THE HAUGHS OF CROMDALE. *

As I came in by Achindown,
A little wee bit frae the town,
When to the Highlands I was boun',

To view the haughs of Cromdale,

I met a man in tartan trews,

I spier'd at him what was the news;
Quoth he, the Highland army rues

That e'er we came to Cromdale.

We were in bed, Sir, every man,
When the English host upon us came;
A bloody battle then began,

Upon the haughs of Cromdale.

The English horse they were sae rude, They bath'd their hoofs in Highland blood, But our brave clans they boldly stood,

Upon the haughs of Cromdale.

characteristic of the female mind, ever ardent in the cause it espouses."

* In this song two events are strangely jumbled together, though they are well known to have happened at many years distance from one another. The Ettrick Shepherd accounts for the anachronism by supposing that as the celebrated action in which 1500 brave Highlanders were surprised and defeated at Cromedale in Strathspey, on the 1st of May, 1690, is the only battle on record that ever was fought there, it is more than probable that on that action the original song has been founded. The first twenty lines, he observes, contain a true description of that memorable defeat, and these twenty lines may be considered as either the whole or a part of the original song. As the words were good, and the air most beautiful, they had no doubt be. come popular; and hence some bard, partial to the clans, and fired with indignation at hearing their disgrace sung all over the land, must have added to the original verses those which evidently refer to the battle of Auldearn, gained by Montrose and the clans in 1645. It would never do now, says the shepherd, in continuation, to separate this old and popular song into two parts; but nothing can be clearer than that one part of the song describes the victory won by Montrose and the clans, from the whigs in 1645, and the other part, that which was obtained by the latter, under Livingston, over the clans in 1690.

But alas! we could no longer stay,
For o'er the hills we came away,
And sore we do lament the day

That e'er we came to Cromdale.
Thus the great Montrose did say,
Can you direct the nearest way?
For I will o'er the hills this day,

And view the haughs of Cromdale.

Alas, my Lord, you're not so strong,
You scarcely have two thousand men,
And there's twenty thousand on the plain,
Stand rank and file on Cromdale.

Thus the great Montrose did say,

I say, direct the nearest way,

For I will o'er the hills this day,

And see the haughs of Cromdale.

They were at dinner, every man,
When great Montrose upon them came,
A second battle then began,

Upon the haughs of Cromdale.
The Grant, Mackenzie, and Mackay,
Soon as Montrose they did espy,
O then they fought most valiantly,
Upon the haughs of Cromdale.

The M'Donalds they returned again,
The Camerons did their standard join,
M'Intosh play'd a bloody game,

Upon the haughs of Cromdale.
The M'Gregors fought like lions bold,
M'Phersons none could them controul,
M'Lauchlins fought with heart and soul,
Upon the haughs of Cromdale.

M'Lean, M'Dougal, and M'Neal,
So boldly as they took the field,
And made their enemies to yield,

Upon the haughs of Cromdale.

The Gordons foremost did advance,
The Frazers fought with sword and lance,
The Grahams they made the heads to dance,
Upon the haughs of Cromdale.

The loyal Stewarts, with Montrose,
So fiercely set upon their foes,

They brought them down with Highland blows,
Upon the haughs of Cromdale.

Of twenty thousand Cromwell's men,
Five hundred fled to Aberdeen,

The rest of them lie on the plain,

Upon the haughs of Cromdale.

YOUNG AIRLY.*

'O KEN ye aught o' gude Lochiel,
Or ken ye aught o' Airly?'
'They've buckled on their harnessing,
And aff and awa wi' Charlie.'

James, Earl of Airly, was obliged to leave Scotland in 1640, to avoid subscribing the Covenant. The Marquis of Argyll had afterwards orders from Parliament to proceed against his castle and other possessions, and 5000 men were levied for that purpose. Airly and Forther, his two principal seats, were accordingly destroyed, and the tenantry were plundered of all their goods, corn, and cattle. Though apparently only an instrument in this act of political oppression and cruelty, Argyll was secretly the prime mover of it; and, as not unfrequently happened in those days, he afterwards paid the debt of retributive justice. At the restoration he was tried and condemned for political offences, and beheaded, May 27, 1661. He died, however, with great equanimity and fortitude. When on the scaffold he took out of his pocket a little rule and measured the block. Having perceived that it did not lie even, he pointed out the defect to a carpenter, had it rectified, and then calmly submitted to his fate.

'Bring here to me,' quo' the hie Argyle,
My bands i' the morning early:
We'll raise a lowe sall glint to heav'n
I' the dwelling o' young Lord Airly.'

What lowe is yon,' quo' the gude Lochiel,
Whilk rises wi' the sun sae early?'
'By the God o' my kin,' quo' the young Ogilvie,
It's my ain bonny hame o' Airly!'

'Put up your sword,' quo' the gude Lochiel, And Put it up,' quo' Charlie :

We'll raise sic a lowe round the fause Argyle,
And light it wi' a spunk frae Airly.'

It is na my ha', nor my lands a' reft,
That reddens my cheek sae sairly;
But the mither and babies sweet I left,
To smoor i' the reek o' Airly.'
O dule to thee, thou fause Argyle!
For this it rues me sairly:

Thou'st been thy king and country's foe,
From Lochy's day to Airly.

OVER THE SEAS AND FAR AWA.*

COME, all fast friends, let's jointly pray,
And pledge our vows on this great day;
And of no man we'll stand in awe,
But drink his health that's far awa.

He's o'er the seas and far awa,
He's o'er the seas and far awa;
Yet of no man we'll stand in awe,
But drink his health that's far awa.

This is one of the numerous songs which were aptly adapted to all

Though he was banish'd from his throne,
By parasites who now are gone

To view the shades which are below,
We'll drink his health that's far awa.
He's o'er the seas, &c.

Ye Presbyterians, where ye lie,
Go home and keep your sheep and kye;
For it were fitting for you a'

To drink his health that's far awa.
He's o'er the seas, &c.

But I hope he shortly will be home,
And in good time will mount the throne;
And then we'll curse and ban the law
That keepit our king sae lang awa.
He's o'er the seas, &c.

Disloyal Whigs, dispatch, and go
To visit Noll and Will below:

'Tis fit you at their coal should blaw, Whilst we drink their health that's far awa. He's o'er the seas, &c.

WHEN THE KING COMES O'ER THE WATER.*

I MAY sit in my wee croo house,

At the rock and the reel to toil fu' dreary;

times and circumstances by the Jacobites, and it only lost its popularity when the return of the Stuarts had become hopeless.

*Lady Mary Drummond, daughter of the Earl of Perth, was the heroine of this song, and is also supposed to be the authoress of it. So strongly was she attached to the Stuarts, when her two sons returned to Scotland, she never ceased to importune them, notwithstanding the fearful danger attending it, till they engaged actively in the cause of the exiled family.