letters, or rise to eminence in the united | the original inhabitants of the British isles legislature.

possessed a peculiar and interesting species of music, which being banished from the plains by the successive invasions of the Saxons, Danes, and Normans, was preserved with the native race, in the wilds of Ireland and in the mountains of Scotland and Wales. The Irish, the Scottish, and the Welsh music differ, indeed, from each other, but the difference may be considered as in dialect only, and pro

Soon after this, a band of men of genius appeared, who studied the English classics, and imitated their beauties, in the same manner as they studied the classics of Greece and Rome. They had admirable models of composition lately presented to them by the writers of the reign of Queen Anne; particularly in the periodical papers published by Steele, Addi-bably produced by the influence of time, son, and their associated friends, which circulated widely through Scotland, and diffused every where a taste for purity of style and sentiment, and for critical disquisition. At length the Scottish writers succeeded in English composition, and a union was formed of the literary talents, as well as of the legislatures of the two nations. On this occasion the poets took the lead. While Henry Home,* Dr. Wallace, and their learned associates, were only laying in their intellectual stores, and studying to clear themselves of their Scottish idioms, Thomson, Mallet, and Hamilton of Bangour had made their appearance before the public, and been enrolled on the list of English poets. The writers in prose followed a numerous and powerful band, and poured their ample stores into the general stream of British literature. Scotland possessed her four universities before the accession of James to the English throne. Immediately before the union, she acquired her parochial schools. These establishments combining happily together, made the elements of knowledge of easy acquisition, and presented a direct path, by which the ardent student might be carried along into the recesses of science or learning. As civil broils ceased, and faction and prejudice gradually died away, a wider field was opened to literary ambition, and the influence of the Scottish institutions for instruction, on the productions of the press, became more and more apparent.

It seems indeed probable, that the establishment of the parochial schools produced effects on the rural muse of Scotland also, which have not hitherto been suspected, and which, though less splendid in their nature, are not however to be regarded as trivial, whether we consider the happiness or the morals of the people.

There is some reason to believe, that

• Lord Kaimes.

and like the different dialects of their common language. If this conjecture be true, the Scottish music must be more immediately of a Highland origin, and the Lowland tunes, though now of a character somewhat distinct, must have descended from the mountains in remote ages. Whatever credit may be given to conjectures, evidently involved in great uncertainty, there can be no doubt that the Scottish peasantry have been long in possession of a number of songs and ballads composed in their native dialect, and sung to their native music. The subjects of these compositions were such as most interested the simple inhabitants, and in the succession of time varied probably as the condition of society varied. During the separation and the hostility of the two nations, these songs and ballads, as far as our imperfect documents enable us to judge, were chiefly warlike; such as the Huntis of Cheviot, and the Battle of Harlow. After the union of the two crowns, when a certain degree of peace and of tranquillity took place, the rural muse of Scotland breathed in softer accents. "In the want of real evidence respecting the history of our songs," says Mr. Ramsay of Ochtertyre, recourse may be had to conjecture. One would be disposed to think that the most beautiful of the Scottish tunes were clothed with new words after the union of the crowns. The inhabitants of the borders, who had formerly been warriors from choice, and husbandmen from necessity, either quitted the country, or were transformed into real shepherds, easy in their circumstances, and satisfied with their lot. sparks of that spirit of chivalry for which they are celebrated by Froissart, remained, sufficient to inspire elevation of sentiment and gallantry towards the fair sex. The familiarity and kindness which had long subsisted between the gentry and the peasantry, could not all at once be obliterated, and this connexion tended to sweeten rural life. In this state of inno

