sons_), PROVOST RAMSAY, HUGH ELLIOT, _and others of
the People_.

_Provost Ramsay_.--Brither Scotchmen! it is my fixed an'
solemn opinion, that the King o' England has entered into a
_holy alliance_ wi' the enemy o' mankind! An' does he
demand us to surrender!--to gie up our toun!--our property!--our
lives!--our liberty!--to Southern pagans, that hae entered into
compact wi' the powers o' the air! Surrender! No, Scotchmen!
While we breathe, we will breathe the _breath o' Freedom!_
as it soughs down the Tweed, between the heathery hills o' our
ain auld country! I am but provost o' Berwick, Sir Alexander,
an' ye are its governor; an' in a time like this, the power o'
defending or surrendering the gates is yours; but though ye gie
up the keys this very hour, an' were every stane o' the walls
turned are upon anither--here!--the power to defend this
market-place is mine!--and _here_ will I stand, while this
hand can wield a sword, or a Scotchman is left to die by my
side!

_Sir Alex_.--Fear not, good provost; I through life have learned
To live with honour, or with honour fall.

_Richard_.--And as the father dies, so shall his sons. What
sayest thou, Henry?

_Henry_.--I would say but this--
(If one with a smooth chin may have a voice)--
When thou dost nobly fall, I'll but survive
To strike revenge--then follow thy example.

_Provost Ramsay_.--Bravely said, callants! As sure as
death, I wish ye were my sons! Do ye ken, Sir Alexander, the
only thing that grieves me in a day like this, is, that I hae
naebody to die for the glory an' honour o' auld Scotland but
mysel? But, save us, neebor Elliot! ye look as douf an' as
dowie-like as if ye had been forced to mak yer breakfast o' yer
coat-sleeve.

_Hugh Elliot_.---In truth, methinks, this is no time for smiles--
In every street, each corner of the town,
Struck by some unseen hand, the dead are strewed;
From every house the children's wail is heard,
Screaming in vain for food; and the poor mother,
Worn to a skeleton, sits groaning by!
My house, 'tis known, o'erlooks the battlements;
'Tis not an hour gone that I left my couch,
Hastening to speed me hither, when a sound,
Fierce as the thunders, shook our firm-built walls:
The casements fell in atoms, and the bed,
Which I that moment left, rocked in confusion:
I turned to gaze on it, and I beheld!--beheld
My wife's fair bosom torn--her heart laid bare!
And the red stream came oozing to my feet!
_Is this a time for sm