The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1897-11-26

Hear, land o cakes and bither Scots
Frae Maiden Kirk to John oGmats.
If there's a no in a your coats
Irede ye tent it,
A chiefs among ye takn, notes.
An faith, he'll prent ils
Scotland, although a bleak and rugged country. IS emp,atca1v tho,.aa
of Romance. History and fiction have labored hand in hand q croun "
desdate moors and frowning craes with an interest that is older than the
days Of Wallace and Bruce, yet an interest that has been kent alive and ~,
decd immortal by the pens of Scott and Burns and other notable writer's
The early bards Of Scotland were both the historians and poets Of fair setia
They sang the glories and prowess Of their respective clans and chiaftai,s
softening their faults and folies and egaggerating whatever was good a.
noble in them-making a foTay a feat Of war. instead Of a mere cattl-stea.
ing raid that was Speed now and then with murder and arson. Sunen and
slnmbering revenge, under the artful vel of romance. became 4 cardinal vr
ture; and he was thrice a hero who longest nured his wrath to keep it warm
Obedience to the behests of the chief was the test Of the loyalty Of the clans
man; and he was held a traitor who fell short one hair -breadth Of obeyjng
u command Of his chief, however hazardous or bloody It's nature. From sire
to son were these rythemic traditions handed down.
And each who heard Ill added something new:
And each who told it added something too:
In every ear it spread, o. every tongue it grew"
To this warp of fiction was added the wool of history; and the frnges or
the one became so interaced and lntertwined with those Of others that
neither might be untanged without detriment to both. Therefore the
world must needs accept Scotch history just as he finds it, believing much
or little as his bump Of credulity is small or well developed. But that which
one rejects as history cannot be lightly cast await possesses d charm which
appeals too powerfully to our sentiment and sympathies for ANYTHING like
that. We follow the musical rythm Or superb prose Of Scott in his delight
full portrayal Of Scotch scenery, character, traits, customs and traditions, and
the mighty Wizard of the North forces before our mental vision all the stir
ing scenes which he describes. We follow the verse; of Burns through its
varying moods; and in the witchery Of the spell he casts about our senses We
condone that in his writings which is evil. because of the wonderful genius
they display, and because Of the deep and tender undetonez which 50 often
pervades his works. The writer's and the bards have cast a glamour over all
Scotia. They have lent a deeper azure to each distant highland peak, and
fesher purple to each bit of blooming heather. They impart the hue 0 fire.
nance to everything in Benny Scotland, peopling its leafy dels with spites,
elves, gobins and fairies, and its fowning crags with the shades Of breach
less heroes in tartano. We are invountariy forced intoa tImdor a martial
mood, according to the chord the Bard secs fit to touch. But ever and anon
he stHkes a tenderer and a softer strain, and one uncoHsciousy yields to the
melting mood in harmony with the theme he sings. There is IA touchingand
simple patho about many Of the old Scotch songs which is characteristic of
the ballads OF no other people. At times | am at a loss to decide whether
the power they exercise over our feelings isrue to the melody of the verse; or
the simple beauty OF the language. Perhaps some of the readers of The
Commonwealth can solve my doubts on thissubject, and to that end append
hereto a song composed by Barns, but which, owing to the imperfeotions Of
memory to which | alluded in a former issue. may not accord literally with
the original text