No More Learning

He asserted that
she imitated and plagiarized Shakespeare; while he admitted her
insight into human nature, her grasp of character, and her devotion
to her work.
About the time of the appearance of this volume, Joanna fixed
her residence with her mother and sister, among the lanes and fields
of Hampstead, where they continued throughout their lives. The
first volume of Miscellaneous Plays) came out in 1804. In the pref-
ace she stated that her opinions set forth in her first preface were
unchanged. But the plays had a freer construction. “Miss Baillie,”
wrote Jeffrey in his review, “cannot possibly write a tragedy, or an
act of a tragedy, without showing genius and exemplifying a more
dramatic conception and expression than any of her modern compet-
itors. ”
Constantine Palæologus,' which the volume contained, had
the liveliest commendation and popularity, and several times put
upon the stage with spectacular effect.
In the year of the publication of Joanna's Miscellaneous Plays,'
Sir Walter Scott came to London, and seeking an introduction
through a common friend, made the way for a lifelong friendship
between the two, He had just brought out “The Lay of the Last
Minstrel. ' Miss Baillie was already a famous writer, with fast friends
in Lucy Aikin, Mary Berry, Mrs. Siddons, and other workers in art
and literature; but the hearty commendation of her countryman,
which she is said to have come upon unexpectedly when reading
(Marmion' to a group of friends, she valued beyond other praise.
The legend is that she read through the passage firmly to the close,
and only lost self-control in her sympathy with the emotion of a
friend :-
(The wild harp that silent hung
By silver Avon's holy shore
Till twice one hundred years rolled o'er,
When she the bold enchantress came,
From the pale willow snatched the treasure,
With fearless hand and heart in flame,
And swept it with a kindred measure;
Till Avon's swans, while rung the grove
With Montfort's hate and Basil's love,
Awakening at the inspired strain,
Deemed their own Shakespeare lived again. ”


## p. 1256 (#46) ############################################

1256
JOANNA BAILLIE
a
were
con-
The year 1810 saw (The Family Legend, a play founded on
tragic history of the Campbell clan. Scott wrote a prologue and
brought out the play in the Edinburgh Theatre. « You have only
to imagine,” he told the author, "all that you could wish to give
success to a play, and your conceptions will still fall short of the
complete and decided triumph of "The Family Legend. ) »
The attacks which Jeffrey had made upon her verse
tinued when she published, in 1812, her third volume of Plays on
the Passions. His voice, however, did not diminish the admiration
for the character-drawing with which the book was greeted, or for
the lyric outbursts occurring now and then in the dramas.
Joanna's quiet Hampstead life was broken in 1813 by a genial
meeting in London with the ambitious Madame de Staël, and again
with the vivacious little Irish woman, Maria Edgeworth.
She was
keeping her promise of not writing more; but during a visit to Sir
Walter in 1820 her imagination was touched by Scotch tales, and she
published Metrical Legends' the following year. In this vast Abbots-
ford she finally consented to meet Jeffrey. The plucky little writer
and the unshrinking critic at once became friends, and thenceforward
Jeffrey never went to London without visiting her in Hampstead.
Her moral courage throughout life recalls the physical courage
which characterized her youth. She never concealed her religious
convictions, and in 1831 she published her ideas in A View of the
General Tenor of the New Testament Regarding the Nature and
Dignity of Jesus Christ. In 1836, having finally given up the long
hope of seeing her plays become popular upon the stage, she pre-
pared a complete edition of her dramas with the addition of three
plays never before made public, — (Romiero,' a tragedy, "The Alien-
ated Manor,' a comedy on jealousy, and Henriquez, a tragedy on
remorse. The Edinburgh Review immediately put forth a eulogistic
notice of the collected edition, and at last admitted that the reviewer
had changed his judgment, and esteemed the author as a dramatist
above Byron and Scott.
“May God support both you and me, and give us comfort and
consolation when it is most wanted,” wrote Miss Baillie to Mary
Berry in 1837. “As for myself, I do not wish to be one year
younger than I am; and have no desire, were it possible, to begin
life again, even under the most honorable circumstances. I have
great cause for humble thankfulness, and I am thankful. ”
In 1840 Jeffrey wrote:-“I have been twice out to Hampstead,
and found Joanna Baillie as fresh, natural, and amiable as ever, and
as little like a tragic muse. ” And again in 1842: _“She is marvelous
in health and spirit; not a bit deaf, blind, or torpid. ” About this
time she published her last book, a volume of Fugitive Verses. '