Some

sible, though not probable, that the music may have remained nearly the same, though the words to the tunes were entirely new-modelled."t

cence, ease and tranquillity of mind, the memory of their friends and neighbours. love of poetry and music would still main- Neither known to the learned, nor patrotain its ground, though it would natural-nised by the great, these rustic bards livly assume a form congenial to the more ed and died in obscurity; and by a strange peaceful state of society. The minstrels, fatality, their story, and even their very whose metrical tales used once to rouse names have been forgotten.* When prothe borderers like the trumpet's sound, per models for pastoral songs were pronad been by an order of the legislature duced, there would be no want of imita(in 1579,) classed with rogues and vaga- tors. To succeed in this species of combonds, and attempted to be suppressed. position, soundness of understanding, and Knox and his disciples influenced the sensibility of heart were more requisite Scottish parliament, but contended in than flights of imagination or pomp of vain with her rural muse. Amidst our numbers. Great changes have certainly Arcadian vales, probably on the banks of taken place in Scottish song-writing, the Tweed, or some of its tributary though we cannot trace the steps of this streams, one or more original geniuses change; and few of the pieces daired may have arisen, who were destined to in Queen Mary's time are now to be disgive a new turn to the taste of their coun-covered in modern collections. It is postrymen. They would see that the events and pursuits which chequer private life were the proper subjects for popular poetry. Love, which had formerly held a divided sway with glory and ambition, became now the master passion of the soul. To portray in lively and delicate colours, though with a hasty hand, the hopes and fears that agitate the breast of the love-sick swain, or forlorn maiden, affords ample scope to the rural poet. Love-songs of which Tibullus himself would not have been ashamed, might be composed by an uneducated rustic with a slight tincture of letters; or if in these songs, the character of the rustic be some-ed each other in that disastrous period; times assumed, the truth of character, and it was not till after the revolution in the language of nature, are preserved. 1688, and the subsequent establishment With unaffected simplicity and tender- of their beloved form of church governness, topics are urged, most likely to sof-ment, that the peasantry of the Lowlands ten the heart of a cruel and coy mistress, enjoyed comparative repose; and it is or to regain a fickle lover. Even in such since that period, that a great number of as are of a melancholy cast, a ray of hope the most admired Scottish songs have breaks through, and dispels the deep and been produced, though the tunes to which settled gloom which characterizes the they are sung, are in general of much sweetest of the Highland luinags, or vo- greater antiquity. It is not unreasonacal airs. Nor are these songs all plain- ble to suppose that the peace and securitive; many of them are lively and humor- ty derived from the Revolution and the ous, and some appear to us coarse and in- Union, produced a favourable change on delicate. They seem, however, genuine the rustic poetry of Scotland; and it can descriptions of the manners of an ener- scarcely be doubted, that the institution getic and sequestered people in their hours of parish-schools in 1696, by which a cerof mirth and festivity, though in their por- tain degree of instruction was diffused traits some objects are brought into open view, which more fastidious painters would have thrown into shade.

These conjectures are highly ingenious. It cannot however, be presumed, that the state of ease and tranquillity described by Mr. Ramsay, took place among the Scottish peasantry immediately on the union of the crowns, or indeed during the greater part of the seventeenth century. The Scottish nation, through all its ranks, was deeply agitated by the civil wars, and the religious persecutions which succeed

*In the Pepys Collection, there are a few Scottish songs of the last century, but the names of the authors are not preserved.

† Extract of a letter from Mr Ramsay of Ochtertyre to the Editor, Sept. 11, 1799-In the Bee, vol. ii. is a coinmunication to Mr. Ramsay, under the signature of

Runcole, which enters into this subject somewhat

"As those rural poets sung for amusement, not for gain, their effusions seldom exceeded a love-song, or a ballad of satire or humour, which, like the works of the elder minstrels, were seldom commit-questioning the antiquity of many of the most celebrated ted to writing, but treasured up in the Scottish songs.

more at large. In that paper he gives his reasons for

universally among the peasantry, contri- | obtained to his own papers, if they are buted to this happy effect.

