  305 
Simson,  Patrick,  285  it. 
Sinclair,  Catherine,  619 
Sinclair,  George,  290 
Sinclair,  Sir  John,  619 
Sir  Andrew  Wylie,  558 
Sir  Gibbie,  618 
Sir  Patrick  Spens,  191,  199 
Sir  Thopas,  42,  188 
Sir  Tristiem,  7 
Sire  de  Maletroit's  Door,  Tlte, 

653,  654 

Skeat,  Professor,  29  it. 
Skelton,  Sir  John,  512  «.,  636, 

641  et  seq. 

Skene,  William  Forbes,  623 
Skinner,  John,  397  et  seq. 
Skirving,  Adam,  191  «.,  395 
Smith,  Adam,   314,   321,   322, 

330, 331, 336-346,  349,  356  n.. 

359.  363 
Smith,   Alexander,   586,   596- 

599,  603,  642 

Smith,  Dr.  George  Adam,  669 
Smith,   Dr.  Walter,  603-606, 

612 
Smith,[Mr.  Gregory,  5  «.,  46  «., 

50,  80,  116  «.,  189  et  seq. 
Smith,  Sydney,  483,  484   it. 

492.  502  n. 


7O2 


INDEX 


Smith,     William     Robertson, 

626  et  seq.,  670 
Smollett,   Dr.,   313,   325,   371, 

372,  454  et  seq.,  543,  561 
Solace  in  Age,  201 
Somerville,  Dr.,  321,  362 
Someryille,  Mrs.,  497  «. 
Somervilles,  Memorie  of  the, 

275  n. 

Somnium,  Buchanan's,  146 
Southesk,  The  Earl  of,  664 
Spalding,  John,  290 
Spalding,  William,  516  n. 
Spang,  Mr.  William,  286 
Spanish  Ballads,  Lockhart's, 

523 
"  Spasmodic  "      school      of 

poetry,  The,  589  et  seq.,  597 

et  seq.,  641 

Spectator,  Addison's,  456 
Spectator,  The,  184,  675 
Speculative  Society,  The,  338 
Spottiswoode,  John,  114,  151, 

276-280,  281,  282,  285 
Sprott,  Dr.  G.  W.,  671 
Sqnyer  Meldrum,  The  Historic 

of,  92  et  seq. 
Stair,  Viscount,  306 
Steamboat,  The,  550 
Stephen,  Sir  Leslie,  467,  650 
Sterne,  Laurence,  456 
Stevenson,  R.  A.  M.,  677,  678 
Stevenson,  Robert  Louis,  318, 

405/1.,  409,  411,  466  etseq., 

645-655 

Stewart  of  Baldynneis,  200 
Stewart,  Ballad  of  Lord  Ber- 
nard, 53  n.,  57 
Stewart  of  Lorn,  1 1 1 «. 
Stewart,    Dugald,    321,     344, 

364,  493,  494 
Stewart,  Miss,  663 
Stewart,  William,  ii3«. 
Stewarte,  in  n. 
Stirling,  Earl  of.    See  Alex- 
ander 

Stirling,  James  Hutchison,  630 
Stobo,  63  «. 

Stoddart,Thomas  Tod,6io,6i  i 
Story,  Principal,  604,  626 
Strahan,  Alexander,  637 
Strahan,  William,  313,  326 
Sum  Practysis  of  Mcdecyne,  31 
Supplicatioun     ancnt      syde 

taillis,  91 
Surtees,  185 
Susane,  The  Pystyll  of  Swele, 

8,9 

"  Swan,  Annie,"  658 
"  Swift,  Benjamin,"  661 
Swift,  Jonathan,  233,  402,  491 
Swift,  Scott's  edition  and  Life 

of,  433,  45i 
Swinburne,  Mr.,  70.  603,  639, 

677 

Sydserf,  Thomas,  257  n. 
Sytnmie  and  his  Brnder,  44 


Tail,  Peter  Guthrie,  631,  639 
Tail's  Magazine,  502  n. 


Tales  of  a  Grandfather,  451 

et  seq.,  673 
Talisman,  The,  466 
Tarn  o'  Shanter,  65,  394,  413, 

414,  423  et  seq. 
Tarn  o'  the  Lin,  399 
Tannahill,  Robert,  427 
Tartana,  388 
Tayis  Banks,  44,  45 
Tears  of  Scotland,  The,  371 
Tears     on      the     Death     of 

Mceliades,  235 
Tea-table  Miscellany,  The,  385 

et  seq. 