## p. 1257 (#47) ############################################

JOANNA BAILLIE
1257
"A sweeter picture of old age was never seen,” wrote Harriet
Martineau. «Her figure was small, light, and active; her counte-
nance, in its expression of serenity, harmonized wonderfully with her
gay conversation and her cheerful voice. Her eyes were beautiful,
dark, bright, and penetrating, with the full innocent gaze of child-
hood. Her face was altogether comely, and her dress did justice
to it. She wore her own silvery hair and a mob cap, with its delicate
lace border fitting close around her face. She was well dressed, in
handsome dark silks, and her lace caps and collars looked always
new. No Quaker was ever neater, while she kept up with the times
in her dress as in her habit of mind, as far as became her years.
In her whole appearance there was always something for even the
passing stranger to admire, and never anything for the most familiar
friend to wish otherwise. ” She died, without suffering, in the full
possession of her faculties,” in her ninetieth year, 1851.
Her dramatic and poetical works are collected in one volume
(1843). Her Life, with selections from her songs, may be found in
(The Songstress of Scotland, by Sarah Tytler and J. L. Watson
(1871).
WOOD AND MARRIED AND A'
THE
HE bride she is winsome and bonny,
Her hair it is snooded sae sleek,
And faithfu' and kind is her Johnny,
Yet fast fa' the tears on her cheek.
New pearlins are cause of her sorrow,
New pearlins and plenishing too:
The bride that has a' to borrow
Has e'en right mickle ado.
Woo'd and married and a'!
Woo'd and married and a'!
Isna she very weel aff
To be woo'd and married at a'?
Her mither then hastily spak:-
«The lassie is glaikit wi' pride;
In my pouch I had never a plack
On the day when I was a bride.
E'en tak’ to your wheel and be clever,
And draw out your thread in the sun;
The gear that is gifted, it never
Will last like the gear that is won.
Woo'd and married and a'!
Wi' havins and tocher sae sma'!


## p. 1258 (#48) ############################################

1258
JOANNA BAILLIE
I think ye are very weel aff
To be woo'd and married at a'! »
“Toot, toot! " quo' her gray-headed faither,
«She's less o' a bride than a bairn;
She's ta'en like a cout frae the heather,
Wi’ sense and discretion to learn.
Half husband, I trow, and half daddy,
As humor inconstantly leans,
The chiel maun be patient and steady
That yokes wi’ a mate in her teens.
A kerchief sae douce and sae neat,
O'er her locks that the wind used to blaw!
I'm baith like to laugh and to greet
When I think o' her married at a'. »
Then out spak' the wily bridegroom,
Weel waled were his wordies I ween:
“I'm rich, though my coffer be toom,
Wi’ the blinks o' your bonny blue e'en.
I'm prouder o' thee by my side,
Though thy ruffles or ribbons be few,
Than if Kate o' the Croft were my bride,
Wi' purfles and pearlins enow.
Dear and dearest of ony!
Ye're woo'd and buiket and a'!
And do ye think scorn o’ your Johnny,
And grieve to be married at a'? »
She turn'd, and she blush'd, and she smil'd,
And she looket sae bashfully down;
The pride o' her heart was beguil'd,
And she played wi’ the sleeves o' her gown;
She twirlet the tag o’her lace,
And she nippet her bodice sae blue,
Syne blinket sae sweet in his face,
And aff like a maukin she flew.
Woo'd and married and a'!
Wi' Johnny to roose her and a'!
She thinks hersel' very weel aff
To be woo'd and married at a'!


## p. 1259 (#49) ############################################

JOANNA BAILLIE
1259
IT WAS ON A MORN WHEN WE WERE THRANG
I
T WAS on a morn when we were thrang,
The kirn it croon'd, the cheese was making,
And bannocks on the girdle baking,
When ane at the door chapp't loud and lang.
Yet the auld gudewife, and her mays sae tight,
Of a' this bauld din took sma' notice I ween;
For a chap at the door in braid daylight
Is no like a chap that's heard at e'en.
But the docksy auld laird of the Warlock glen,
Wha waited without, half blate, half cheery,
And langed for a sight o' his winsome deary,
Raised up the latch and cam' crousely ben.
His coat it was new, and his o'erlay was white,
His mittens and hose were cozie and bien;
But a wooer that comes in braid daylight
Is no like a wooer that comes at e'en.
He greeted the carline and lasses sae braw,
And his bare lyart pow sae smoothly he straikit,
And he looket about, like a body half glaikit,
On bonny sweet Nanny, the youngest of a'.
Ha, laird! ” quo' the carline, "and look ye that way?
Fye, let na' sic fancies bewilder you clean:
An elderlin man, in the noon o' the day,
Should be wiser than youngsters that come at e'en.
“Na, na," quo' the pawky auld wife, “I trow
You'll no fash your head wi' a youthfu' gilly,
As wild and as skeig as a muirland filly:
Black Madge is far better and fitter for you. "
He hem'd and he haw'd, and he drew in his mouth,
And he squeezed the blue bannet his twa hands between;
For a wooer that comes when the sun's i' the south
Is mair landward than wooers that come at e'en.
« Black Madge is sae carefu) – “What's that to me ? ”
“She's sober and eydent, has sense in her noodle;
She's douce and respeckit ” — “I carena a bodle:
Love winna be guided, and fancy's free. ”
Madge toss'd back her head wi' a saucy slight,
And Nanny, loud laughing, ran out to the green;
For a wooer that comes when the sun shines bright
Is no like wooer that comes at e'en.


