Agincourt, or the English Bowmans Glory. To a pleasant new
Tune. Quoted in Heywood’s King Edward IV., and, therefore,
popular before 1600. This ballad has been severely edited, and I
omit several stanzas. It is printed in full in Hazlitt’s edition of
Collier’s ‘Shakespeare’s Library,’ vol. i. (Reeves & Turner, 1825).
Published in 1589.
Both were published in Poemes Lyrick and Pastorall (1605?) and
Poemes (1619). As to the first:—l. 6. Caux (‘commonlie called
Kidcaux,’ says Holinshed) was the district north-east of the mouth
of the Seine.
l. 83. bilbos. Swords, from Bilbao.
92. ding. To belabour with blows.
The first is from John of Gaunt’s dying speech (King Richard II.,
Act ii. sc. 1). King Richard II. was probably written early in
1593. It was published anonymously in 1597. The second is from
King John, Act v. sc. 7. 1594 is the date assigned to Shakespeare’s
King John, which was first printed in the First Folio (1623).
These and the two succeeding numbers follow the text of ‘The
Globe Edition’ of Shakespeare’s Works. I am indebted to the
publishers of that edition, Messrs. Macmillan & Co., and to the
Delegates of the Clarendon Press, Oxford, for kindly extending
to readers of this volume the benefits of the scientific labours of
Dr. W. G. Clark and Mr. W. A. Wright.
From various parts of King Henry V. The play was written in
1598, and performed for the first time early in 1599. The first
complete version was published in the First Folio (1623).
l. 23. rivage. The shore.
27. sternage. (To sternage of=astern of, so as to follow.)
40. puissance. Strength.
87. battle. An army, or division of an army.
90. accomplishing. Equipping.
144. Crispian. ‘The daie following,’ says Holinshed, ‘was the
five and twentieth of October in the year 1415, being then fridaie,
and the feast of Crispine and Crispinian, a daie faire and fortunate
to the English, but most sorrowfull and unluckie to the French.’
174. Whiffler. Herald or usher.
183. ostent. Clear, visible.
King Henry VIII., Act ii. sc. 3.
Printed by Percy (Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, 1765).
‘From an old black-letter copy.’
Cailìver (l. 21)=Caliver, a kind of light musket.
There are broadsides of this ballad in the Roxburghe and Bagford
Collections. The version here given is taken from Mr. Henley’s
volume, Lyra Heroica (David Nutt, 1891), by permission of
editor and publisher. The full title of the Roxburghe broadside
is as follows:—‘The Honour of Bristol, shewing how the Angel
Gabriel of Bristol fought with three ships, who boarded as many
times, wherein we cleared our Decks, and killed five hundred of
their Men, and wounded many more, and make them fly into Cales,
where we lost but three men, to the Honour of the Angel Gabriel
of Bristol. To the tune of Our Noble King in his Progress.’
Calés (l. 13), pronounced as a dissyllable, is, of course, Cadiz.
The first is entitled: To the Lord General Cromwell, May 1652:
On the Proposals of certain Ministers at the Committee for Propagation
of the Gospel, and was written against the intolerant
Fifteen Proposals of John Owen and the majority of the Committee.
This sonnet first appeared at the end of Philip’s Life of
Milton (1694).
Hireling wolves (l. 14)=the paid clergy.
The second is from the chorus of Samson Agonistes (ll. 1268–1286).
Samson Agonistes was first published in 1671, in the small
octavo volume which contained Paradise Regained.
The Horatian Ode was first printed in 1776, in Captain Edward
Thompson’s edition of Marvell’s Works.
l. 15. side. Party.
32. Bergamot. A kind of pear.
67, &c. The finding of the human head at Rome, regarded as a happy
omen, is mentioned by Pliny (Nat. Hist., xxviii. 4).
The second appeared in Poems (1681).
Produced in 1643. The author was a famous ballad-monger of
Charles I.’s time. The original refrain was ‘When the King comes
home in peace again’ (Roxburghe Collection of Ballads, iii. 256;
Loyal Garland, 1671 and 1686; Ritson, Ancient Songs). The
song was written to support the declining cause of the Royal
Martyr. It helped to keep up the spirits of the Cavaliers in the
days before the Restoration (1660), which event it was used to
celebrate. When the Revolution (1688) drove the Stuarts into
exile, this song became a weapon in the hands of the Jacobites.
This was a very popular loyal song in the reign of Charles II.
Both words and music are given in Playford’s Musical Companion
(1667).
The first is from Dryden’s opera, King Arthur, or the British
Worthy (1691). As to the first: ‘A battle is supposed to be given
behind the scenes, with drums, trumpets, and military shouts and
excursions; after which, the Britons, expressing their joy for the
victory, sing this song of triumph.’—Author’s Note.
The second is an extract from Annus Mirabilis (1667).
This famous song, which Heine once declared expressed the
whole character of the English people, made its first appearance in
The Masque of Alfred (1740).
This song is at least as old as the reign of Queen Anne. In the
British Museum there are many half-sheet copies, with music. The
earliest begins, ‘Here’s a health to the Queen,’ &c.
The first print of our National Anthem is to be found in Harmonica
Anglicana, a collation of part songs (circa 1742). This
copy consists of two stanzas only. The third made its appearance
when Harmonica Anglicana was extended to two volumes, with the
new title Thesaurus Musicus. The copy printed in the Gentleman’s
Magazine (October 1745) contains the three stanzas given here, and
is called, ‘A Song for Two Voices sung at both play-houses.’
Sung in Garrick’s pantomime, The Harlequin’s Invasion, produced
December 31, 1759.