still in existence. To several tunes which either wanted words, or had words that Soon after this appeared Allan Ram- were improper or imperfect, he, or his say, the Scottish Theocritus. He was friends, adapted verses worthy of the meborn on the high mountains that divide lodies they accompanied, worthy indeed Clydesdale and Annandale, in a small of the golden age. These verses were hamlet by the banks of Glangouar, a perfectly intelligible to every rustic, yet stream which descends into the Clyde. justly admired by persons of taste, who The ruins of this hamlet are still shown regarded them as the genuine offspring to the inquiring traveller. He was the of the pastoral muse. In some respects son of a peasant, and probably received Ramsay had advantages not possessed such instruction as his parish-school be- by poets writing in the Scottish dialect stowed, and the poverty of his parents in our days. Songs in the dialect of admitted. Ramsay made his appearance Cumberland or Lancashire could never in Edinburgh in the beginning of the pre- be popular, because these dialects have sent century, in the humble character of never been spoken by persons of fashion. an apprentice to a barber, or peruke-ma- But till the middle of the present century, ker; he was then fourteen or fifteen every Scotsman from the peer to the peayears of age. By degrees he acquired sant, spoke a truly Doric language. It notice for his social disposition, and his is true the English moralists and poets talent for the composition of verses in the were by this time read by every person Scottish idiom; and, changing his pro- of condition, and considered as the stanfession for that of a bookseller, he be- dards for polite composition. But, as nacame intimate with many of the literary, tional prejudices were still strong, the as well as of the gay and fashionable cha- busy, the learned, the gay, and the fair, racters of his time. Having published continued to speak their native dialect, a volume of poems of his own in 1721, and that with an elegance and poignancy, which was favourably received, he un- of which Scotsmen of the present day can dertook to make a collection of ancient have no just notion. I am old enough to Scottish poems, under the title of the Ever- have conversed with Mr. Spittal, of LeuGreen, and was afterwards encouraged to chat, a scholar and a man of fashion, who present to the world a collection of Scot- survived all the members of the Union tish songs. "From what sources he pro- Parliament, in which he had a seat. His cured them," says Mr. Ramsay of Och- pronunciation and phraseology differed tertyre, "whether from tradition or ma- as much from the common dialect, as the nuscript, is uncertain. As in the Ever-language of St. James's from that of Green he made some rash attempts to improve on the originals of his ancient poems, he probably used still greater freedom with the songs and ballads. The truth cannot, however, be known on this point, till manuscripts of the songs printed by him, more ancient than the present century, shall be produced; or access be

*See Campbell's History of Poetry in Scotland, p. 185. †The father of Ramsay was, it is said, a workman In the lead-mines of the Earl of Hopeton, at Lead-hills. The workmen in those mines at present are of a very superior character to miners in general. They have only six hours of labour in the day, and have time for reading. They have a common library, supported by contribution, containing several thousand volumes, When this was instituted I have not learned. These miners are said to be of a very sober and moral character: Allan Ramsay, when very young, is supposed

to have been a washer of ore in these mines.

"He was coeval with Joseph Mitchell, and his club of small wits, who about 1719, published a very poor miscellany, to which Dr. Young, the author of the Night Thoughts prefixed a copy of verses." Extract of a letter from Mr. Ramsay of Ochtertyre to the Editor.

Thames-street. Had we retained a court and parliament of our own, the tongues of the two sister-kingdoms would indeed have differed like the Castilian and Portuguese; but each would have had its own classics, not in a single branch, but in the whole circle of literature.

"Ramsay associated with the men of wit and fashion of his day, and several of them attempted to write poetry in his manner. Persons too idle or too dissipated to think of compositions that required much exertion, succeeded very happily in making tender sonnets to favourite tunes in compliment to their mistresses, and, transforming themselves into impassioned shepherds, caught the language of the characters they assumed. Thus, about the year 1731, Robert Crawford of Auchinames, wrote the modern song of Tweed Side, which has been so much admired.

