"The great Earl in his stirrups stood

That Highland host to see:

Now here a knight that's stout and good
May prove a jeopardie:

"What wouldst thou do, my squire so gay, 25

That rides beside my reyne,

Were ye Glenallan's Earl the day,

And I were Roland Cheyne?

"To turn the rein were sin and shame,
To fight were wondrous peril,

What would ye do now, Roland Cheyne,
Were ye Glenallan's Earl?'

"Were I Glenallan's Earl this tide,"
And ye were Roland Cheyne,
The spur should be in my horse's side,
And the bridle upon his mane.

"If they hae twenty thousand blades,
And we twice ten times ten,

Yet they hae but their tartan plaids,
And we are mail-clad men.

30

335

40

"My horse shall ride through ranks sae rude, As through the moorland fern,

Then ne'er let the gentle Norman blude
Grow cauld for Highland kerne.'"'s

MADGE WILDFIRE'S SONG

(From The Heart of Midlothian, 1818) "Proud Maisie is in the wood, Walking so early;

Sweet Robin sits on the bush,
Singing so rarely.

"Tell me, thou bonny bird,
When shall I marry me?'
'When six braw1 gentlemen

Kirkward shall carry ye.

"The grey-headed sexton,

That delves the grave duly..

"The cronach's2 cried on Bennachie,

5

"Who makes the bridal bed,

And doun the Don and a',

And hieland and lawland may mournfu' be For the sair field of Harlaw.

Birdie, say truly?'

...

"The glow-worm o'er grave and stone Shall light thee steady;

The owl from the steeple sing, 'Welcome, proud lady."

BORDER BALLAD

(From The Monastery, 1820)

I

March, march, Ettrick and Teviotdale,

10

15

Why the deil dinna ye march forward in

order?

But redder yet that light shall glow,
On Linden's hills of stainèd snow,
And bloodier yet the torrent flow
Of Iser, rolling rapidly.

'Tis morn, but scarce yon level sun
Can pierce the war-clouds, rolling dun,
Where furious Frank, and fiery Hun,
Shout in their sulphurous canopy.
The combat deepens. On, ye brave,
Who rush to glory, or the grave!
Wave, Munich! all thy banners wave,

And charge with all thy chivalry!

Few, few, shall part where many meet!
The snow shall be their winding sheet,
And every turf beneath their feet
Shall be a soldier's sepulchre.

20

25

30

Our song and feast shall flow

To the fame of your name,

When the storm has ceased to blow; When the fiery fight is heard no more, And the storm has ceased to blow.

HOHENLINDEN1
(1802)

On Linden, when the sun was low,
All bloodless lay th' untrodden snow,
And dark as winter was the flow

Of Iser, rolling rapidly.

10

BATTLE OF THE BALTIC1
(1809)

Of Nelson and the North

Sing the glorious day's renown,

When to battle fierce came forth

All the might of Denmark's crown,

And her arms along the deep proudly shone; 5

By each gun the lighted brand

In a bold determin'd hand,

40

And the Prince of all the land

Led them on.

Like leviathans afloat

Lay their bulwarks on the brine,

While the sign of battle flew

On the lofty British line:

1 When this ode was written England was arrayed singly against France and the greater part of Europe, and her safety depended on the maintenance of her supremacy on the sea.

Robert Blake (1599-1657), a great English admiral, particularly noted for his victories over the Dutch in 1652 and 1657.

Horatio Nelson (afterwards Viscount), the greatest of England's admirals (1758-1805), who was killed in the Battle of Trafalgar. In the original version of the poem Sir Richard Grenville's name was used instead of Nelson's, who was then living.

1 Campbell was near Hohenlinden, a village in upper

It was ten of April morn by the chime;
As they drifted on their path,
There was silence deep as death,
And the boldest held his breath
For a time.

10

15

Bavaria, at the time of the battle there in 1800, between the victorious French and the allied Bavarians and Austrians.

An English expedition under Sir Hyde Parker, with Nelson second in command, was sent to the Baltic against a confederacy formed by Russia, Sweden and Denmark. The Battle of the Baltic was fought on April 2, 1801, and Nelson, rather than Parker, was the hero of the day.