Odes (‘Printed for A. Millar in the Strand,’ 1746), and Dodsley’s
Museum (iv., 1749).
The first was written ‘after reading Hume’s History in 1780’
(Benham). The second was written in September 1782. The
Royal George (108 guns) was being repaired at Spithead (August
29, 1782), when she capsized and sank instantly. Rear-Admiral
Richard Kempenfelt was then under orders to proceed to the relief
of Gibraltar.
The first is from The Oddities, a Table Entertainment (1789–1790),
and its original title was Poor Tom, or the Sailor’s Epitaph.
The second was first sung in The Wags, or the Camp of Pleasure
(October 18, 1790). The third was first sung in A Tour to Land’s
End (1798), and its original title was Yo heave ho! The first
collected edition of Charles Dibdin’s songs was issued in five
volumes from 1790 to 1799.
The air of The British Grenadiers is at least as old as the reign
of Elizabeth, and is one of the most characteristic of the English
National airs. The words here given are from a copy (with music)
about a hundred and fifty years old.
Chappell dates this song 1758. The matter is not free from
doubt, but the reference in the second stanza to ‘Brighton Camp’
is a clue. There were encampments along the south coast (1758–9)
when Hawke and Rodney were watching the French fleet in Brest
Harbour. The song appears to be English, although it has appeared
in several collections of Irish music. I have omitted several stanzas
which appear in Chappell’s version (Popular Music of the Olden
Time, vol. ii. p. 710).
From Lock and Key, ‘a musical entertainment,’ first performed
at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden (circa 1790).
From two of the Prophetic Books entitled Jerusalem and Milton
respectively, and both published in 1804.
Poems (1807). Composed August 1802. ‘On August 29th left
Calais at 12 in the morning for Dover.... Bathed and sat on
the Dover Cliffs, looked upon France. We could see the shores
about as plain as if it were an English lake. Mounted the coach
at half-past four, arrived in London at six.’—(Dorothy Wordsworth’s
Journal.)
Poems (1807). The first and second were composed in September
1802, the third in 1803, and the fourth in 1806. The fifth
is from the third stanza of the Thanksgiving Ode (1816). The sixth
and seventh were ‘composed or suggested during a Tour in the
Summer of 1833,’ and were published in Yarrow Revisited and
Other Poems (1835).
From the Introduction to the first canto of Marmion (1808).
The Snug Little Island, or The March of Invasion was first
sung by ‘Jew’ Davis in The British Raft at Sadler’s Wells
on Easter Monday, 1797. Tune—‘The Rogue’s March.’ The
author’s title for the next number (Last Lays, 1833) is A Soldier’s
Life.
Poetical Works, vol. iii. (Longmans, 1838). This is number
xxxiii. of the ‘Inscriptions.’
The first two were published with Gertrude of Wyoming (1809).
The first (written at Altona during the winter of 1800–1) is based
on a seventeenth-century song which Campbell used to sing. As
to the second (written in 1805), I omit stanzas 5, 6, and 8, an improvement
suggested by Mr. Henley. The third appeared in
Theodoric and Other Poems (Longmans, 1824).
Songs and Poems (edited by Peter Cunningham, 1847).
The first is from Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (canto iii. stanza 2,
and canto iv. stanzas 8, 9, 10). The third canto was published in
1816, and the fourth in 1818. Byron left England—never to return—on
April 24, 1816.
l. 22. The poet’s body was sent home to England, and was buried
in the family vault at Hucknall Torkard, near Newstead Abbey,
Nottinghamshire.
32. The answer of the mother of Brasidas, the Spartan General,
to the strangers who praised the memory of her son.
The second is from the third canto of Don Juan (1821).
The third is from Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (canto iii. stanzas
21–28). The Duchess of Richmond’s famous ball took place on
June 15, 1815, the eve of Quatre Bras, at the Duke’s house in the
Rue de la Blanchisserie, Brussels.
20. Brunswick’s fated chieftain. The Duke of Brunswick (1771–1815)
was killed at Quatre Bras. His father, author of the famous
manifesto against the French Republic (July 15, 1792), had fallen
at Jena (1806).
54. Evan’s—Donald’s. Sir Evan Cameron (1629–1719) and his
grandson Donald Cameron of Lochiel (1695–1748). The former
fought at Killiecrankie (1689), and the latter, celebrated by Campbell
in Lochiel’s Warning, was wounded at Culloden (1746).
55. Ardennes. The general term is applied to the forest of
Soignies, which at this time occupied the whole country between
Brussels and Waterloo.
First published (without the author’s permission) in the Newry
Telegraph (April 19, 1817), and reprinted in many other journals.
Highly praised by Byron (1822)—‘Such an ode as only Campbell
could have written’—this poem was attributed to Byron himself,
and claimed by many impostors. The question of authorship was
settled in 1841 by the discovery of an autograph copy in a letter
from Wolfe to a college friend.
Works, with a Memoir (7 vols., William Blackwood & Sons,
1839). Most of Mrs. Hemans’ poems were first published in
periodicals, such as The Edinburgh Monthly Magazine and The
New Monthly Magazine. The latter was, for a time, edited by
Thomas Campbell, not very successfully. The ‘Author’s Note’ on
the first number is as follows:—‘It is supposed that war was
anciently proclaimed in Britain by sending messengers in different
directions through the land, each bearing a bended bow; and that
peace was in like manner announced by a bow unstrung, and,
therefore, straight.’
The first (reprinted from Knight’s Quarterly Magazine) was included
in the 1848 edition of the Lays of Ancient Rome. It is
dated 1832.
Alma and other Poems (1855), and Poems (New Edition, 2
vols., Macmillan & Co., 1885). By permission of Mr. A. Chenevix
Trench.
