Volume Iv Part 7 (2/2)

But death's cauld hour cam' on at last, As it to a' is comin'; And may it be, whene'er it fa's, Nae waur to others than it was To Mary, sweet wee woman!

FOOTNOTES:

[7] This exquisite lay forms a portion of ”The Cottagers of Glendale,”

Mr Riddell's longest ballad poem.

MRS MARGARET M. INGLIS.

The writer of spirited and elegant poetry, Mrs Margaret Maxwell Inglis was the youngest daughter of Alexander Murray, a medical pract.i.tioner, who latterly accepted a small government situation in the town of Sanquhar, Dumfriess.h.i.+re. She was born at Sanquhar on the 27th October 1774, and at an early age became the wife of a Mr Finlay, who held a subordinate post in the navy. On the death of her husband, which took place in the West Indies, she resided with the other members of her family in Dumfries; and in 1803, she married Mr John Inglis, only son of John Inglis, D.D., minister of Kirkmabreck, in Galloway. By the death of Mr Inglis in 1826, she became dependent, with three children by her second marriage, on a small annuity arising from an appointment which her late husband had held in the Excise. She relieved the sadness of her widowhood by a course of extensive reading, and of composition both in prose and verse. In 1838 she published, at the solicitation of friends, a duodecimo volume, ent.i.tled ”Miscellaneous Collection of Poems, chiefly Scriptural Pieces.” Of the compositions in this volume, there are several of very superior merit, while the whole are marked by a vein of elegant fancy.

Mrs Inglis died in Edinburgh on the 21st December 1843. Eminently gifted as a musician, she could boast of having been complimented by the poet Burns on the grace with which she had, in his presence, sung his own songs. Of retiring and un.o.btrusive habits, she mixed sparingly in general society; but among her intimate friends, she was held in estimation for the extent of her information and the unclouded cheerfulness of her disposition. She has left some MSS. of poems and songs, from which we have been privileged to make selections for the present work.

SWEET BARD OF ETTRICK'S GLEN.[8]

AIR--_”Banks of the Devon.”_

Sweet bard of Ettrick's glen!

Where art thou wandering?

Miss'd is thy foot on the mountain and lea.

Why round yon craggy rocks Wander thy heedless flocks, While lambies are list'ning and bleating for thee?

Cold as the mountain stream, Pale as the moonlight beam, Still is thy bosom, and closed is thine e'e.

Wild may the tempest's wave Sweep o'er thy lonely grave; Thou art deaf to the storm--it is harmless to thee.

Like a meteor's brief light, Like the breath of the morning, Thy life's dream hath pa.s.s'd as a shadow gone by; Till thy soft numbers stealing O'er mem'ry's warm feeling, Each line is embalm'd with a tear or a sigh.

Sweet was thy melody, Rich as the rose's dye, Shedding its odours o'er sorrow or glee; Love laugh'd on golden wing, Pleasure's hand touch'd the string, All taught the strain to sing, Shepherd, by thee.

Cold on Benlomond's brow Flickers the drifted snow, While down its sides the wild cataracts foam; Winter's mad winds may sweep Fierce o'er each glen and steep, Thy rest is unbroken, and peaceful thy home.

And when on dewy wing Comes the sweet bird of spring, Chanting its notes on the bush or the tree; The Bird of the Wilderness, Low in the waving gra.s.s, Shall, cow'ring, sing sadly its farewell to thee.

FOOTNOTES:

[8] This song was composed by Mrs Inglis, in honour of the Ettrick Shepherd, shortly after the period of his death.

YOUNG JAMIE.[9]

AIR--_”Drummond Castle.”_

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