As purple morning starts the hare, When day, expiring in the west, ROBERT BRUCE'S MARCH TO BANNOCK BURN. To its ain Tune. (GEO. THOMSON'S COLL., 1799.) "Independently of my enthusiasm as a Scotsman, I have rarely met with anything in history which interests my feelings as a man, equal with the story of Bannockburn. On the one hand, a cruel, but able usurper, leading on the finest army in Europe, to extinguish the last spark of freedom among a greatly-daring and greatly-injured people; on the other hand, the desperate relics of a gallant nation devoting themselves to rescue their bleeding country or perish with her. Liberty! thou art a prize truly and indeed invaluable, for never canst thou be too dearly bought !"-Burns to Lord Buchan, 12th Jan. 1794. SCOTS, wha hae wi' WALLACE bled, Or to Victorie ! Now's the day, and now's the hour; See approach proud EDWARD's power- Wha will be a traitor knave? Let him turn and flee! Wha, for Scotland's King and Law, By Oppression's woes and pains! But they shall be free! Lay the proud Usurpers low! LIBERTY'S in every blow!— Let us Door Die !!! So may God ever defend the cause of Truth and Liberty, as He did that day! Amen!-R. B. This appears to have been posted to Thomson on 1st Sep. 1793. (See Thomson Correspondence.) The above version is from a copy of the original Ode now in the possession of Lord Dalhousie. Suffice it to say, that with exception of the first copy of the Ode now in possession of Lord Dalhousie, from which our text is printed, there is not in the world a single transcript of this Address, in the author's holograph as originally composed, and now world-approved. Many copies of the Ode in the Bard's handwriting still exist; but with this exception, and that to be immediately stated, they are all of the Thomsonbreed, murdered through every fourth line being sprawled out to fit the paltry tune, “Lewie Gordon." We have only one variation to record, viz., in the closing line of the second double-stanza"Let him follow me," instead of as in the text, on wi' methe latter a great improvement afterwards hit on in course of revisal. We have now to introduce to our readers' notice a still rarer relic. Frederick Locker, Esq., author of "London Lyrics," &c., is in possession of our poet's first draft of this famous ode, undoubtedly penned on 31st August 1793, immediately after the "evening walk” above referred to. As might be expected, that MS. shews several readings which he was enabled marvellously to improve after enjoying the refreshment of balmy sleep-Nature's "sweet restorer." Mr. Locker, after a keen competition, purchased this interesting relic at the Pickering sale of Burns's manuscripts in 1861. The following is a verbatim copy of the heroic effusion from that gentleman's MS. : ROBERT BRUCE'S MARCH TO BANNOCK BURN. Tune-"Hey, tutti taitie." SCOTS, wha hae wi' WALLACE bled, Or to Victorie. Now's the day, and now's the hour, Wha will be a traitor knave? Let him turn and flie! Wha for Scotland's KING, and LAW, Do you hear your children cry- Yes, they shall be free! Lay the proud Usurpers low! Liberty's in every blow! Let us Door Die !!! For variations see The Burns and Thomson Correspondence, page 225, Vol. V. Also see music, same page. BEHOLD THE HOUR, THE BOAT ARRIVE. Version Second. (CURRIE, 1800.) BEHOLD the hour, the boat arrive; But Fate has will'd and we must part. Yon distant Isle will often hail : "E'en here I took the last farewell; There, latest mark'd her vanish'd sail." Along the solitary shore, While flitting sea-fowl round me cry, I'll westward turn my wistful eye : [This is a somewhat altered version of the song (given at p. 93, Vol. III.,) which the poet enclosed to Clarinda on 27th December 1791. He forwarded it to Thomson before the close of September 1793, with these observations :-"The following song I have composed for Oran Gaoil, the Highland air that you tell me in your last you have resolved to give a place in your Book." DOWN THE BURN, DAVIE. (CURRIE, 1800.) As down the burn they took their way, His cheek to hers he aft did lay, And love was ay the tale: With "Mary when shall we return, Sic pleasure to renew?" Quoth Mary-"Love, I like the burn, [This was forwarded to Thomson in September 1793, as a closing double stanza to supersede some rather indelicate verses of a wellknown old song by Robert Crawford. The lines in the text appeared in Thomson's third volume, 1802, in connection with Crawford's song; but Burns's alteration was subsequently withdrawn to make way for two very puerile double stanzas by Thomson himself, who considered that our bard "did not bring the song to the desirable conclusion here given to it." For the delectation of the reader, we append Thomson's improvement on Burns. "As down the burn they took their way, he told his tender tale, Where all the opening sweets of May adorn'd the flowery dale. 'Not May in all her maiden pride is half sae sweet as thee; O say thou'lt be my ain dear bride? thou'rt a' the warld to me !' 'Tho' Sandy ca's me sweet and fair, and boasts his sheep and kine; But when we examine the music published by Thomson to these words as the venerable old air, "Down the Burn, Davie," which popular tradition had assigned to David Rizzio, we find he has botched the tune so that none can recognize it. The old-fashioned people about Edinburgh point out the very "Burn" in a sequestered dell near "Little France," in the vicinity of Craigmillar Castle, as that which Queen Mary directed her "Davie-love" to go down and she would follow. |