Last Poems (Smith, Elder & Co., 1862). This volume was
published after the author’s death. By permission of the publishers.
The first two appeared in Poems (2 vols., Edward Moxon, 1842).
The third is from The Princess: a Medley (Edward Moxon, 1847).
The fourth is from the lines entitled, To the Queen, forming the
Dedication of the Seventh Edition of Poems (London: 1851). The
fifth and sixth first appeared in The Examiner, in 1852; the former
on January 31, and the latter on February 7. The seventh is from
the Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington, published
separately in November 1852 (Edward Moxon), and reprinted
with Maud (1855).
The first appeared in The Examiner, December 9, 1854, and
was reprinted with Maud (1855). Written on December 2nd, in a
few minutes, after reading the description in The Times, in which
occurred the phrase ‘someone had blundered.’ (Memoir, i. p.
381.) The second is from Maud.
The Return of the Guards and Other Poems (Macmillan & Co.,
1866). By permission of the publishers. The poem deals with
an incident of the war with China (1860):—‘Some Seiks (Sikhs)
and a private of the Buffs (or East Kent Regiment) having remained
behind with the grog-carts, fell into the hands of the Chinese. On
the next morning they were brought before the authorities, and
commanded to perform the Ko tou. The Seiks obeyed; but Moyse,
the English soldier, declaring that he would not prostrate himself
before any Chinaman alive, was immediately knocked upon the
head, and his body thrown upon a dunghill.’ Quoted by the author
from The Times.
Bells and Pomegranates (vii. 1845). The first was written in Italy.
The second was written in pencil on the cover of an Italian book
during Browning’s first journey to Italy. He sailed in a merchant
vessel from London to Trieste, and was the only passenger (1838).
A letter from the poet to Miss Haworth gives an account of the
voyage. (Life and Letters, edited by Mrs. Sutherland Orr, 2nd
edition, p. 97.)
Songs for Music (Routledge, 1856), a reprint of a series of songs
from The Illustrated London News (1852–1855).
The first is from Songs in Absence (1852), and was probably composed
during the author’s voyage across the Atlantic. The second
appears in Poems with Memoir by F. T. Palgrave (Macmillan &
Co., 1862). By permission of Messrs. Macmillan & Co.
Andromeda and Other Poems (1858). Written in 1854.
Edinburgh Courant, 1852.
l. 3. The Vengeur’s crew. The Vengeur was sunk in Lord
Howe’s action against the French fleet on ‘the glorious first of
June’ (1794), off the coast of Brittany. For the final account of
her sinking see Carlyle (Miscellanies—‘Sinking of the Vengeur’).
Ionica (George Allen, 1891). By permission of Mrs. Cory. The
poem was written in 1861, and was privately printed in 1877. The
‘School Fencibles’ are the members of the Volunteer Corps of
Eton College, whose grey uniform, with light-blue facings, is the
‘meek attire of blue and grey’ referred to in l. 10.
Verses 1, 2, 4, and 9 of Hymn No. 143 in Hymns Ancient and
Modern. By permission of the Society for Promoting Christian
Knowledge.
Sonnets and Other Poems (A. & C. Black, 1900). By permission
of author and publishers.
Points of War (Bell & Daldy, 1855), and Wagers of Battle (Macmillan
& Co., 1900). By permission of the author and Messrs.
Macmillan.
Both from Visions of England (Macmillan & Co., 1881). By
permission of the publishers.
l. 1. Isle of Roses. Within the temple of Athena at Lindus, in
the island of Rhodes, Pindar’s seventh Olympian Ode was
engraved in golden letters.
40. Changing at the font. Alfred was god-father to Guthrun,
the Danish leader, when baptized after his defeat at
Ethandún (872).
Balder (Smith & Elder, 1854).
This poem first appeared in The Times (October 31, 1899), was
reprinted separately by Messrs. Skeffington & Sons, and is included
in the author’s last volume, The Finding of the Book and Other
Poems (Hodder & Stoughton, 1900). By permission of the author,
the editor of The Times, and the publishers above mentioned.
Legends and Lyrics (1858). Written in 1855.
Havelock’s March and Other Poems (Trübner & Co., 1859). By
permission of the author.
Collected Poems (Macmillan & Co., 1900). By permission of the
publishers.
Songs and Rhymes (Elliot Stock, 1896). By permission of the
author.
Poems Narrative and Lyrical (Pickering, 1853). By permission
of the author.
Poems (Elkin Mathews, 1893). By permission of the author.
The Bab Ballads, with which are included Songs of a Savoyard
(George Routledge & Sons, 1897). By permission of the author.
This is one of the songs in the comic opera Utopia, Limited.
Both from A Jubilee Greeting at Spithead (John Lane, 1897).
By permission of the author.
The first three numbers are from Poems and Ballads, 3rd series
(Chatto & Windus, 1889). The first is part viii. section ii. of The
Armada.
As to the second, Drumossie Muir (l. 16), in Inverness-shire,
was the scene of the battle of Culloden (1746).
l. 17. ayont. Beyond.
25. mool. Mould.
laps. Wraps.
40. wotsna. Knows not.
45. weird for dreeing. To ‘dree a weird’ is to abide a fate.
47. thole. To endure.
65. Wansbeck. A Northumberland stream.
69. thae. Those.
The fourth number is from the dedicatory lines in Astrophel and
Other Poems (Chatto & Windus, 1894). By permission of author
and publishers.
The Graphic (November 11, 1899). By permission of the author
and the editor of The Graphic.
