The last sad shelter of unconquer'd worth,
When EDWARD's iron sceptre bruis'd the North *.
The shaded Inver, haunt of social peace,

Here bids his streams thy wat❜ry stores increase,

And proudly boasts of his excelling Fair †,
Their simple manners, and ingenuous air :
There Fyers with plaintive murmurs soothes his dells,
Where wild romantic Melancholy dwells;
And Tarfe, long wandering, hid in copses green,
To pour his tributary wave is seen.

Now strict enquiring from the swains around,
His wandering cattle's haunt young FARQUHAR found,
Deep in the shelter of a gloomy grove,

By rocks defended from the storm above,
They shunn'd, sequester'd in the narrow vale,
The blast tempestuous, and the rattling hail.
Clear was the freezing air, and bright the sky,
Short was the day, and now the sun grew high;
The cattle found, no lingering can avail,
Yet still he feels his wonted spirits fail.

*See note No. 23.

+ Invermoriston, a river, at the mouth of which is the seat of an ancient family, whose daughters, now respectable matrons, were justly admired for uncommon beauty, unaffected gentle manners, and every domestic virtue.

See note No. 24.

'Tis wrong to stay, but doubly hard to go, A while he pauses-lost in tender woe : "And shall I, helpless, friendless, leave the maid "Whose pitying care my feeble steps convey'd? "Whose gentle aid my fainting heart restor❜d, "Oh, were I of this lake's fair borders lord; "Had I the joys of wealth, without its care, "Those joys, that wealth, my lovely maid should share.” The new sensation swelling in his heart, Inspir'd the untaught swain with sudden art; And thus in cautious Wisdom's solemn guise, To veil his latent purpose FARQUHAR tries: First to the courteous matron bending low,"You, to whose care my rescu'd life I owe, "Whose tender fears your absent friends deplore, "May heaven triumphant soon those friends restore ! "Yet while their standard flies on Southern plains, "To till your fields no manly hand remains; "The coming Spring will soon your cares engage, "With toils unfit for childhood or for age: "So short the freezing day, so deep the snow, "No cattle o'er the mountain path can go. "Warm shelter'd in yon bushy glen behind,

My steers repose, and food and safety find; "But when relenting Spring shall smile a-new, "Again your hospitable hearth I'll view;

"And faithful, like a brother or a son,

"Will till your fields till May's bright days come on;
"And while warm life her vital pow'r retains,
“And truth, and sense, and memory remains :
"Should penury, or sad mischance betide
"My friendly hostess, or my gentle guide,

My kindred, mindful of the generous deed,
"Shall yield them shelter in the hour of need."
The matron pleas'd, accepts the promis'd aid,
In silence meek assents the grateful maid.
Serene and peaceful smil'd the shortening day,
And FARQUHAR now unwilling hastes away:
Yet oft he turn'd, as inly loth to go,
And blest the gentle inmates of Glendoe.
Now doubly welcome to his native vale,
Of war's alarms he tells th' awakening tale,
And keen recounts what all his kindred owe
For hospitable rites in fair Glendoe.

Now all the North grew bright with hostile arms, From every hill resound the loud alarms *,

And rumour tells, in shrill discordant tones,

Of vanquish'd monarchs, and of tottering thrones. But FARQUHAR, reckless of the fatal strife,

Still

past in tranquil shades his blameless life; And chid the hours, and thought the sun too slow That rose to light him to his lov'd Glendoe.

* See note No. 25.

Sweet April deck'd with primrose wreath appears, And smiles, like harmless infancy, thro' tears; When thro' the pathless hills, th' advent'rous swain, His MORAIG's peaceful dwelling sought again.

In vain he casts around his searching eyes,
From every side the smoky columns rise,
And savage shouts are heard, and doleful cries!
While from the mountain's top he views a-fat
The barbarous traces of unsparing war,
Irresolute he stands, to turn, or go,
Urg'd by despair to meet the ruthless foe;
Resolv'd at last, he seeks the dark retreat
Where lovely MORAIG first he chanc'd to meet,
In hopes some victim of disastrous fate,

}

Hid in those shades, might aught of her relate. Her grandsire there, deep sorrowing on the ground, With haggart looks, in silent woe he found. "Oh tell, good father, tell, what wretched lot "Befel the blameless inmates of thy cot: "Have they obey'd the victor's stern command, "Or fled for succour to some happier land * ?” Say, where, my son, should helpless females go? A happier land than this they ne'er can know. They make their bed beneath th' inclement sky, • And meet with sorrow wheresoe'er they fly:

* See note No. 26.

Deep in

yon secret glen, within whose shades, Whose privacy no hostile step invades,

Where your lost steers avoid the wint❜ry blast,

< They rest conceal'd, till this dread hour be past:

My sons, with blood deform'd, and faint with wounds, Last night came from Culloden's fatal bounds, And shelter in a neighbouring cave, while I 'Th' approach of danger here attend to spy.'

NOW FARQUHAR'S glowing cheek and heaving breast The strong emotions of his soul confest : "Come, father, haste to quit this scene of woe, "First to the cave to seek the warriors go; "Then let us fly to MORAIG's Secret glen,

"And shun the blood-stain'd haunts of impious men ; "Thro' dark Glenmurky's woods I know a way, "Impervious to the searching eye of day:

"Through that lone path your secret steps I'll guide, "Where plenty dwells on Maeshie's grassy side. "Beneath my father's roof my only love "Shall to the aged pair a daughter prove: "Their ancient home, tho' destin'd thus to leave, "Let not my gentle MORAIG's kindred grieve: "Endear'd by ties of sympathy divine, "Henceforth be gentle MORAIG's kindred mine.” The wounded warriors, and the sorrowing sage, Now sought the darling comforts of their age;