The National Register.
London, England, 1811-01-27 00:00:00

REV

REMAINS OF NITIISDA LE AND. GALLOWNY SONG; WITH
HISTORICAL AND CRITICAL NQTICES .RELATIVE TO
THE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE PEASANTRY.
FUBLISIIED BY R.-.H. CHIMER, EDITOR OF " THE RE..
LIVES OF DIJRNS.3:=4.i
To preserve what is useful, ornamental, curious, and amusing,
from sinking among the.wreck which new opinions, new ideas,
:Ind new necessities, always. create, is the chief purpose of art
Antiquarian ; and of all the different pursuits into which Anti-
quarianism branches her. 'research, it is perhaps the most diffi-
cult to collect remains of poetinthought, broken outlines of cus-
toms and opinion, decayed. and almost forgotten popular man-
ners, all of which were once the delight of our forefathers, and
cut of which our own knowledge and greatness have arisen, and
ta select, combine, and condense these in a clearldistinct, and in--
t. lligent manner, at once useful and pleasing. To cast aglow,
a vivacity of colouring, partaking of the same kind of genius
witlatlie object of illustration, on the remarks and critical acu-
men which connect the broken and disjointed outline, would
seem to be the height which. Antiquarianism has attempted
to. reach, and in which she has almost always failed. Such have.,
been the laltpurs of the venerable Percy, and such have been the
researches of ScOtt. The first possessed all that courtly know-.
ledge necessary for elucidating Romance, and. the latter's views
were confined by his subject to illustrate marauding depredations
4111 the savage ferocities of the feudal times. A work seemed to
wanting to lead us into the hearts of the peaceful and. ,
retired cottager, to show us the workings of genius which had
stayer a chance to be weighed in the balance of public opinion.
ln short, to unveil the rustic Domes of the inland. peasantry in
ruder and in better times, before refinement had sapped
their characteristic originality, and commerce and acquaintance
with foreign vices and manners had rendered them suspicious
and nnhospitable; such a work. the public voice has evidently
demanded, and we are now presented with a portion of it from
the Editor of the Reliques of Robert Burns. The aim of the work,
as the title eyinees, is confined to Nithsdale and. Galloway, two
districts of country which,, though ;g dby the din of English
inrottel and of border luistility, enjoyed. much pastoral quiet,
harriered. by- their woody fastnesses and. by the warlike Max.-
..
wells, their hereditary chieftains.
Ilia Book divides itself into four parts,. Sentimental
:.'engs„Huniourous Songs, Jacobite Songs of 171.5 and 1745, and
Ancient talladsa all of which, saving one or tw_ o, have never
before been presented to the nation. The Firstdlasa contains
many. lyric? in the
.highest order of SCQUiSh songs, which cer-
tainly, could
_not five the Editor more pleasure to collect and
publish, than Any, will gii; the Public in their perusal ; they
are accoMpatiied by notes gthich would seem to be dictated by
the individual aeniuS that prompted and produced. the songs.
contain true notions of poetic feeling and excellence, a
•
Feenpytent keowledge of the romantic. spirit of Scotishwooing
and love adventure, and are highly illustrative of the religious
austerity of Calvinism. The Humourous Songs certainly contain
iaany flashes of attic wit, which will be lost in an English". ear,
they are,deeper tinctured with the rustic dialect of Scntland, and
have a. dash of co/loquialqUaintness, highly humourous, and for
which apative alone can. hare a proper relish. It is the prero-
gative of every nation to have strokes of. untranslatable wit and
flashes of humour, which no other languagecan assume. "The
quaint felicity of expression in which they are conveyed cannot.
be transplanted, v:hile the pathos of the heart, the flush. of sen-
timent passing in the delightfulapparel of nature, is owned and.
familiarized in every nation. Thus, though these. huanotirous
songs possess merit canal to the sentimental ones, they will per-
haps never go any I'3l.'r3ier than to be national favourites, owing
to the dirficulty of appreciating their excellence.
Of tic Jacobite songs of 1715 and 14-c:3t is no comtnenda-
./.