The first appeared in The St. James’s Magazine (now defunct),
October, 1877, and was included in the second edition of Proverbs
in Porcelain (1878), and in At the Sign of the Lyre (Kegan Paul,
1889). By permission of author and publisher.
Gloriana (l. 25)=Queen Elizabeth.
The second appeared in The Sphere (February 3, 1900). By
permission of the author and the editor of The Sphere.
Poetical Works (vol. ii., Smith, Elder & Co., 1899). By permission
of author and publishers.
Songs of the Maid (A. Constable & Co., 1896). By permission
of author and publishers.
London Voluntaries and Other Poems (David Nutt, 1894), and
Poems (David Nutt, 1898). By permission of author and
publisher.
A Song of the Sea and Other Poems (Methuen & Co., 1895).
By permission of Miss Marie Corelli and the publishers.
Literature (July 1, 1899). By permission of the author and the
editor of Literature.
The Violet Crown and Songs of England (Edward Arnold,
1891). By permission of author and publishers. This poem is
dated ‘Athens, 1890.’
Collected Poems (John Lane, 1895). By permission of the
publisher.
Songs of Action (Smith, Elder & Co., 1898). By permission of
author and publishers. The Song of the Bow first appeared in The
White Company (Smith, Elder & Co., 1891).
The Daily Chronicle, October 28, 1899. By permission of the
author and the editor of The Daily Chronicle.
Admirals All (Elkin Matthews, 1897). By permission of author
and publisher. As to the first:—
l. 1. Effingham. Charles, Lord Howard of Effingham (1536–1624),
commanded the English fleet sent against the Spanish
Armada (1588).
Grenville. Sir Richard Grenville, naval commander (1541?-1591).
See Mr. Gerald Massey’s poem, supra, p. 113.
Raleigh. Sir Walter Raleigh (1552–1616), soldier, sailor, courtier,
adventurer, and writer.
Drake. Sir Francis Drake (1540?-1596).
3. Benbow. Vice-admiral John Benbow (1653–1702).
Collingwood. Vice-admiral Cuthbert, Lord Collingwood (1750–1810),
second in command at Trafalgar.
Byron. Vice-admiral John Byron (1723–1786), grandfather of
the poet.
Blake. Robert Blake (1599–1657), next to Nelson, the greatest
English admiral.
8. Nelson. Horatio, Viscount Nelson (1758–1805).
13. Essex. Robert Devereux, second Earl of Essex (1567–1601),
commanded the land attack on Cadiz (1596) when the city was
taken by the English.
30. Duncan. Admiral Adam, Viscount Duncan (1731–1804), who
defeated the Dutch in the fight off Camperdown (October 11,
1797).
31. Texel. One of the mouths of the Zuyder Zee.
38. The Sound. The strait between Sweden and Denmark leading
into the Baltic Sea. The English fleet entered the Sound
on April 1, 1801, and next morning Nelson, acting under orders
from Sir Hyde Parker, attacked the Danish batteries.
52. Rodneys. Admiral George Brydges, first Baron Rodney
(1719–1792).
The third is an extract from the poem entitled Laudabunt Alii.
The Seven Seas. (Methuen & Co., 1896.) By permission of
author and publishers.
l. 9. Bergen. A town on the west coast of Norway.
10. Disko. An island off the west coast of Greenland.
floe. The surface ice of polar seas.
12. Dogger. A sandbank in the middle of the North Sea.
18. Musk-ox. A long-haired animal of the ox tribe, found in
Arctic America.
21. Virgins. A group of small islands in the West Indies.
23. sea-egg. Sea-urchin.
25. Keys. Islands near the coast (Spanish cayo,
a sandbank).
37. Kuriles. A group of islands in the North Pacific.
39. Praya. Capital of the Cape Verde Islands.
Kowloon. A town in China, near Hong-Kong.
43. Hoogli. The Ganges.
50. Winds. Scents, smells.
The Times (July 17, 1897). Suggested by the celebration of
Queen Victoria’s ‘Diamond Jubilee’ (June 22). By permission of
the author and the editor of The Times.
The Spectator (December 16, 1899). By permission of the author
and the editor of The Spectator. The poem is written to an old
Gaelic air.
A Gun-Room Ditty Box (Cassell & Co., 1898). By permission
of author and publishers. ‘Snotties’ is the naval equivalent of
‘midshipmen.’
Published (with The Progress of Poetry) in 1757.
l. 5. hauberk. Coat of mail.
8. Cambria. Wales; a Latinised form of ‘Cymru.’
13–14. Gloster. Mortimer. English nobles and Lords
of the Welsh Marches.
28. Hoel. King of Brittany and nephew of King Arthur.
Llewellyn. A famous Welsh prince of the eleventh century.
29. Cadwallo. King of North Wales in the seventh century.
31. Urien. A Welsh hero of the fifth century.
33. Mordred. Nephew of Arthur.
34. Plinlimmon. A mountain in Cardiganshire.
35. Arvon. ‘The shores of Carnarvonshire opposite the Isle
of Anglesea.’—Gray.
56. Edward II. was murdered in Berkeley Castle (September 21,
1327).
57. Isabella, wife of Edward II.
67. Edward, the Black Prince.
71, &c. The reign of Richard II.
83–96. The Wars of the Roses.
87. The Tower of London was said to have been begun by Julius
Cæsar.
89. Consort. Margaret of Anjou.
father. Henry V.
90. meek usurper. Henry VI.
93. The silver boar was the badge of Richard III.
115. Queen Elizabeth.
121. Taliessin. A Welsh bard of the sixth century.
126. Spenser’s Faerie Queene.
128. Shakespeare’s plays.
131. Milton.
133. ‘The succession of poets after Milton’s time.’—Gray.
