Obtain that soft seclusion which they seek!
Be this a stranger's farewell, green Byronc,
Who ne'er hath trod thy heathery heights before,
And ne'er may see thee more

After yon autumn sun hath westering gone;
Though oft, in pensive mood, when far away,
Mid city multitudes, his thoughts will stray
To Ascog's lake, blue-sleeping in the morn,
And to the happy homesteads that adorn
Thy Rothesay's lovely bay.

David Macbeth Moir.

Cadzow Castle.

CADZOW.

HE birds are singing by Avon Bridge,
The sky is blue o'er Chatelrault,

And all through Cadzow's wooded glades
The softest airs of summer blow.

O birds that sing by Avon Bridge,
Why should your notes so richly flow?
O tranquil sky of cloudless blue,
Why shine so bright o'er Chatelrault ?

O Avon! rolling gently down,

Why keep'st thou that old tuneful tone?
Where is the voice so soft and low
Whose music echoed back thy own?

O Cadzow! why this rustling pomp
Of leafy boughs that wave so high?

Where is the light that gleamed through all
Thy shadowy paths in days gone by?

O summer airs! why thus recall

The sweeter breath, that seemed to bring
The balmy dews of southern skies,
And all the roses of the spring!

Henry Glassford Bell.

T

Carmyle.

THE LASSIE O' CARMYLE.

WAS on a bonnie simmer morn,

The fields were wet wi' dew,

And Clutha's banks were clad wi' flowers

Of fairest form and hue;

The wild birds sang their sweetest notes,
Blithe Phoebus ceased to smile,

As wandering forth I chanced to meet
The lassie o' Carmyle.

Her glowing cheek out rivalled far
The rosebud's sweetest hue;
Her hair was like the raven's wing,
Her eyes a lovely blue.

O'ercome with love and sweet surprise,

Entranced I stood awhile,

Then fondly clasped, in warm embrace,
The lassie o' Carmyle.

Yon sweet wee gowan on the bank
Wi' her could ne'er compare;
The primrose pale, the violet's blue,
Were ne'er so sweet and fair.
I told my love wi' artless tongue,
Wi' heart unstained by guile;

She blushed, she smiled, but noo she's mine,
The lassie o' Carmyle.

Unheeded now, ambition scales
The slippery hill of fame;
Unenvied now, pale avarice gains
Blind fortune's fickle game:
For what are rank or fame to me
Compared wi' her sweet smile?

My heart's first treasure still shall be
The lassie o' Carmyle.

Hugh Macdonald.

Carrick.

CARRICK.

night the fairy prospects sink,

Close the fair entrance of the Clyde;
The woods of Bute, no more descried,
Are gone, and on the placid sea
The rowers plied their task with glee,
While hands that knightly lances bore
Impatient aid the laboring oar.

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The half-faced moon shone dim and pale,
And glanced against the whitened sail;
But on that ruddy beacon-light

Each steersman kept the helm aright,
And oft, for such the king's command,
That all at once might reach the strand,
From boat to boat loud shout and hail
Warned them to crowd or slacken sail.
South and by west the armada bore,
And near at length the Carrick shore.
As less and less the distance grows,
High and more high the beacon rose;
The light, that seemed a twinkling star,
Now blazed, portentous, fierce, and far.
Dark-red the heaven above it glowed,
Dark-red the sea beneath it flowed,
Red rose the rocks on ocean's brim,
In blood-red light her islets swim;
Wild scream the dazzled sea-fowl gave,
Dropped from their crags on plashing wave,
The deer to distant covert drew,
The black-cock deemed it day, and crew.
Like some tall castle given to flame,
O'er half the land the lustre came.
"Now, good my liege, and brother sage,
What think ye of mine elfin page ?
"Row on!" the noble king replied,
"We'll learn the truth whate'er betide;
Yet sure the beadsman and the child
Could ne'er have waked that beacon wild."
Sir Walter Scott.

Castell Gloom.

CASTELL GLOOM

CASTLE GLOOM, better known as Castle Campbell, was a residence of the noble family of Argyll, from the middle of the fifteenth till the middle of the seventeenth century, when it was burned by the Marquis of Montrose. The castle is situated on a promontory of the Ochil hills, near the village of Dollar, in Clackmannanshire, and has long been in the ruinous condition described in the song.

CASTELL GLOOM! thy strength is gone,

The green grass o'er thee growin';

On hill of Care thou art alone,

The Sorrow round thee flowin'.

O Castell Gloom! on thy fair wa's
Nae banners now are streamin',

The houlet flits amang thy ha's,

And wild birds there are screamin'.

O, mourn the woe, O, mourn the crime,
Frae civil war that flows;

O, mourn, Argyll, thy fallen line,
And mourn the great Montrose.

Here ladies bright were aften seen,
Here valiant warriors trod;

And here great Knox has aften been,
Wha feared naught but his God!
But a' are gane! the gude, the great,
And naething now remains,