Temora,  428 
Tennant,  William,  562 
Tennyson,  Lord,  55,  81  n.,  330. 

506,  511,  599,  600,  602,  605, 

607,  613 

Testament,  The,  of  Cresscid,  31 
Testament,  The,  of  Mr.  Andro 

Kennedy,  53  «.,  65-67 
Testament,    The,    of  the  Pa- 

pyngo,  90,  in  n. 
Thackeray,  W.  M.,  415  n.,  613 
Thalatla  !  636,  641 
The  gloomy  Night  is  gather- 
ing fast,  413 
The  rantin'  dog,  the  daddic 

o't,  425 

Theological    Lectures,    Leigh- 
ton's,  269 
Theory  of  Moral  Sentiments, 

321,  322,  337,  340 etseq. 
Thir  laydyis  fair  that  mahis 

repair,  54 

This  is  no  my  ain  house,  387 
This  lang  Lentern  makis  me 

lene,  54 

This  nycht  in  my  slcip,  64 
Thistle,  The,  and  the  Rose,  51, 

57,  385 

Thorn,  William,  564 
Thomas  of  Erceldoune.    See 

Rymour 

Thomson,Dr.Andrew,569-573 
Thomson,   George,  408,   414, 

528 
Thomson,   James    (d.    1748), 

370,  372,  600,  601 
Thomson,    James    (d.    1884), 

602  n. 
Thomson,  Thomas,  483,  494, 

623 

Thou  lingering  Star,  409,  413 
Thrawn  Janet,  653 
Three  DcidPows,  The,  63  n. 
Three  Estaittis,  Ane  pleasant 

Satyre  of  the,  59,  88,  90  n., 

96-109 

Tidings  from  the  Session,  64 
Titus  and  Vespasian,  10,  12 
To  a  Daisy,  419 
To  a  Louse,  414,  419 
To  a  Mouse,  419 
To  the  Queue,  58 
Toddlin'  Hamc,  383 
Tod's  Confession,  The,  to  Freir 

Wolf,  34,  35 
Tom  Cringle's  Log,  561 
Townshend,     Charles,     361, 

372  it. 


Tractats,   Winzet's,   151,   153, 

154 

Tragedy,  The,  92 
Traictise,  Hamilton's,  156, 157 
Traill,  Sandy,  63  n. 
Treasure  Island,  650,  651 
Treatise,    Ane,  of  Conscience, 

229 
Treatise,  Ane  Schort,  by  James 

VI.,  165  et  seq. 
Treatise   of  Human  Nature, 

3.23,  335,  364 
Triumphs,     Petrarch's,     200, 

275  n. 

Troihis  and  Cresseid,  31 
Trollope,  Anthony,  613,  614, 

649 

Troy,  poem  by  Barbour,  15 
True  Crucifixe,  The,  241 
Tua  Mariit  Wemen,  The,  and 

the  Wcdo,  53  n.,  54,  59,  60 
Tulloch,  Principal,  617,  625  et 

seq.,  636 

Tullochgorum,  398 
Turnamcnt,  The,  59 
Twa  Dogs,  The,  91,  4i2«.,4i3, 

422  et  seq. 

Twa  Herds,  The,  352  n. 
Two    Discourses,     Fletcher's, 

308  et  seq. 

Two  Drovers,  The,  458  n. 
Tyrie,  James,  155,  156 
Tytler,  Alexander  Fraser,  481 
Tytler,    Patrick   Fraser,    503, 

S^S.  673 
Tytler,  William  Fraser,  481 

U 

Unco  guid.     See  Address 
Ung,  The  story  of,  183 
Uplandis  Mous,  The,  and  the 

Burgcs  Mous,  33,  34 
Urquhart,   Sir    Thomas,   129, 

232,  252-256 


Valerius,  517,  523 
Veitch,  John,  630 
Veitch,  William,  628 
Vclitatio  in  GeorgiumBuchan- 

anum,  152 
Vestiges  of  the  Creation,  537 

et  seq.,  581 
View  of  the  Progress  of  Society, 

Robertson's,  349 
Vindication  of  the  Authority, 

&c.,  Burnet's,  295 
Virgil,  55,  77,  81  n.,  82  et  seq. 
Virginibus  Pncrisque,  646,  653 
Vision,  The,  390,  413 
Vision  of  Don  Roderick,  The, 