Poetical Works (1832). Bodryddan is near Rhuddlan, in Flintshire.
Works, with a Memoir (Wm. Blackwood & Sons, 1839). As to
the first,—
l. 2. Hirlas. From ‘hir,’ long, and ‘glas,’ blue or azure.
14. Eryri is the Welsh name for the Snowdon Mountains.
As to the second,—
Prince Madog, a natural son of Llywelyn, was the leader of the
Welsh Rebellion (1294–1295), occasioned by the levying of taxes by
Edward I. to pay for his projected expedition to Gascony.
Poems (Roberts, 1869). Translated from the Welsh.
l. 1. Glyndwr. Owain ap Gruffydd, commonly called Owen
Glendower (1359?-1416?), joined the Percies and Mortimers in
their rebellion against Henry IV.
From the Ode written at the request of the Llywelyn Memorial
Committee (Bangor: Jarvis & Foster, 1895). By permission of the
author. Llywelyn ap Gruffydd (died 1282) was the last champion
of Welsh liberty.
l. 29. Lloegrian. Lloegria was one of the ancient names of Britain.
40. Cwmhir. Cwmhir Abbey in Radnorshire.
67. Iorwerth’s happier son. Llywelyn ap Iorwerth (died 1240),
commonly called Llywelyn the Great.
This translation of the famous Welsh poem, Morfa Rhuddlan
(i.e., ‘Red Marsh’) is in the metre of the original. Published
(September, 1894) in Wales, a monthly magazine. By permission
of the editor of Wales and the author’s representatives. Three
stanzas (2, 5, and 6) are omitted. Morfa Rhuddlan, on the banks
of the Clwyd in Flintshire, was the scene of many battles between
Britons and Saxons. In the battle described in the poem (A.D.
795), the Britons under Caradoc were defeated and their leader
slain. Those who escaped the sword were driven into the
river. The original poem is said to have been composed by
Caradoc’s bard immediately after the battle.
Welsh Lyrics of the Nineteenth Century, First Series (Bangor:
Jarvis & Foster, 1896). By permission of author and publishers.
As to the first,—Idris (=Cader Idris), Berwin, and Plynlimmon
(l. 8, &c.) are mountains in Wales.
As to the second,—Cymru (l. 1)=Wales.
The Tea-Table Miscellany: a Collection of Choice Songs
(Edinburgh, 4 vols., 1724–7).
This ‘matchless wail’ (as Scott called it) was written in 1756.
For some time it was thought to be a genuine relic of the past.
Burns was one of the first to insist that it was a modern composition.
The ‘Forest’ is, of course, Ettrick Forest, that romantic
district comprising most of Selkirkshire and the neighbouring parts
of Peebles and Edinburgh shires. A few straggling thorns and
solitary birches are the sole remaining traces of this ‘fein foreste,’
once the favourite hunting-ground of the Scottish kings.
bandsters. Binders of sheaves.
bogle. ‘Hide and seek.’
buchts. Pen in which ewes are enclosed at milking-time.
daffin’. Making merry.
dool. Sorrow.
dowie. Doleful.
fleechin’. Coaxing.
gabbin’. Talking pertly.
har’st. Harvest.
ilk, ilka. Every.
liltin’. Singing.
loanin’. Lane.
laighlin. Milking pail.
lyart. Hoary-headed.
mair. More.
runkled. Wrinkled.
swankies. Lively young fellows.
wae. Sad.
wede. Weeded.
Written on the Marquess of Huntley’s departure for Holland,
with the English forces, under the command of Sir Ralph Abercromby,
in 1799.
The first is number 259 in vol. iii. of Johnson’s Musical Museum
(1790), signed ‘Z.’ ‘The first half stanza of this song is old—the
rest is mine.’—Author’s note in interleaved copy.
The second was written in 1793, and first published in the
Morning Chronicle (May, 1794). The old air, Hey, tuttie, taitie,
to which Burns ‘fitted’ this poem, is said to have been Bruce’s
marching tune at Bannockburn.
The third appeared in the Edinburgh Courant (May 4, 1795),
and in the Dumfries Journal (May 5, 1795), and is number 546 in
vol. ii. of Johnson’s Musical Museum (1803).
The fourth was written in 1795 for the Irish air Humours of Glen,
and published in the Edinburgh Magazine (May, 1797), and in
vol. ii. of Thomson’s Scottish Airs (1799).
The first is the opening stanza of the sixth canto of The Lay of
the Last Minstrel (1805).
The second consists of part of stanza 33, and the whole of stanza
34 of the sixth canto of Marmion (1808).
l. 5. vaward. Vanguard.
7. The horn of Roland, nephew of Charlemagne, the sound of which
carried a fabulous distance.
The third was written for Albyn’s Anthology (1816). ‘Donuil
Dhu’ means ‘Donald the Black.’
The first is from The Monastery (1820).
l. 8. the Queen. Mary, Queen of Scots.
9. hirsels. Flocks.
The second, written in 1825, first appeared in The Doom of
Devergoil (1830), Act ii. scene 2.
‘The air of Bonnie Dundee running in my head to-day,’ Scott
writes (22nd December), ‘I wrote a few verses to it before dinner,
taking the keynote from the story of Clavers leaving the Scottish
Convention of Estates in 1688–9. I wonder if they are good!’
(Journal, i. 60).
barkened. Tanned.
carline. Old woman.
couthie. Kind.
douce. Quiet.
duniewassals. Yeomen.
flyting. Scolding.
gang. Go.
ilk. Every.
pow. Pate.
target. A round shield.