*

* Beginning, "What beauties does Flora disclose

of life, felt the first emotions of genius, he wanted not models sui generis. But though the seeds of poetry were scattered with a plentiful hand among the Scottish peasantry, the product was probably like that of pears and apples-of a thousand that spring up, nine hundred and fifty are so bad as to set the teeth on edge; forty-five or more are passable and useful; and the rest of an exquisite flavour. Allan Ramsay and Burns are wildings of this last description. They had the example of the elder Scottish po

In 1743, Sir Gilbert Elliot, the first of our lawyers who both spoke and wrote English elegantly, composed, in the character of a love-sick swain, a beautiful song, beginning, My sheep I neglected, I lost my sheep-hook, on the marriage of his mistress, Miss Forbes, with Ronald Crawford. And about twelve years afterwards, the sister of Sir Gilbert wrote the ancient words to the tune of the Flowers of the Forest, and supposed to allude to the battle of Flowden. In spite of the double rhyme, it is a sweet, and though in some parts allegorical, a natural ex-ets; they were not without the aid of the pression of national sorrow. The more best English writers; and what was of modern words to the same tune, beginning, still more importance, they were no stranI have seen the smiling of fortune beguiling, gers to the book of nature, and the book were written long before by Mrs. Cock- of God." burn, a woman of great wit, who outlived all the first group of literati of the present century, all of whom were very fond of her. I was delighted with her company, though, when I saw her, she was very old. Much did she know that is now lost."

In addition to these instances of Scottish songs produced in the earlier part of the present century, may be mentioned the ballad of Hardiknute, by Lady Wardlaw; the ballad of William and Margaret; and the song entitled The Birks of Endermay, by Mallet; the love-song, beginning, For ever, Fortune, wilt thou prove, produced by the youthful muse of Thomson; and the exquisite pathetic ballad, The Braes of Yarrow, by Hamilton of Bangour. On the revival of letters in Scotland, subsequent to the Union, a very general taste seems to have prevailed for the national songs and music. "For many years," says Mr. Ramsay, "the singing of songs was the great delight of the higher and middle order of the people, as well as of the peasantry; and though a taste for Italian music has interfered with this amusement, it is still very prevalent. Between forty and fifty years ago, the common people were not only exceedingly fond of songs and ballads, but of metrical history. Often have I, in my cheerful morn of youth, listened to them with delight, when reading or reciting the exploits of Wallace and Bruce against the Southrons. Lord Hailes was wont to call Blind Harry their Bible, he being their great favourite next the Scriptures. When, therefore, one in the vale

*Beginning, "I have heard a lilting at our ewesmilking."

From this general view, it is apparent that Allan Ramsay may be considered as in a great measure the reviver of the ru ral poetry of his country. His collection of ancient Scottish poems, under the name of The Ever-Green, his collection of Scottish songs, and his own poems, the principal of which is the Gentle Shepherd, have been universally read among the peasantry of his country, and have in some degree superseded the adventures of Bruce and Wallace, as recorded by Barbour and Blind Harry. Burns was well acquainted with all these. He had also before him the poems of Fergusson in the Scottish dialect, which have been produced in our own times, and of which it will be necessary to give a short account.

Fergusson was born of parents who had it in their power to procure him a liberal education, a circumstance, however, which in Scotland implies no very high rank in society. From a well written and apparently authentic account of his life, we learn that he spent six years at the schools of Edinburgh and Dundee, and several years at the universities of Edinburgh and St. Andrews. It appears that he was at one time destined for the Scottish church; but as he advanced towards manhood, he renounced that intention, and at Edin burgh entered the office of a writer to the signet, a title which designates a separate and higher order of Scottish attorneys. Fergusson had sensibility of mind, a warm and generous heart, and talents for socie

In the supplement to the "Encyclopædia Britan nica." See also, "Campbell's Introduction to the Ilistory of "Poetry in Scotland," p. 238.

Notwithstanding the evidence produced on this sub- his successor, James the Fifth. Ject by Mr. Tytler, the Editor acknowledges his being attending this supposition also. somewhat of a sceptic on this point. Sir David Dal- Scottish Antiquities, the Editor is an incompetent rymple inclines to the opinion that it was written by | judge.