And why does still that cherish'd rose And in this lonely waste forlorn, "Oh, long must I unpitied mourn, "Where mouldering tow'rs decay; "Fierce were the flames that scorch'd their walls, "And fatal was the day. "And long must tears in silence shed, "Bedew that rose so fair; ""Twas planted in the dawn of hope, 66 "For royal brows to wear. My master was a Chief renown'd "In manhood's active prime; "My lady was for ev'ry worth "Unequall'd in her time. "Her father was a wily lord, "Well skill'd in dangerous art, "(But truth, and love, and goodness fill'd "His daughter's gentle heart.) "With crafty lore he led our Chief "A hopeless cause to join; "To seat on Britain's throne a Prince "Of STUART'S hapless line. "Do you not see yon blasted oak 66 By Heaven's dread thunder tore? "Can April show'rs, or summer suns "Its solemn shade restore? "Or have you seen the lofty flow'r "They strove to plant the wither'd oak, "And water'd it with gore: "They spread the tender leaves of hope "When fortune smil'd no more. "How short, how gay, how bright the smile, "That cheer'd their morning ray! "How dark, how cold, how loud the storm, "That raging clos'd their day. "On Gladsmuir's heath a comet's blaze "Deceiv'd their dazzled sight; "On bleak Culloden's bloody moor, "It sunk in endless night. "Why should I tell what noble blood "The sable scaffold stain'd? "Why should I tell what generous hearts "Ignoble fate disdain'd? "I see thy dim and dewy eyes, "When to the forest's deep retreats "My outlaw'd master fled; "While vengeance took a deadly aim "At his devoted head : "The ruthless Duke's fell mandate came, "And ruin spread around : "Our Chieftain's halls were wrapt in flames, "With flames the turrets crown'd. "High on yon rock, that to the North "Erects its aged head, "Hard by the screaming goshawk's nest "He made his pendent bed. " "Twas from yon trembling aspin's boughs "That wave so high in air, "He saw the wasting flames ascend, "In silent stern despair. "But fury shook his manly frame, "And sorrow wrung his heart, "When from the crashing roof he saw "The burning rafters part. "On yon bleak, hill that fronts the North, 66 My lady sat forlorn; "In fear she left her home, to shun "The lawless soldier's scorn. "With meek and silent awe she sat, "And piously resign'd; "Fierce blaz'd her castle thro' the gloom, "Loud blew the eastern wind. "Oh lady, shun the chilling blasts "Oh shun this dreary sight of woe, "The lady wip'd her streaming eyes, "And rais'd her drooping head;" "Ah! where can I a shelter find ?" "In broken words she said:" "The owl that 'plains from yonder wood "But I, alas! without a home, "Must brave the chilling air: "My friends are fall'n beneath the sword "That never knew to spare. "The fire devour'd my father's halls, "Stern vengeance drank his blood; "And loudly on my consort calls "To swell the purple flood. * The lady sat most part of the night on an opposite hill viewing the conflagration. ΙΑ |