The full title of the third number is ‘War Song of the Royal
Edinburgh Light Dragoons.’ It was written under the apprehension
of a French invasion. The corps of volunteers to which the
song is addressed was raised in 1797, and consisted of Edinburgh
gentlemen mounted and armed at their own expense.
From Scott’s Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, 3 vols. (1802–1803).
The first four lines of the fourth stanza appear on the title-page
of Marmion.
First published in Cromek’s Remains of Nithisdale and Galloway
Song (1810), when the author was a working mason.
Johnson’s Musical Museum, vol. iii. (1790). A similar song, The
Clans are Coming, is included in Ritson’s Scottish Songs (1794).
Collected Works, edited by William Anderson (1851). I have
found many versions of this old song, but none to equal Gilfillan’s.
Both from Songs of Travel (Chatto & Windus, 1896). By permission
of Charles Baxter, Esq., executor of the author.
The second was written at Vailima, Samoa, and is addressed
‘To S. R. Crockett, Esq.’ The author writes from Vailima to Mr.
Crockett (May 17, 1893):—‘I shall never set my foot again upon
the heather. Here I am until I die, and here will I be buried.
The word is out, and the doom written.’—Letters, vol. ii. p. 287
(Methuen & Co., 1899).
l. 3. Whaups. Curlews.
11. Peewees. Lapwings.
Blackwood’s Magazine (January 1900). By permission of the
author and the editor of Blackwood’s Magazine.
The first number is given in Hogg’s Jacobite Relics, Second Series
(Wm. Blackwood, 1821).
As to the second,—there are many versions of this old song.
Hogg has two versions, both different to that given here.
The third number is attributed to Hogg by Chambers and other
critics.
The fourth is said to have been written by Lady Keith (née Lady
Maria Drummond), daughter of the Earl of Perth, and mother of
James Francis Edward, commonly called Marshal Keith (1698–1758),
who fought under Frederick the Great in the Seven Years’
War.
birken. Birch.
laverock. Lark.
Moidart. In Inverness.
croo house. Hovel.
bike. Family.
lyart. Hoary.
eild. Old age.
clishmaclaver. Idle discourse.
The first is number 127 of vol. ii. of Johnson’s Musical Museum
(1788). Unsigned.
The second is number 302 of vol. iv. of Johnson’s Musical
Museum (1792). Unsigned.
l. 2. felly. Relentless.
5. maun. Must.
9. mirk. Gloomy.
The third is number 359 of vol. iv. of Johnson’s Musical Museum
(1792). Unsigned. This song has not been found in any earlier
collection.
The fourth is number 497 of vol. v. of Johnson’s Musical Museum
(1796). Unsigned. Based on an old ballad, ‘Unkind Parents’
(Roxburghe Ballads, vol. vii.).
l. 15. gae. Gave.
28. lee-lang. Live-long.
Lays from Stratheam (1746). These new versions of old songs
were first published anonymously.
As to the second, gar mony ferlie (l. 2)=‘cause great excitement.’
Given in Hogg (Second Series), and reprinted in Poetical Remains
of William Glen, with Memoir (1874). Written to the old tune,
‘Johnnie Faa.’
l. 12. lilt o’ dool. Song of grief.
22. maist. Almost.
38. fairly. Completely.
Songs of the North, vol. i. (Cramer & Co., 1885). By permission
of the author, who wrote the words to fit an old and stirring air
with which he became acquainted when on a visit to the Hebrides.
By permission of the author and the editor of The Celtic Monthly,
in which publication (May, 1894) these verses first appeared.
Lines 83–97 of The Deserted Village (1769).
This, the best and most widely known of the Irish street ballads,
dates from the year 1798. Caubeen (l. 15)=hat.
All from the famous series of Irish Melodies, the publication of
which began in 1807, and continued at irregular intervals till 1834.
As to the second,—
l. 3. Mononia. Munster.
4. Kincora. Brien’s Palace.
22. Ossory’s plain. The ancient kingdom of Ossory comprised
parts of Queen’s County and Kilkenny.
As to the third,—
l. 1. Tara’s halls. The hill of Tara, in Meath, was the meeting-place
for the election of the kings of Ireland; but most writers
on Irish antiquities are of opinion that there was no royal dwelling
there. It would seem, therefore, that ‘Tara’s halls’ never existed
but in the imagination of poets.
As to the fifth, Robert Emmet (1778–1803), United Irishman, the
leader of ‘Emmet’s Rising’ (1803), was arrested by Major Sirr
(the capturer of Lord Edward Fitzgerald), tried September 19, and
hanged next day (1803). He was engaged to be married to Sarah
Curran, daughter of the great lawyer, and it was to this lady Moore
addressed his famous poem. The lady subsequently (November 24,
1805) married Major Sturgeon of the Royal Staff Corps.
Minor Poems of Charlotte Elizabeth (1848). Published in the
author’s lifetime over the signature ‘Charlotte Elizabeth.’
Mangan’s poems appeared in Dublin magazines and journals—The
Dublin University Magazine, The Nation, and The Dublin
Penny Journal. There is no complete edition of his works.
As to the second, ‘Dark Rosaleen,’ is, of course, a mystical
name for Ireland.
Songs, Poems, and Verses (John Murray, 1884). By permission
of the Marquess of Dufferin and Ava. The second is dated 1845.
Dublin University Magazine (1834). As to the first, Fiagh MacHugh
O’Byrne, one of the most powerful Irish chieftains in the
sixteenth century, was killed in a skirmish with the forces of the
Lord Deputy (1597). Gall (l. 17)=‘foreigners.’
The second is the first two stanzas of a very close translation, in
the original metre, of an Irish song of unknown authorship, dating
from the seventeenth century. The refrain has never been satisfactorily
translated.
