ly encountered this aged woman, with her knitting in her
hand; and she would speak to the eager and intelligent child of the
blessed quiet of the land, where the cattle were browsing without fear
of an enemy; and then she would talk of the awful times of the brave
Sir William Wallace, when he fought for Scotland, "against a cruel
tyrant; like unto them whom Abraham overcame when he recovered Lot,
with all his herds and flocks, from the proud foray of the robber
kings of the South," who, she never failed to add, "were all rightly
punished for oppressing the stranger in a foreign land! for the Lord
careth for the stranger." Miss Porter says that this woman never
omitted mingling pious allusions with her narrative. "Yet she was a
person of low degree, dressed in a coarse woollen gown, and a plain
_Mutch_ cap, clasped under the chin with a silver brooch, which her
father had worn at the battle of Culloden." Of course she filled with
tales of Sir William Wallace and the Bruce the listening ears of the
lovely Saxon child, who treasured them in her heart and brain, until
they fructified in after years into "The Scottish Chiefs." To these
two were added "The Pastor's Fireside," and a number of other tales
and romances. She contributed to several annuals and magazines, and
always took pains to keep up the reputation she had won, achieving
a large share of the popularity, to which, as an author, she never
looked for happiness. No one could be more alive to praise or more
grateful for attention, but the heart of a genuine, pure, loving
woman, beat within Jane Porter's bosom, and she was never drawn out of
her domestic circle by the flattery that has spoiled so many, men as
well as women. Her mind was admirably balanced by her home affections,
which remained unsullied and unshaken to the end of her days. She
had, in common with her three brothers and her charming sister, the
advantage of a wise and loving mother--a woman pious without cant, and
worldly-wise without being worldly. Mrs. Porter was born at Durham,
and when very young bestowed her hand and heart on Major Porter.
An old friend of the family assures us that two or three of their
children were born in Ireland, and that certainly Jane was amongst the
number. Although she left Ireland when in early youth, perhaps almost
an infant, she certainly must be considered Irish, as her father was
so both by birth and descent, and esteemed during his brief life as a
brave and generous