## p. 1260 (#50) ############################################

1260
JOANNA BAILLIE
Then away flung the laird, and loud mutter'd he,
«A' the daughters of Eve, between Orkney and Tweed 0!
Black or fair, young or auld, dame or damsel or widow,
May gang in their pride to the de'il for me! »
But the auld gudewife, and her mays sae tight,
Cared little for a' his stour banning, I ween;
For a wooer that comes in braid daylight
Is no like a wooer that comes at e'en.
FY, LET US A' TO THE WEDDING
(An Auld Sang, New Buskit)
F
Y, LET us a' to the wedding,
For they will be lilting there;
For Jock's to be married to Maggy,
The lass wi’ the gowden hair.
And there will be jibing and jeering,
And glancing of bonny dark een,
Loud laughing and smooth-gabbit speering
O’questions baith pawky and keen.
And there will be Bessy the beauty,
Wha raises her cockup sae hie,
And giggles at preachings and duty, -
Guid grant that she gang na' ajee!
And there will be auld Geordie Taunner,
Wha coft a young wife wi' his gowd;
She'll flaunt wi' a silk gown upon her,
But wow! he looks dowie and cow'd.
And brown Tibbey Fouler the Heiress
Will perk at the tap o' the ha',
Encircled wi' suitors, wha's care is
To catch up her gloves when they fa',-
Repeat a' her jokes as they're cleckit,
And haver and glower in her face,
When tocherless mays are negleckit, -
A crying and scandalous case.
And Mysie, wha's clavering aunty
Wud match her wi' Laurie the Laird,
And learns the young fule to be vaunty,
But neither to spin nor to caird.


## p. 1261 (#51) ############################################

JOANNA BAILLIE
1261
And Andrew, wha's granny is yearning
To see him a clerical blade,
Was sent to the college for learning,
And cam' back a coof as he gaed.
And there will be auld Widow Martin,
That ca's hersel thritty and twa!
And thraw-gabbit Madge, wha for certain
Was jilted by Hab o' the Shaw.
And Elspy the sewster sae genty,
A pattern of havens and sense,
Will straik on her mittens sae dainty,
And crack wi' Mess John i' the spence.
And Angus, the seer o’ ferlies,
That sits on the stane at his door,
And tells about bogles, and mair lies
Than tongue ever utter'd before.
And there will be Bauldy the boaster
Sae ready wi' hands and wi' tongue;
Proud Paty and silly Sam Foster,
Wha quarrel wi' auld and wi' young:
And Hugh the town-writer, I'm thinking,
That trades in his lawerly skill,
Will egg on the fighting and drinking
To bring after-grist to his mill;
And Maggy — na, na! we'll be civil,
And let the wee bridie a-be;
A vilipend tongue is the devil,
And ne'er was encouraged by me.
Then fy, let us a' to the wedding,
For they will be lilting there
Frae mony a far-distant ha'ding,
The fun and the feasting to share.
For they will get sheep's head, and haggis,
And browst o' the barley-mow;
E’en he that comes latest, and lag is,
May feast upon dainties enow.
Veal florentines in the o'en baken,
Weel plenish'd wi' raisins and fat;


## p. 1262 (#52) ############################################

1262
JOANNA BAILLIE
Beef, mutton, and chuckies, a' taken
Het reeking frae spit and frae pat:
And glasses (I trow 'tis na' said ill),
To drink the young couple good luck,
Weel fill'd wi' a braw beechen ladle
Frae punch-bowl as big as Dumbuck.
And then will come dancing and daffing,
And reelin' and crossin' o' hans,
Till even auld Lucky is laughing,
As back by the aumry she stans.
Sic bobbing and flinging and whirling,
While fiddlers are making their din;
And pipers are droning and skirling
As loud as the roar o' the lin.
Then fy, let us a' to the wedding,
For they will be lilting there,
For Jock's to be married to Maggy,
The lass wi' the gowden hair.
THE WEARY PUND O'TOW
A
YOUNG gudewife is in my house,
And thrifty means to be,
But aye she's runnin' to the town
Some ferlie there to see.
The weary pund, the weary pund, the weary pund o' tow,
I soothly think, ere it be spun, I'll wear a lyart pow.
And when she sets her to her wheel
To draw her threads wi’ care,
In comes the chapman wi' his gear,
And she can spin nae mair.
The weary pund, etc.
And she, like ony merry may,
At fairs maun still be seen,
At kirkyard preachings near the tent,
At dances on the green.
The weary pund, etc.
Her dainty ear a fiddle charms,
A bagpipe's her delight,


## p. 1263 (#53) ############################################

JOANNA BAILLIE
1 263
But for the crooning o' her wheel
She disna care a mite.
The weary pund, etc.
You spake, my Kate, of snaw-white webs,
Made o' your linkum twine,
But, ah! I fear our bonny burn
Will ne'er lave web o' thine.
The weary pund, etc.
Nay, smile again, my winsome mate;
Sic jeering means nae ill;
Should I gae sarkless to my grave,
I'll lo'e and bless thee still.
The weary pund, etc.
FROM DE MONTFORT): A TRAGEDY
ACT V - SCENE III
Moonlight. A wild path in a wood, shaded with trees. Enter De Mont-
fort, with a strong expression of disquiet, mixed with fear, upon his
face, looking behind him, and bending his ear to the ground, as if
he listened to something.
D
E MONTFORT — How hollow groans the earth beneath
my tread:
Is there an echo here? Methinks it sounds
As though some heavy footsteps followed me.
I will advance no farther.
Deep settled shadows rest across the path,
And thickly-tangled boughs o'erhang this spot.
O that a tenfold gloom did cover it,
That 'mid the murky darkness I might strike!
As in the wild confusion of a dream,
Things horrid, bloody, terrible do pass,
As though they passed not; nor impress the mind
With the fixed clearness of reality.
[An owl is heard screaming near him.
[Starting ] What sound is that?
[Listens, and the owl cries again.
It is the screech-owl's cry.
Foul bird of night! What spirit guides thee here?