The Poems of Thomas Davis, now first collected (Dublin: James
Duffy, 1846). These poems made their first appearance in The
Nation.
The second is a ‘Lament for the Death of Eoghan Ruadh O’Neill,’
commonly called Owen Roe O’Neill (1590?-1649), patriot and
general, who led the Irish against the Scotch and Parliamentary
forces in Ireland (1642–1649).
The Author’s Note is as follows:—‘Time.—November 10, 1649.
Scene.—Ormond’s camp, county Waterford. Speakers.—A
veteran of Eoghan O’Neill’s clan, and one of the horsemen, just
arrived with an account of his death.’
l. 2. Poison. There is no truth in the assertion that O’Neill
was poisoned. He died a natural death.
7. Sacsanach. Saxon, English.
8. Cloc Uachtar. Clough Oughter, in county Cavan, where the
O’Reillys had a stronghold.
19. Beinn Burb. Benburb, on the Blackwater, where O’Neill
defeated the Scotch army under Monro (June 5, 1646).
Innisfail and Other Poems (Macmillan & Co., 1877), and Poetical
Works, six vols. (Macmillan & Co., 1884). By permission of author
and publishers.
‘The Little Black Rose’ (l. 1) and ‘The Silk of the Kine’ (l. 5)
were mystical names applied to Ireland by the bards. Athenry
(l. 12), in county Galway, was the scene of a battle in which the
Irish under Felim O’Conor were defeated by the English forces
under Sir William de Burgh (1316).
The first appeared in The Nation, 1st April 1843, and both are
included in Sonnets and Other Poems (A. & C. Black, 1900). By
permission of author and publishers.
Bards of the Gael and Gall (T. Fisher Unwin, 1897). By permission
of author and publisher. Both are translations from Irish
poems of the seventeenth century.
As to the first,—O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone, and O’Donnell, Earl of
Tyrconnell, hearing that the Government had determined to seize
them on a charge of conspiracy, apparently groundless, suddenly
left Ireland, sailing from Rathmullan, on Lough Foyle, to France
(1607). Their estates were confiscated, and ‘The Plantation of
Ulster’ began.
From Dublin Verses (Elkin Mathews, 1895)—a collection of
poems by members of Trinity College, Dublin. By permission
of author and publisher.
Macmillan’s Magazine (September, 1900). By permission of the
author and the editor of Macmillan’s Magazine.
The Rising of the Moon and Other Poems (1869). By permission
of Messrs. Cameron & Ferguson, the present publishers.
l. 2. ma bouchal. My boy.
11. banshee. The fairy spirit of doom (Irish,
ban-sidhe).
Poems and Ballads of Young Ireland (Dublin: Gill & Son,
1888). By permission of the author. Clonmacnois, founded by
St. Kieran in the sixth century, was for many generations one of
the greatest ecclesiastical establishments and centres of learning
in Ireland. It was the chosen burial-place of many royal and noble
families.
The Wind in the Trees (Grant Richards, 1898). By permission
of the author.
Poems (Elkin Mathews, 1895). By permission of author and
publisher.
l. 2. Inisfail (i.e. ‘The Isle of Destiny’), an ancient
name of Ireland.
Poems (Toronto: Dudley & Burns, 1888). By permission of the
author. The Nile Expeditionary Force for the relief of General
Gordon was conveyed up the river in flat-bottomed boats navigated
by Canadian Indians (voyageurs).
Lays of Canada (Montreal: John Lovell & Son, 1890). By
permission of the author.
Laura Second and Other Poems (Toronto, 1887). By permission
of the author’s representatives.
A Treasury of Canadian Verse (J. M. Dent & Co., 1900). By
permission of the author’s representatives.
Toronto Daily Mail (July 23, 1885). By permission of the
author. The call for volunteers was occasioned by the ‘Half-Breed
Rebellion’ in North-West Canada (1884–5).
Published separately (McCorquodale & Co., 1900), and sold for
the benefit of the Canadian Patriotic Fund. By permission of the
author.
In Divers Tones (Boston: Small, Maynard & Co., 1887). By
permission of the author.
Beyond the Hills of Dream (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co.,
1899). By permission of author and publishers. The first had
previously appeared in The Westminster Gazette (August, 1897),
and the second in The Toronto Globe (Christmas Number, 1899).
The first is from Poems Old and New (Toronto: William
Briggs, 1900), and the second from The Soul’s Quest and Other
Poems (London: Kegan Paul & Co., 1888). By permission of
the author.
Canadian Monthly (August, 1897). By permission of the author.
Watchers of Twilight (Montreal: T. H. Warren, 1894). By
permission of the author. Line 2 is a quotation from William
Watson’s Last Words to the Colonies.
In Various Moods (Toronto: William Briggs, 1894). By permission
of the author.
Miscellaneous Verses (Calcutta: Sanders, Cones & Co., 1848).
Gunga (l. 49)=the Ganges.
Cornhill Magazine (September, 1868), and Verses Written in
India (Kegan Paul & Co., 1889). By permission of author and
publishers.
The massacre which suggested this poem took place near
Mohundi, in Oudh (June, 1857). The lives of all the English
prisoners would have been spared had they consented to profess
Mahometanism by repeating the usual short formula.
Indian Lyrics (Calcutta: Thacker, Spink & Co., 1884). By permission
of the author.
The Author’s Note on the second is as follows:—‘Over the well
rises a pedestal supporting a statue in white marble—the Angel of
Pity. Below is the inscription: Sacred to the perpetual memory of
a great company of Christian people, chiefly women and children,
who near this spot were cruelly massacred by the followers of the
rebel Nana Dhoondoo Punth of Bithoor; and cast, the dying with
the dead, into the well below, on the 15th day of July 1857.’
