THE HARP OF THE SCOTTISH COVENANT POEMS, SONGS, AND BALLADS Relating to the Covenanting Struggle COLLECTED AND EDITED BY AUTHOR OF " HEATHER AND HAREBELL " WITH A PREFACE BY PROF. J. CLARK MURRAY, LL.D. AUTHOR OF "THE BALLADS AND SONGS OF SCOTLAND" ALEXANDER GARDNER iJublisijrr to %rr ittajrstp ttjr &urrn PAISLEY; AND PATERNOSTER SQUARE, LONDON MONTREAL: W. DRYSDALE & CO. 1895 1099434 To THE MEMORY OK late professor John <Start JUackie, WHOSE PATRIOTISM, LOVE OF NATIVE SONG, AND FEARLESS CHAMPIONSHIP OF EVERY- THING THAT IS BEST IN THE SCOTTISH NATIONALITY, ENDEARED HIM TO THE HEARTS OF ALL TRUE-HEARTED SCOTSMEN BOTH AT HOME AND ABROAD. THE Solemn League and Covenant Cost Scotland blood cost Scotland tears : But it seal'd Freedom's sacred cause If thou'rt a slave, indulge thy sneers ! ROBERT BURNS. ' ' ' But I had a feeling of awe when writing The City of the ' Plague,' Unimore," and more strongly when inditing a long MS. poem on the Covenanters, which, I believe, has run on to five thousand lines, but which will not see the light till I cease to see ' ! it. I said not sooner ? fact 'Indeed!' ; why 'The is,' he said, ' the feeling that pervades Scotland its every hill and strath, High- lands as well as Lowlands about that stalwart and noble race, is itself a perpetual poem, humming through the Scottish land and heart and I should be afraid lest effort should fall the Scottish ; my short of the national feeling. I once thought of writing a prose work, too, either in shape of a tale or of an history, on these brave men. Scott has not done them full justice in "Old Mortality," otherwise the masterpiece of his genius.'" PROFESSOR JOHN WILSON see "The History of a Man," p. 116. EDITOR'S NOTE. WHILE no effort or research has been spared on the part of the Editor to make the present anthology of poetry relating to the Scottish Covenant as complete and representative as possible, compatible with a cer- tain standard of poetic quality, it is in the nature of such works that some notable omissions may have been made. It is permitted him to hope, however, that it contains, on the whole, the best of the lyrical bloom and poetic fervour of an emotion that has moved the heart of Lowland Scotland for more than two hundred years. On this account, if on no other, it may prove serviceable as a classification in the region of Scottish sentiment as well as in the field of Scottish song. In the collection of material for the undertaking, much correspondence was entailed, and to his numerous correspondents the Editor hereby expresses his grateful acknowledgment of their various courtesies. In this respect, the able assistance of Mr. Robert Hogg of Musselburgh calls for special mention, not only for the rich store of knowledge of native poetry which he so freely placed at disposal, but also for the willing help rendered in what may be termed the drudgery of tran- scription, etc. To Mr. Robert Reid (Rob. Wanlock) of Montreal, the Rev. Robert Logan, The Woodlands, Moffat, and Mr. Duncan MacGregor Crerar of New York, the thanks of the Editor are likewise due for much valuable counsel and aid generously bestowed during the prosecution of the work. : r x. Preface, the greatness of their mission. But in this light also the Covenanters of Scotland may fairly claim the grate- ful memory of men. It would be difficult to point to any great struggle, in which men have exhibited a more passionate enthusiasm for their cause, or a more com- plete emancipation from all selfish seductions which might have obscured the singleness of their aim or cooled the ardour of their devotion. In fact the intense earnestness of the Covenanters has given a colour to the subsequent religious life of Scotland. It has created an almost morbid craving for a similar intensity of fer- vour amid the calm routine of peaceful times. In a great crisis, when a nation's cause is the cause of humanity, moderation is more akin to vice than to virtue. For moderation is not only opposed to vicious excess it a lack of that heroic enthusiasm ; may imply which a great moral crisis demands. It was the con- sciousness of this fact during the covenanting struggle, that has ever since made the term moderate a bye-word of reproach in Scotland when applied to religious char- acter. It appears, then, that both the cause for which they fought and the heroic courage with which they fought for it, have made the struggle of the Covenanters a genuine epos in Scottish history. It is not wonderful, therefore, that the varied scenes of such a struggle, with the thoughts and sentiments which they suggest, should have found expression in song. It has, indeed, been too commonly assumed that