## p. 1264 (#54) ############################################

1 264
JOANNA BAILLIE
Art thou instinctive drawn to scenes of horror ?
I've heard of this.
[Pauses and listens.
How those fallen leaves so rustle on the path,
With whispering noise, as though the earth around me
Did utter secret things.
The distant river, too, bears to mine ear
A dismal wailing. O mysterious night!
Thou art not silent; many tongues hast thou.
A distant gathering blast sounds through the wood,
And dark clouds fleetly hasten o’er the sky;
Oh that a storm would rise, a raging storm;
Amidst the roar of warring elements
I'd lift my hand and strike! but this pale light,
The calm distinctness of each stilly thing,
Is terrible. - [Starting. ] Footsteps, and near me, too!
He comes! he comes! I'll watch him farther on
I cannot do it here.
[Exit.
Enter Rezenvelt, and continues his way slowly from the bottom of the
stage ; as he advances to the front, the owl screams, he stops and
listens, and the owl screams again.
Rezenvelt – Ha! does the night-bird greet me on my way?
How much his hooting is in harmony
With such a scene as this! I like it well.
Oft when a boy, at the still twilight hour,
I've leant my back against some knotted oak,
And loudly mimicked him, till to my call
He answer would return, and through the gloom
We friendly converse held.
Between me and the star-bespangled sky,
Those aged oaks their crossing branches wave,
And through them looks the pale and placid moon.
How like a crocodile, or winged snake,
Yon sailing cloud bears on its dusky length!
And now transformed by the passing wind,
Methinks it seems a flying Pegasus.
Ay, but a shapeless band of blacker hue
Comes swiftly after. -
A hollow murm'ring wind sounds through the trees;
I hear it from afar; this bodes a storm.
I must not linger here -
1


## p. 1265 (#55) ############################################

JOANNA BAILLIE
1 265
[A bell heard at some distance. ] The convent bell.
'Tis distant still: it tells their hour of prayer.
It sends a solemn sound upon the breeze,
That, to a fearful, superstitious mind,
In such a scene,' would like a death-knell come.
[Exit.
TO MRS. SIDDONS
G
IFTED of heaven! who hast, in days gone by,
Moved every heart, delighted every eye;
While age and youth, of high and low degree,
In sympathy were joined, beholding thee,
As in the Drama's ever-changing scene
Thou heldst thy splendid state, our tragic queen!
No barriers there thy fair domains confined,
Thy sovereign sway was o'er the human mind;
And in the triumph of that witching hour,
Thy lofty bearing well became thy power.
The impassioned changes of thy beauteous face,
Thy stately form, and high imperial grace;
Thine arms impetuous tossed, thy robe's wide flow,
And the dark tempest gathered on thy brow;
What time thy flashing eye and lip of scorn
Down to the dust thy mimic foes have borne;
Remorseful musings, sunk to deep dejection,
The fixed and yearning looks of strong affection;
The active turmoil a wrought bosom rending,
When pity, love, and honor, are contending :-
They who beheld all this, right well, I ween,
A lovely, grand, and wondrous sight have seen.
Thy varied accents, rapid, fitful, slow,
Loud rage, and fear's snatched whisper, quick and low;
The burst of stifled love, the wail of grief,
And tones of high command, full, solemn, brief;
The change of voice, and emphasis that threw
Light on obscurity, and brought to view
Distinctions nice, when grave or comic mood,
Or mingled humors, terse and new, elude
Common perception, as earth's smallest things
To size and form the vesting hoar-frost brings,
That seemed as if some secret voice, to clear
The raveled meaning, whispered in thine ear,
111-80


## p. 1266 (#56) ############################################

I 266
JOANNA BAILLIE
And thou hadst e'en with him communion kept,
Who hath so long in Stratford's chancel slept;
Whose lines, where nature's brightest traces shine,
Alone were worthy deemed of powers like thine;
They who have heard all this, have proved full well
Of soul-exciting sound the mightiest spell.
But though time's lengthened shadows o'er thee glide,
And pomp of regal state is cast aside,
Think not the glory of thy course is spent,
There's moonlight radiance to thy evening lent,
That to the mental world can never fade,
Till all who saw thee, in the grave are laid.
Thy graceful form still moves in nightly dreams,
And what thou wast, to the lulled sleeper seems;
While feverish fancy oft doth fondly trace
Within her curtained couch thy wondrous face.
Yea; and to many a wight, bereft and lone,
In musing hours, though all to thee unknown,
Soothing his earthly course of good and ill,
With all thy potent charm, thou actest still.
And now in crowded room or rich saloon,
Thy stately presence recognized, how soon
On thee the glance of many an eye is cast,
In grateful memory of pleasures past!
Pleased to behold thee, with becoming grace,
Take, as befits thee well, an honored place;
Where blest by many a heart, long mayst thou stand,
Among the virtuous matrons of our land!
A SCOTCH SONG
THE
HE gowan glitters on the sward,
The lavrock's in the sky,
And collie on my plaid keeps ward,
And time is passing by.
Oh no! sad and slow
And lengthened on the ground,
The shadow of our trysting bush
It wears so slowly round!
1
1
My sheep-bell tinkles frae the west,
My lambs are bleating near,
But still the sound that I lo'e best,
Alack! I canna' hear.