59..

most afflicting eloquence of the
overwhelmed the land. The Muse of
for a moment to have forsaken the fancies o
poetic embellishmeni, and to have deemed truth sufficient top
describe the afflictions of bet: country. These songs having
been treasured up in the bosoms of Catholic families,' for rea-
sons of which the severities of law may inform us, have now.

when On claims and"the. very name of Stuart. have become ex-
tinct, burst all at Once on the nation, and, setting ancient att
tachments aside, we may. regard them as the most valuable ac-
quisition of national Lyrics which has been made for a 'century.
The notes are exceedingly valuable, and contain many remark,
able anecdotes altogether new and curious.
The 4th Class,which contained the ancient ballads,is not so in-
teresting, and gives one optacto very fine songs under the title of
Ballads. The concluding Poem is the most strikingly poetic
Scotish Romance ever recovered from tradition, and it is curious
to know how it, izakikKapr,{l the researches of Scuts and other
ballad collectorsji
Mr. Croto*Z.doncludes his book with a most remarkable and
valuable Appendix, giying tales of " factie" and historic skctche.
of the. Scottish opinions and belief in witchcraft. A History of
the Scottish "Brownie" or. " udginl:, Goblin:* poetically tie-
sctibed by Milton, and ,a. Life of Mr. Lowe, aut.:toe of the
sublime song of " 3.4ary"s.Dream." In characterizing those
fabled beings of witchcraft jatul,,S' ,fainie,“ the Editor 4ias n lost
judiciously forsaken the gonttnun resource of consulting scarce
had dull boas, and making black-letter references; he has
gone direct to the fountain spring of such intelligence, by
drawing them from tradittOnary belief and popular opinion.
'Thus he has contrived to give them an original and 1-.terestirg
appearance, much more natural and enlivening than ever they
had before, with many tr ok s of character unrecorded 411
hitherto kept among the peasantry.
It is justice to notice, that. Mr. Cromek has scrupulously
printed the persons' names from whom be received these songs,
and has acknowledged the assistance of several beautiful criti-
cisms which adorn his volume; these at once elucidate the
songs, and identify that. they are genuine, besides. giving us a
very fine specimen of the genius and knowledge of the Seattish.
peasantry. • On. examining these beautiful lyrics with a strict
critical eye, we are delighted to see that they owe none of their
beauties to scholastic livery, or to classic imagery ; they appear
the spontaneous productions of minds to which such aids were
unknown, or who disdained to employ them. To conclude,
every person of taste must be sorry that researches which pr. -
duce and redeem so many exquisite songs from the oblivion into
which they I,ven2 thrown, should not extend to a %eider te;cl
beyond.the confines of a county, or the nook of a k
The subjoined specimen of the Songs, and their Notes, is se-
lected, because it is complete of itself, and contains two of the
boldest samples of i‘;tional character which have ever beers
recorded; it belongs to the Jacobite songs of 1745-6.

THE YOUNG MAXWELL.
•
A young gentleman of the family of Maxwell, art betrour-
I able and potent name in Galloway and Nithsdale, being au ad-
herent of Charles, suffered in the general calamity of his
friends.
After seeing his paternal house reduced to ashes ; his father
killed in its defence; his only sister dying with grief for her
father and three brothers slain ; he assumed the habit a an old
shepherd ; and in one of his, excursions singled out °tie of the
individual men who had ruined his family. After upbraiding
him for his cruelty, he slew him in single COMba.
0. " z
, r•., -n3fto 41,1
TRY YOUNG. MAXWELL.• 1
>
C.! V gangj
ye,. thou silly auld carle • - •
•-•
And what do ye carry there ?"
•:;T
It I'm gaun to the hill-side, thou wager gcntlesnani,
To shift my sheep their lair."l

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- . tion to say that they spealiWiti
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