As to the third,—
l. 7. peepuls. The peepul (or pepul) tree.
8. poinsianas. The poinciana regia, a flowering shrub
introduced from Madagascar.
All three appeared first in The Times of India, and are included
in Soldierin’ (Bombay: Indian Textile Journal Co., 1899). By
permission of author and publishers.
As to the second,—l. 28. sangared. Sangars are temporary stone
shelters for riflemen.
As to the third,—During the operations in Tirah (1897) the pass
of Saransar (or Saran Sur) was the retreat of the hillmen known as
the Lakka Khels. On November 9, a reconnaissance in force was
made up the pass. The firing from the heights was deadly and
continuous, and, in the evening, when our troops were retreating
down the pass, a small party of the 48th (Northamptonshire Regiment)
under Second Lieutenant Macintyre and Colour-Sergeant
Luck, were cut off and surrounded by the enemy. It was found
impossible to save them, and the following morning their dead
bodies were found together.
l. 9. Talavera. The 48th are known as ‘The Talavera Boys,’
having distinguished themselves at the battle of Talavera, in the
Peninsular War (July 27 and 28, 1809).
Departmental Ditties (Calcutta: Thacker, Spink & Co., 1886.
London: George Newnes, Ltd., 1899). By permission of the author
and Messrs. George Newnes, Limited. ‘The Galley-Slave’ is
understood to be a mystical name for the Indian Civil Servant.
Ephemerides (London: 1828).
By permission of the author and the editor of Literature, in which
publication (December 9, 1899) the poem first appeared.
Published in G. W. Steevens’ posthumous volume, Things Seen:
with Memoir by W. E. Henley (Blackwood, 1900). By permission
of the author. The quatrain is inscribed ‘G. W. S., December 10,
1869—January 15, 1900.’ The lines were written of G. W. Steevens,
journalist and war correspondent, who died at Ladysmith during
the siege.
England Revisited (Cape Town: J. C. Juta & Co., 1900). By
permission of the author.
Cape Argus (May 6, 1901). By permission of the author and the
editor of the Cape Argus.
Natal: The Land and its Story (Pietermaritzburg: Davis & Sons,
Fifth Edition, 1897). By permission of the author.
l. 1. Congella. Hostilities having begun in Natal (1842), Captain
Smith led the English forces out of Durban for a night attack on
Pretorius’ position at Congella. It was a moonlight night, and
the advance was observed. Our men were shot down as they
marched along the shore without cover. The survivors retreated
to Durban, and the Boers immediately invested the town. A
despatch-rider having made his way through the Boer lines, reinforcements
were sent by sea, and the siege was raised (June 25,
1842). Natal was annexed the following year, and the Boer was
thus headed off from the sea.
From Dampier’s Dream: an Australian Foreshadowing (Melbourne:
George Robertson & Co., 1892). By permission of the
author’s representatives.
William Dampier (1652–1715), pirate, circumnavigator, and
captain in the navy, made several voyages to the South Seas.
Poems (Melbourne: A. H. Massina & Co., 1884). By permission
of the publishers.
From Australia Federata (The Times, January 1, 1901). This
poem appeared the same day in the leading journals of all the
States of the Commonwealth of Australia. By permission of Sir
Horace Tozer, K.C.M.G., Agent-General for Queensland.
First published in a Tasmanian newspaper. By permission of
the author.
In the Days when the World was Wide (Sydney: Angus &
Robertson. London: The Australian Book Co., 1895). By permission
of Messrs. Angus & Robertson.
Jackeroo (l. 24).
Literature (November 11, 1899). By permission of the author
and the editor of Literature.
Maoriland and other Verses (Sydney: The Bulletin Newspaper
Co., 1899). By permission of the publishers.
l. 2. tussock. ‘Tussock’ is a coarse grass.
Fair Girls and Grey Horses (Sydney: The Bulletin Newspaper
Co., 1899). By permission of the publishers. This poem first
appeared in the Sydney Bulletin.
l. 9. Macquarie. The river Macquarie rises in the Blue Mountains,
eighty miles west of Sydney. After following a north-westerly
course of 280 miles its waters are lost in the Macquarie marshes.
First appeared in The Brisbane Courier (August 8, 1899).
The first appeared in Songs of the South (Ward, Lock & Co.,
1891), and the second is an extract from The Commonwealth: an
Ode (Melbourne Age, January 1901). By permission of the author.
As to the first,—Matthew Flinders (1774–1814), discoverer and
captain in the navy, was one of the first surveyors of the east coast
of Australia. He spent many years in exploring the country adjacent
to the coast.
Musings in Maoriland (Sydney: Arthur T. Keirle & Co., 1890).
By permission of the publishers.
First published in the Dunedin Saturday Advertiser (June 22,
1878), and included in Far South Fancies (Griffith, Farran & Co.,
1889). By permission of the author.
l. 15. Parakeets’. The parakeet resembles a parrot in appearance,
and is one of the native birds of New Zealand.
16. Tui’s. The tui is a mocking-bird, and has two tufts of
white feathers on its neck, the rest of its plumage being jet black.
It is commonly called the ‘Parson Bird,’ from its supposed resemblance
to a clergyman in a white tie.
The first is from Songs of the Singing Shepherd (Wanganui, New
Zealand: A. D. Willis, 1885), and the second from The Pilgrim
of Eternity (Wanganui: Wanganui Herald Co., 1892). By permission
of the author.
As to the second,—Cooee (l. 1). The signal-call of the aborigines
of New Zealand (‘cooee’ or ‘cooey’) can be heard at a great
distance.
