Rob Roy

Rob Roy is frae the Hielands come, 
Down to the Lowland border; 
And he has stolen that lady away, 
To haud his house in order. 

He set her on a milk-white steed, 
Of none he stood in awe; 
Untill they reached the Hieland hills, 
Aboon the Balmaha'![23]

Saying, Be content, be content, 
Be content with me, lady; 
Where will ye find in Lennox land, 
Sae braw a man as me, lady? 

Rob Roy he was my father called, 
MacGregor was his name, lady; 
A' the country, far and near, 
Have heard MacGregor's fame, lady.

He was a hedge about his friends, 
A heckle to his foes, lady; 
If any man did him gainsay, 
He felt his deadly blows, lady. 

I am as bold, I am as bold, 
I am as bold and more, lady; 
Any man that doubts my word, 
May try my gude claymore, lady. 

Then be content, be content. 
Be content with me, lady; 
For now you are my wedded wife, 
Until the day you die, lady.

No. VI—GHLUNE DHU.

The following notices concerning this Chief fell under the Author's eye while the sheets were in the act of going through the press. They occur in manuscript memoirs, written by a person intimately acquainted with the incidents of 1745.

This Chief had the important task intrusted to him of defending the Castle of Doune, in which the Chevalier placed a garrison to protect his communication with the Highlands, and to repel any sallies which might be made from Stirling Castle—Ghlune Dhu distinguished himself by his good conduct in this charge.

Ghlune Dhu is thus described:—"Glengyle is, in person, a tall handsome man, and has more of the mien of the ancient heroes than our modern fine gentlemen are possessed of. He is honest and disinterested to a proverb—extremely modest—brave and intrepid—and born one of the best partisans in Europe. In short, the whole people of that country declared that never did men live under so mild a government as Glengyle's, not a man having so much as lost a chicken while he continued there."

It would appear from this curious passage, that Glengyle—not Stewart of Balloch, as averred in a note on Waverley—commanded the garrison of Doune. Balloch might, no doubt, succeed MacGregor in the situation.

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION TO ROB ROY

In the magnum opus, the author's final edition of the Waverley Novels, "Rob Roy" appears out of its chronological order, and comes next after "The Antiquary." In this, as in other matters, the present edition follows that of 1829. "The Antiquary," as we said, contained in its preface the author's farewell to his art. This valediction was meant as prelude to a fresh appearance in a new disguise. Constable, who had brought out the earlier works, did not publish the "Tales of my Landlord" ("The Black Dwarf" and "Old Mortality "), which Scott had nearly finished by November 12, 1816. The four volumes appeared from the houses of Mr. Murray and Mr. Blackwood, on December 1, 1816. Within less than a month came out "Harold the Dauntless," by the author of "The Bridal of Triermain." Scott's work on the historical part of the "Annual Register" had also been unusually arduous. At Abbotsford, or at Ashiestiel, his mode of life was particularly healthy; in Edinburgh, between the claims of the courts, of literature, and of society, he was scarcely ever in the open air. Thus hard sedentary work caused, between the publication of "Old Mortality" and that of "Rob Roy," the first of those alarming illnesses which overshadowed the last fifteen years of his life. The earliest attack of cramp in the stomach occurred on March 5, 1817, when he "retired from the room with a scream of agony which electrified his guests."

Living on "parritch," as he tells Miss Baillie (for his national spirit rejected arrowroot), Scott had yet energy enough to plan a dramatic piece for Terry, "The Doom of Devorgoil." But in April he announced to John Ballantyne "a good subject" for a novel, and on May 6, John, after a visit to Abbotsford with Constable, proclaimed to James Ballantyne the advent of "Rob Roy."