The rapid charge, the rallying shout,
Retreat borne headlong into rout,
And bursts of triumph, to declare
Clan-Alpine's conquest-all were there.
Nor ended thus the strain; but slow
Sunk in a moan prolong'd and low,

And changed the conquering clarion swell,
For wild lament o'er those that fell.

XVIII.

The war-pipes ceased; but lake and hill
Were busy with their echoes still;
And, when they slept, a vocal strain
Bade their hoarse chorus wake again,
While loud a hundred clansmen raise
Their voices in their Chieftain's praise.
Each boatman, bending to his oar,
With measured sweep the burden bore,
In such wild cadence, as the breeze
Makes through December's leafless trees.
The chorus first could Allan know,
"Roderick Vich Alpine, ho! iro!"
And near, and nearer as they row'd,
Distinct the martial ditty flow'd.

XIX.

Boat Song.

Hail to the Chief who in triumph advances! Honour'd and bless'd be the ever-green Pine!

Long may the tree, in his banner that glances,
Flourish, the shelter and grace of our line!
Heaven send it happy dew,

Earth lend it sap anew,

Gayly to bourgeon, and broadly to grow,
While every Highland glen

Send our shout back agen,

"Roderigh Vich Alpine dhu, ho! ieroe!"

1

1 Besides his ordinary name and surname, which were chiefly used in the intercourse with the Lowlands, every Highland chief had an epithet expressive of his patriarchal dignity as head of the clan, and which was common to all his predecessors and successors, as Pharaoh to the kings of Egypt, or Arsaces to those of Parthia. This name was usually a patronymic, expressive of his descent from the founder of the family. Thus the Duke of Argyle is called Mac-Callum More, or the son of Colin the Great. Sometimes, however, it is derived from armorial distinctions, or the memory of some great feat; thus Lord Seaforth, as chief of the Mackenzies, or Clan-Kennet, bears the epithet of Caber-fae, or Buck's Head, as representative of Colin Fitzgerald, founder of the family, who saved the Scottish king when endangered by a stag. But besides this title, which belonged to his office and dignity, the chieftain had usually another peculiar to himself, which distinguished him from the chieftains of the same race. This was sometimes derived from complexion, as dhu or roy; sometimes from size, as beg or more; at other times, from some peculiar exploit, or from some peculiarity of habit or appearance. The line of the text therefore signifies,

Black Roderick, the descendant of Alpine.

The song itself is intended as an imitation of the jorrams, or boat songs of the Highlanders, which were usually composed in honour of a favourite chief. They are so adapted as to keep time with the sweep of the oars, and it is easy to distinguish between those intended to be sung to the oars of a galley, where

Ours is no sapling, chance-sown by the fountain,
Blooming at Beltane, in winter to fade;

When the wirlwind has stripp'd every leaf on the mountain,

The more shall Clan-Alpine exult in her shade. Moor'd in the rifted rock,

Proof to the tempest's shock, Firmer he roots him the ruder it blow; Menteith and Breadalbane, then, Echo his praise again,

"Roderigh Vich Alpine dhu, ho! ieroe!"

XX.

Proudly our pibroch has thrill'd in Glen Fruin,
And Bannachar's groans to our slogan replied;
Glen Luss and Ross-dhu, they are smoking in ruin,
And the best of Loch-Lomond lie dead on her side.1
Widow and Saxon maid

Long shall lament our raid,

Think of Clan-Alpine with fear and with woe;
Lennox and Leven-glen

Shake when they hear again,
"Roderigh Vich Alpin dhu, ho! ieroe!"

Row, vassals, row for the pride of the Highlands! Stretch to your oars, for the ever-green Pine!

the stroke is lengthened and doubled, as it were, and those which were timed to the rowers of an ordinary boat.

1 [See Appendix, Note E.]

O! that the rose-bud that graces yon islands,
Were wreathed in a garland around him to twine
O that some seedling gem,

Worthy such noble stem,

Honour'd and bless'd in their shadow might grow! Loud should Clan-Alpine then

Ring from his deepmost glen, "Roderigh Vich Alpine dhu, ho! ieroe!"'1

XXI.

With all her joyful female band,
Had Lady Margaret sought the strand.
Loose on the breeze their tresses flew,
And high their snowy arms they threw,
As echoing back with shrill acclaim,
And chorus wild, the Chieftain's name ;*
While, prompt to please, with mother's art,
The darling passion of his heart,

The Dame called Ellen to the strand
To greet her kinsman ere he land:
"Come, loiterer, come! a Douglas thou,
And shun to wreathe a victor's brow ?"—

1["However we may dislike the geographical song and chorus, half English and half Erse, which is sung in praise of the warrior, we must allow that, in other respects, the hero of a poem has seldom, if ever, been introduced with finer effect, or in a manner better calculated to excite the expectations of the reader, than on the present occasion."-Critical Review.]

2 [MS.-" "The chorus to the chieftain's fame."]

Reluctantly and slow, the maid
The unwelcome summoning obey'd,
And, when a distant bugle rung,
In the mid-path aside she sprung:-
"List, Allan-Bane! From mainland cast,
I hear my father's signal blast,

Be ours," she cried, "the skiff to guide,
And waft him from the mountain-side.”
Then, like a sunbeam, swift and bright,
She darted to her shallop light,
And, eagerly while Roderick scann'd,
For her dear form, his mother's band,
The islet far behind her lay,

And she had landed in the bay.

XXII.

Some feelings are to mortals given,
With less of earth in them than heaven:

And if there be a human tear

From passion's dross refined and clear,
A tear so limpid and so meek,
It would not stain an angel's cheek,
'Tis that which pious fathers shed
Upon a duteous daughter's head!
And as the Douglas to his breast
His darling Ellen closely press'd,
Such holy drops her tresses steep'd,
Though 'twas an hero's eye that weep'd.