## p. 1267 (#57) ############################################

JOANNA BAILLIE
1267
Oh no! sad and slow,
The shadow lingers still,
And like a lanely ghaist I stand
And croon upon the hill.
I hear below the water roar,
The mill wi' clacking din,
And Lucky scolding frae her door,
To ca' the bairnies in.
Oh no! sad and slow,
These are na' sounds for me,
The shadow of our trysting bush,
It creeps sa drearily!
I coft yestreen, frae Chapman Tam,
A snood of bonny blue,
And promised when our trysting cam',
To tie it round her brow.
Oh no! sad and slow,
The mark it winna' pass;
The shadow of that weary thorn
Is tethered on the grass.
Oh, now I see her on the way,
She's past the witch's knowe,
She's climbing up the Browny's brae,
My heart is in a lowe!
Oh no!
'tis no' so,
'Tis glam'rie I have seen;
The shadow of that hawthorn bush
Will move na' mair till e'en.
My book o' grace I'll try to read,
Though conn'd wi' little skill,
When collie barks I'll raise my head,
And find her on the hill.
Oh no! sad and slow,
The time will ne'er be gane,
The shadow of the trysting bush
Is fixed like ony stane.


## p. 1268 (#58) ############################################

1268
JOANNA BAILLIE
SONG, POVERTY PARTS GOOD COMPANY)
For an old Scotch Air
W
"HEN my o'erlay was white as the foam o' the lin,
And siller was chinkin my pouches within,
When my lambkins were bleatin on meadow and
brae,
As I went to my love in new cleeding sae gay,
Kind was she, and my friends were free,
But poverty parts good company.
How swift passed the minutes and hours of delight,
When piper played cheerly, and crusie burned bright,
And linked in my hand was the maiden sae dear,
As she footed the floor in her holyday gear!
Woe is me; and can it then be,
That poverty parts sic company?
We met at the fair, and we met at the kirk,
We met i’ the sunshine, we met i’ the mirk;
And the sound o' her voice, and the blinks o' her een,
The cheerin and life of my bosom hae been.
Leaves frae the tree at Martinmass flee,
And poverty parts sweet company.
At bridal and infare I braced me wi' pride,
The broose I hae won, and a kiss o' the bride;
And loud was the laughter good fellows among,
As I uttered my banter or chorused my song;
Dowie and dree are jestin and glee,
When poverty spoils good company.
Wherever I gaed, kindly lasses looked sweet,
And mithers and aunties were unco discreet;
While kebbuck and bicker were set on the board :
But now they pass by me, and never a word!
Sae let it be, for the worldly and slee
Wi' poverty keep nae company.
But the hope of my love is a cure for its smart,
And the spae-wife has tauld me to keep up my heart;
For, wi' my last saxpence, her loof I hae crost,
And the bliss that is fated can never be lost,
Though cruelly we may ilka day see
How poverty parts dear company.


## p. 1269 (#59) ############################################

JOANNA BAILLIE
1269
THE KITTEN
WAN
ANTON droll, whose harmless play
Beguiles the rustic's closing day,
When, drawn the evening fire about,
Sit aged crone and thoughtless lout,
And child upon his three-foot stool,
Waiting until his supper cool,
And maid whose cheek outblooms the rose,
As bright the blazing fagot glows,
Who, bending to the friendly light,
Plies her task with busy sleight,-
Come, show thy tricks and sportive graces,
Thus circled round with merry faces!
Backward coiled and crouching low,
With glaring eyeballs watch thy foe,
The housewife's spindle whirling round,
Or thread or straw that on the ground
Its shadow throws, by urchin sly
Held out to lure thy roving eye;
Then stealing onward, fiercely spring
Upon the tempting, faithless thing.
Now, wheeling round with bootless skill,
Thy bo-peep tail provokes thee still,
As still beyond thy curving side
Its jetty tip is seen to glide;
Till from thy centre starting far,
Thou sidelong veer'st with rump in air
Erected stiff, and gait awry,
Like madam in her tantrums high;
Though ne'er a madam of them all,
Whose silken kirtle sweeps the hall,
More varied trick and whim displays
To catch the admiring stranger's gaze.
Doth power in measured verses dwell,
All thy vagaries wild to tell ?
Ah, no! the start, the jet, the bound,
The giddy scamper round and round,
With leap and toss and high curvet,
And many a whirling somerset,
(Permitted by the modern muse
Expression technical to use) –
These mock the deftest rhymester's skill,
But poor in art, though rich in will.


