FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136  
137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   >>   >|  
sly countenance made others fly," etc. See also iv. 322, etc. below. 723. Played, etc. The MS. reads: "Played on/ the bosoms of the lake, / Lock Katrine's still expanse; The birch, the wild rose, and the broom Wasted around their rich perfume... The birch-trees wept in balmy dew; The aspen slept on Benvenue; Wild were the heart whose passions' power Defied the influence of the hour." 724. Passion's. The reading of the 1st ed. and that of 1821; some recent eds. have "passions'." 738. Orisons. The 1st ed. has "orison" both here and in 740 (the ed. of 1821 only in the latter); but the word is almost invariably plural, both in poetry and prose--always in Shakespeare and Milton. Canto Second. 7. A minstrel gray. "That Highland chieftains, to a late period, retained in their service the bard, as a family officer, admits of very easy proof. The author of the Letters from the North of Scotland, an officer of engineers, quartered at Inverness about 1720, who certainly cannot be deemed a favorable witness, gives the following account of the office, and of a bard, whom he heard exercise his talent of recitation:--'The bard is killed in the genealogy of all the Highland families, sometimes preceptor to the young laird, celebrates in Irish verse the original of the tribe, the famous warlike actions of the successive heads, and sings his own lyricks as an opiate to the chief, when indisposed for sleep; but poets are not equally esteemed and honored in all countries. I happened to be a witness of the dishonour done to the muse, at the house of one of the chiefs, where two of these bards were set at a good distance, at the lower end of a long table, with a parcel of Highlanders of no extraordinary appearance, over a cup of ale. Poor inspiration! They were not asked to drink a glass of wine at our table, though the whole company consisted only of the great man, one of his near relations, and myself. After some little time, the chief ordered one of them to sing me a Highland song. The bard readily obeyed, and with a hoarse voice, and in a tune of few various notes, began, as I was told, one of his own lyricks; and when he had proceeded to the fourth of fifth stanza, I perceived, by the names of several persons, glens, and mountains, which I had known or heard of before, that it was an account of some clan battle. But in his going on, the chief (who piques himself
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136  
137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Highland
 

passions

 

officer

 

lyricks

 

Played

 
witness
 
account
 

parcel

 
Highlanders
 

distance


honored

 

opiate

 
indisposed
 

successive

 
famous
 

warlike

 
actions
 
chiefs
 

dishonour

 

happened


equally

 

esteemed

 

extraordinary

 

countries

 

fourth

 

stanza

 

perceived

 

proceeded

 

persons

 

battle


piques

 
mountains
 

hoarse

 

obeyed

 

original

 
company
 

inspiration

 
consisted
 

ordered

 
readily

relations
 

appearance

 
Defied
 
influence
 

Benvenue

 

Passion

 
orison
 

Orisons

 
recent
 

reading