all the lyrical fervour evoked by the conflict, was on the opposite side. This is a mistake. The Jacobite songs, which might be sup- posed to come from the opponents of the Covenant, belong to a conflict that was not only later, bute of a Preface, xi. totally different interest. The truth is, that neither the Jacobite nor the Covenanting struggle called forth many lyrics of genuine poetical merit, while the com- batants were grappling for life and death with one another. Most of the finest poems connected with both of the struggles are the products of later reflection by poetic minds. It cannot be denied that the Jacobite struggle in- volved some issues that were calculated to strike the fancy and the sentiment of men. But the fancy and sentiment were of limited range. They were mainly those sympathetic movements of the mind, which are stirred by the tragedy of an old royal house fighting a hopeless battle to regain its lost place among the dynas- ties of the world. But natural pity over such a tragedy is traversed and often checked by the knowledge that the doomed family had brought its fate upon itself as a righteous retribution for its crimes against the cause of humanity. On the other hand, the Covenanting struggle, with all its imperfections, offers a theme of universal and undying interest to the world. Some years ago, in referring to the Jacobite songs, I was led " to write, that louder in the ear of the Scottish people than Wae's me for Prince Charlie, is the wail over the of the Covenant and tales of the heroism martyrs ; these displayed amid their sufferings are cherished in the memory and told with enthusiasm, when the name of the Chevalier is never mentioned, except in singing Jacobite songs for the enjoyment of their poetry and music." When I wrote these words, I was not aware of the extent to which enthusiastic memories of the Covenanting struggle had found expression in Scottish poetry. The Editor of this volume has proved that xii. Preface. there is a Harp of the Covenant, which can strike a tone and all genuine poetic ; Scotsmen, the world over, must feel indebted to him for having done such a labour of love, and for having done it so well. J. CLARK MURRAY. CONTENTS. PAGE Introduction to the "Lays of the Kirk and Covenant," Mrs. Harriet Stuart Menteath, 9 The Sabbath, James Orahame, 17 The Cameronian's Dream, James Hislop,' 21 The Battle of Drumliemoor,.....ffo&er Buchanan 25 Kirkbride, Robert Reid, 31 The Covenanter's Lament, Robert Allan, 35 TheJDeclaration of Sanquhar, W. Stewart Ross, 37 The Covenant Sangs, George Paulin, 42 The Downfall of Dalzell, A llan Cunningham, ..., 44 Andrew Hislop, John Veitch, LL.D., 48 The Covenanter's Night Hymn, David Macbeth Moir, 51 Tke Battle of Drumclog, Alexander O. Murdoch, 56 Sonnet, Robert Hogg, 66 The Death of Archibald, First Marquis of Argyle, James Dodds, 67 Mistress Elizabeth Welch, Jeanie Morison, 72 Lines on an Old Communion Cup,.. Alexander Anderson,... 78 Elegy on the Death of James Renwick, John Stuart Blackie, 82 The Song of Jenny Geddes, John Stuart Blaclcie, 86 The Martyrs of Wigton, Mrs. Harriet Stuart Menteath, 90 Cameron's Grave in Airsmoss, Robert Reid, Ill "Bothwell Brig," Janet Hamilton, 112 The Pentland Hills, Baroness Nairne, 116 A Dream of the Times of the Covenant,... Walter Chisholm, 119 Brown of Priesthill, Henry Inglis of Torsonce, ... 1 22 Covington Mill, Rev. James Proudfoot 126 Andrew Gullane's Stane, Tliomas C. Latto, 129 Scotland, David Lindsay, 138 Covenanters' Hymn, David Vedder, 139 Martyr-Land, Thomas Pringle 140 XIV. Contents. PAGK A Lay of the Martyrs, James Hogg, 154 On Mark Wilson, Slain in Irongray,...^4Waw Cunningham, 157 The Death of James Guthrie, . .James Dodds " " 164 Peden The Prophet's Grave, A. B. Todd, 167 Bullion Green, Henry Scott Riddell, The Nithsdale Martyrs, William M'Dowall, 171 176 The Martyr's Grave, Hugh Brown 179 Holy Ground, /. Lauchlan MacLean Watt, M.A., 182 The Battle-field of Drumclog,... Sarah Parker Douglas, 188 The Song of the Prisoners George Paulin, Peden at the Grave of Cameron, Mrs. Harriet Stuart Menteath, 191 The Covenanters' Battle Chant, William Motherwell, 197 Scot- The Battle of Bothwell Urig,... Scott's Minstrelsy of the tish Border, 200 at Cargill taken Prisoner Cov- 203 ington Mill, James Dodds, Thou hast sworn by thy God, my Jeanie, Allan Cunningham, 207 Our Fathers Where are They ? William M 'Comb, 209 The Covenanter's Hymn, William Allan, 211 The Martyr's Grave, John MacFarlane, 213 The Deathbed of Rutherford, Mrs. Harriet Stuart Menteath, 215 The Martyrs of Scotland, Re v. Dr. Horatius Bonar, . 219 Covenant Times, Hugh C. Wilson, 221 The Land of the Martyrs, Rev.