## p. 1270 (#60) ############################################

1270
JOANNA BAILLIE
The featest tumbler, stage bedight,
To thee is but a clumsy wight,
Who every limb and sinew strains
To do what costs thee little pains;
For which, I trow, the gaping crowd
Requite him oft with plaudits loud.
But, stopped the while thy wanton play,
Applauses too thy pains repay:
For then, beneath some urchin's hand
With modest pride thou takest thy stand,
While many a stroke of kindness glides
Along thy back and tabby sides.
Dilated swells thy glossy fur,
And loudly croons thy busy purr,
As, timing well the equal sound,
Thy clutching feet bepat the ground,
And all their harmless claws disclose
Like prickles of an early rose,
While softly from thy whiskered cheek
Thy half-closed eyes peer, mild and meek.
But not alone by cottage fire
Do rustics rude thy feats admire.
The learned sage, whose thoughts explore
The widest range of human lore,
Or with unfettered fancy fly
Through airy heights of poesy,
Pausing smiles with altered air
To see thee climb his elbow-chair,
Or, struggling on the mat below,
Hold warfare with his slippered toe.
The widowed dame or lonely maid,
Who, in the still but cheerless shade
Of home unsocial, spends her age,
And rarely turns a lettered page,
Upon her hearth for thee lets fall
The rounded cork or paper ball,
Nor chides thee on thy wicked watch,
The ends of raveled skein to catch,
But lets thee have thy wayward will,
Perplexing oft her better skill.
E'en he whose mind, of gloomy bent,
In lonely tower or prison pent,


## p. 1271 (#61) ############################################

JOANNA BAILLIE
I 271
Reviews the coil of former days,
And loathes the world and all its ways,
What time the lamp's unsteady gleam
Hath roused him from his moody dream,
Feels, as thou gambol'st round his seat,
His heart of pride less fiercely beat,
And smiles, a link in thee to find
That joins it still to living kind.
Whence hast thou then, thou witless puss!
The magic power to charm us thus ?
Is it that in thy glaring eye
And rapid movements we descry
Whilst we at ease, secure from ill,
The chimney corner snugly fill —
A lion darting on his prey,
A tiger at his ruthless play?
Or is it that in thee we trace,
With all thy varied wanton grace,
An emblem, viewed with kindred eye
Of tricky, restless infancy?
Ah! many a lightly sportive child,
Who hath like thee our wits beguiled,
To dull and sober manhood grown,
With strange recoil our hearts disown.
And so, poor kit! must thou endure,
When thou becom'st a cat demure,
Full many a cuff and angry word,
Chased roughly from the tempting board.
But yet, for that thou hast, I ween,
So oft our favored playmate been,
Soft be the change which thou shalt prove!
When time hath spoiled thee of our love,
Still be thou deemed by housewife fat
A comely, careful, mousing cat,
Whose dish is, for the public good,
Replenished oft with savory food,
Nor, when thy span of life is past,
Be thou to pond or dung-hill cast,
But, gently borne on goodman's spade,
Beneath the decent sod be laid;
And children show with glistening eyes
The place where poor old pussy lies.


## p. 1272 (#62) ############################################

1 272
HENRY MARTYN BAIRD
(1832-)
舞
​HAT stirring period of the history of France which in certain
of its features has been made so familiar by Dumas
through the Three Musketeers) series and others of his
fascinating novels, is that which has been the theme of Dr. Baird in
the substantial work to which so many years of his life have been
devoted. It is to the elucidation of one portion only of the history
of this period that he has given himself; but although in this, the
story of the Huguenots, nominally only a matter of religious belief
was involved, it in fact embraced almost
the entire internal politics of the nation,
and the struggles for supremacy of its
ambitious families, as well as the effort
to achieve religious freedom.
In these separate but related works the
incidents of the whole Protestant move-
ment have been treated. The first of
these, The History of the Rise of the Hu-
guenots in France) (1879), carries the story
to the time of Henry of Valois (1574), cov-
ering the massacre of St. Bartholomew;
HENRY M. BAIRD the second, The Huguenots and Henry
of Navarre (1886), covers the Protestant
ascendancy and the Edict of Nantes, and ends with the assassination
of Henry in 1610; and the third, "The Huguenots and the Revoca-
tion of the Edict of Nantes) (1895), completes the main story, and
indeed brings the narrative down to a date much later than the title
seems to imply.
It may be said, perhaps, that Dr. Baird holds a brief for the
plaintiff in the case; but his work does not produce the impression
of being that of a violently prejudiced, although an interested, writer.
He is cool and careful, writing with precision, and avoiding even the
effects which the historian may reasonably feel himself entitled to
produce, and of which the period naturally offers so many.
Henry Martyn Baird was born in Philadelphia, January 17th,
1832, and was educated at the University of the City of New York
and the University of Athens, and at Union and Princeton Theo-
logical Seminaries. In 1855 he became a tutor at Princeton; and in
the following year he published an interesting volume on Modern