439 

W 

Wake,  The,  of  Tim  O'  Hara, 

602 

Walford,  Mrs.,  663 
Walker,  Patrick,  296-299 
Walker,  Robert,  354 


INDEX 


703 


Wallace,  Robert,  301 
Wallace,  William,  666 
Wallace,  35  el  set].,  395 
Wandering      Willie's      Tale, 

458  n.,  459 

Want  of  Wyse  men,  Tlie,  31 
Warburton,  William,  491 
Wardlaw,  Lady,  185 
Wars  of  Alexander,  The,  10,  13 
Warton,    Dr.   Thomas,   5  «., 

70,  328 
Watson,  James,   381  et  seq., 

395 
Watson,  the  Rev.  John.    See 

"  Maclaren  " 
Wavcrlcy,    433,    439    et   seq., 

449  n.,  451,  455,   463,  471, 

473,  542 
Waverley    Novels,    192,   436, 

448,  457  et  seq. 
Wealth  of  Nations,  Tlie,  322, 

331-  337,  339  ft  seq. 
Weary  Pnnd  of  Tow,  Tlie,  399 
Wearyfu'  Woman,  Tlie,  550 
Webster,  Alexander,  353 
Wedderburn,  David,  246 
Wtddfrbnrn,   History  of  the 

House  of,  274 

Wedderburns,  The,  172,  178 
Wedding,  The,  of  Shon  Mac- 
lean, 602 

II'cv  MacGreegor,  681  n. 
Ha-  Wifeikie,  Tlie,  395 
Weekly  Magazine,  The,  482 

el  seq. 
Weir  of  Hermiston,  651 


Welcitm  Fortoun,  177 
Welsh,  Dr.,  638 
Werena  my  heart  licht  £•<;., 399 
Wesley,  Charles,  268 
Westminster  Assembly,  The, 

258,  259,  262,  286  et  seq. 
Wlia'll  be  King  but  Charlie  f 

400 
Wheat,   Tlie,  and    the  Chaff, 

580  «. 
Wlien  Hie  Kye  comes  home, 

534  et  seq. 

Whibley,  Sir.,  252  n.,  659  n. 
W1iig"sSupplication,The,i<)2n., 

237,  249 

Whistle,  The,  413 
Whistle  Binkie,  564,  682 
Whitefield,  268 
Whyte-Melville,  G.  J.,  619  et 

seq. 
Wife  of  Auchtermiichty,  The, 

44 

Wild  Huntsman,  The,  432 
Wilkie,  William.  372  et  seq. 
Will  o'  the  Mill,  653 
Will  ye  no  come  back  again  .' 

400 

William  III.,  273 
Williamson,  Mr.  David,  249 
Willie  brew'd  a  peck  of  maut, 

416  et  seq. 
Willie  was  a  Wanton  Wag, 

395 

Willison,  John,  354 
Wilson,  Andrew,  633 
Wilson,  John  (d.  1784),  379 


Wilson,  John  (d.   1854),  321, 

38o,  495,  502,  5°3,  5°4.  505. 

506,  507,  508-515,  516,  518, 

587.  601 

Window  in  Thrums,  A,  656 
Winzet,  Xinian,  151-154,  155, 

161,  257 

Wishart,  George,  243  «.,  300 
With  Hnntis  Up,  175 
Witherspoon,  John,  354 
Witness,  The,  580, 583 
Wodrow.    Robert,  269,   299- 

303,  585,  648 

Wolf,  The,  and  tlie  Lamb,  34 
Wolf  of  Badenoch,  The,  560 

et  seq. 

Woo'd  an'  Married  an'  A,  396 
Wordsworth,    William,    330, 

489  et  seq.,  506  516,  600, 610 
Wowing,  Ane  brash  of,  58,  67 
Wowing  of  Jok  and  jfynny, 

Tlie,  44 

W owing,  The,  of  the  King,  58 
Wrecker,  Tlie,  652 
Wrong  Box,  The,  652 
Wynnerc  and  Wastoure,  10 
Wyntoun,  Andrew  of,  6,  8,  9, 

20-22 


Fas  Sen,  26 

Ye  Banks  and  Braes,  414 
Young,  Edward,  371 
Young  Laird,  The,  and  Edin- 
burgh Katy,  387 
Young  Tamlane,  The,  190, 193 


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