## p. 1273 (#63) ############################################

HENRY MARTYN BAIRD
I 273
Greece, a Narrative of Residence and Travel. In 1859 he was ap-
pointed to the chair of Greek Language and Literature in the Uni-
versity of the City of New York.
In addition to the works heretofore named, he is the author of a
biography of his father, Robert Baird, D. D.
THE BATTLE OF IVRY
From "The Huguenots and Henry of Navarre)
HE battle began with a furious cannonade from the King's
,
before the enemy were ready to reply, so well directed that
great havoc was made in the opposing lines. Next, the light
horse of M. de Rosne, upon the extreme right of the Leaguers,
made a dash upon Marshal d'Aumont, but were valiantly received.
Their example was followed by the German reiters, who threw
themselves upon the defenders of the King's artillery and upon
the light horse of Aumont, who came to their relief; then, after
their customary fashion, wheeled around, expecting to pass easily
through the gaps between the friendly corps of Mayenne and
Egmont, and to reload their firearms at their leisure in the rear,
by way of preparation for a second charge.
Owing to the blunder of Tavannes, however, they met a ser-
ried line of horse where they looked for an open field; and the
Walloon cavalry found themselves compelled to set their lances
in threatening position to ward off the dangerous onset of their
retreating allies. Another charge, made by a squadron of the
Walloon lancers themselves, was bravely met by Baron Biron.
His example was imitated by the Duke of Montpensier farther
down the field. Although the one leader was twice wounded,
and the other had his horse killed under him, both ultimately
succeeded in repulsing the enemy.
It was about this time that the main body of Henry's horse
became engaged with the gallant array of cavalry in their front.
Mayenne had placed upon the left of his squadron a body of four
hundred mounted carabineers. These, advancing first, rode rap-
idly toward the King's line, took aim, and discharged their weapons
with deadly effect within twenty-five paces. Immediately after-
ward the main force of eighteen hundred lancers presented them-
selves. The King had fastened a great white plume to his helmet,
1


## p. 1274 (#64) ############################################

1 274
HENRY MARTYN BAIRD
and had adorned his horse's head with another, equally conspic-
uous. "Comrades! ” he now exclaimed to those about him, “Com-
rades! God is for us! There are his enemies and ours! If you
lose sight of your standards, rally to my white plume; you will
find it on the road to victory and to honor. ” The Huguenots had
knelt after their fashion; again Gabriel d'Amours had offered for
them a prayer to the God of battles: but no Joyeuse dreamed of
suspecting that they were meditating surrender cr fight. The
King, with the brave Huguenot minister's prediction of victory
still ringing in his ears, plunged into the thickest of the fight,
two horses' length ahead of his companions. That moment he
forgot that he was King of France and general-in-chief, both in
one, and fought as if he were a private soldier. It was indeed
a bold venture. True, the enemy, partly because of the con-
fusion induced by the reiters, partly from the rapidity of the
King's movements, had lost in some measure the advantage they
should have derived from their lances, and were compelled to
rely mainly upon their swords, as against the firearms of their
opponents. Still, they outnumbered the knights of the King's
squadron more than as two to one. No wonder that some of
the latter Alinched and actually turned back; especially when the
standard-bearer of the King, receiving a deadly wound in the
face, lost control of his horse, and went riding aimlessly about
the field, still grasping the banner in grim desperation. But the
greater number emulated the courage of their leader. The white
plume kept them in the road to victory and to honor.
this beacon seemed at one moment to fail them. Another cav-
alier, who had ostentatiously decorated his helmet much after the
same fashion as the King, was slain in the hand-to-hand conflict,
and some, both of the Huguenots and of their enemies, for a
time supposed the great Protestant champion himself to have
fallen.
But although fiercely contested, the conflict was not long.
The troopers of Mayenne wavered, and finally fled. Henry of
Navarre emerged from the confusion, to the great relief of his
anxious followers, safe and sound, covered with dust and blood
not his own.
More than once he had been in great personal
peril. On his return from the melee, he halted, with a handful
of companions, under the pear-trees indicated beforehand as
rallying-point, when he was descried and attacked by three
bands of Walloon horse that had not yet engaged in the fight.
Yet even
a


## p. 1275 (#65) ############################################

HENRY MARTYN BAIRD
1 275
Only his own valor and the timely arrival of some of his troops
saved the imprudent monarch from death or captivity.
The rout of Mayenne's principal corps was quickly followed
by the disintegration of his entire army. The Swiss auxiliaries
of the League, though compelled to surrender their flags, were,
as ancient allies of the crown, admitted to honorable terms of
capitulation. To the French, who fell into the King's hands, he
was equally clement. Indeed, he spared no efforts to save their
lives. But it was otherwise with the German lansquenets. Their
treachery at Arques, where they had pretended to come over to
the royal side only to turn upon those who had believed their
protestations and welcomed them to their ranks, was yet fresh
in the memory of all. They received no mercy at the King's
hands.
Gathering his available forces together, and strengthened by
the accession of old Marshal Biron, who had been compelled,
much against his will, to remain a passive spectator while others
fought, Henry pursued the remnants of the army of the League
many a mile to Mantes and the banks of the Seine. If their
defeat by a greatly inferior force had been little to the credit of
either the generals or the troops of the League, their precipitate
flight was still less decorous. The much-vaunted Flemish lancers
distinguished themselves, it was said, by not pausing until they
found safety beyond the borders of France; and Mayenne, never
renowned for courage, emulated or surpassed them in the eager-
ness he displayed, on reaching the little town from which the
battle took its name, to put as many leagues as possible between
himself and his pursuers.
The enemy thus ran away,” says the
Englishman William Lyly, who was an eye-witness of the battle;
« Mayenne to Ivry, where the Walloons and reiters followed so
fast that there standing, hasting to draw breath, and not able to
speak, he was constrained to draw his sword to strike the flyers
to make place for his own flight. ”
The battle had been a short one. Between ten and eleven
o'clock the first attack was made; in less than an hour the army
of the League was routed. It had been a glorious action for the
King and his old Huguenots, and not less for the loyal Roman
Catholics who clung to him. None seemed discontented but old
Marshal Biron, who, when he met the King coming out of the
fray with battered armor and blunted sword, could not help con-
trasting the opportunity his Majesty had enjoyed to distinguish


## p. 1276 (#66) ############################################

1276
HENRY MARTYN BAIRD
himself with his own enforced inactivity, and exclaimed, “Sire,
this is not right! You have to-day done what Biron ought to
have done, and he has done what the King should have done. ”
But even Biron was unable to deny that the success of the royal
arms surpassed all expectation, and deserved to rank among the
wonders of history. The preponderance of the enemy in num-
bers had been great. There was no question that the impetuous
attacks of their cavalry upon the left wing of the King were for
a time almost successful. The official accounts might conven-
iently be silent upon the point, but the truth could not be dis-
guised that at the moment Henry plunged into battle a part of
his line was grievously shaken, a part was in full retreat, and
the prospect was dark enough. Some of his immediate followers,
indeed, at this time turned countenance and were disposed to
flee, whereupon he recalled them to their duty with the words,
“Look this way, in order that if you will not fight, at least you
may see me die. " But the steady and determined courage of the
King, well seconded by soldiers not less brave, turned the tide of
battle. "The enemy took flight,” says the devout Duplessis
Mornay, “terrified rather by God than by men; for it is certain
that the one side was not less shaken than the other. ” And with
the flight of the cavalry, Mayenne's infantry, constituting, as has
been seen, three-fourths of his entire army, gave up the day as
lost, without striking a blow for the cause they had come to sup-
port. How many men the army of the League lost in killed and
wounded it is difficult to say. The Prince of Parma reported to
his master the loss of two hundred and seventy of the Flemish
lancers, together with their commander, the Count of Egmont.
The historian De Thou estimates the entire number of deaths on
the side of the League, including the combatants that fell in the
battle and the fugitives drowned at the crossing of the river
Eure, by Ivry, at eight hundred. The official account, on the
other hand, agrees with Marshal Biron, in stating that of the
cavalry alone more than fifteen hundred died, and adds that four
hundred were taken prisoners; while Davila swells the total of
the slain to the incredible sum of upward of six thousand men.
Copyrighted by Charles Scribner's Sons.


## p. 1277 (#67) ############################################

1 277
SIR SAMUEL WHITE BAKER
(1821-1893)
HE Northwest Passage, the Pole itself, and the sources of the
Nile — how many have struggled through ice and snow, or
burned themselves with tropic heat, in the effort to penetrate
these secrets of the earth! And how many have left their bones to
whiten on the desert or lie hidden beneath icebergs at the end of
the search!
Of the fortunate ones who escaped after many perils, Baker was
one of the most fortunate. He explored the Blue and the White Nile,
discovered at least one of the reservoirs
from which flows the great river of Egypt,
and lived to tell the tale and to receive due
honor, being knighted by the Queen there-
for, fêted by learned societies, and sent
subsequently by the Khedive at the head
of a large force with commission to destroy
the slave trade. In this he appears to have
been successful for a time, but for a time
only.
Baker was born in London, June 8th,
1821, and died December 30th, 1893. With
his brother he established, in 1847, a settle-
SIR SAMUEL BAKER
ment in the mountains of Ceylon, where he
spent several years. His experiences in the far East appear in books
entitled “The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon and Eight Years Wander-
ing in Ceylon. In 1861, accompanied by his young wife and an
escort, he started up the Nile, and three years later, on the 14th of
March, 1864, at length reached the cliffs overlooking the Albert
Nyanza, being the first European to behold its waters. Like most
Englishmen, he was an enthusiastic sportsman, and his manner of
life afforded him a great variety of unusual experiences. He visited
Cyprus in 1879, after the execution of the convention between Eng-
land and Turkey, and subsequently he traveled to Syria, India, Japan,
and America. He kept voluminous notes of his various journeys,
which he utilized in the preparation of numerous volumes:-(The
Albert Nyanza”; “The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia'; Ismäilia,' a
narrative of the expedition under the auspices of the Khedive; Cy-
prus as I Saw It in 1879'; together with Wild Beasts and Their
Ways,' (True Tales for My Grandsons,' and a story entitled “Cast Up



## p. 1278 (#68) ############################################

1278
SIR SAMUEL WHITE BAKER
by the Sea,' which was for many years a great favorite with the
boys of England and America. They are all full of life and incident.
One of the most delightful memories of them which readers retain is
the figure of his lovely wife, so full of courage, loyalty, buoyancy,
and charm. He had that rarest of possibilities, spirit-stirring ad-
venture and home companionship at once.
HUNTING IN ABYSSINIA
From «The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia)
O"
N ARRIVAL at the camp, I resolved to fire the entire country
on the following day, and to push still farther up the
course of the Settite to the foot of the mountains, and to
return to this camp in about a fortnight, by which time the ani-
mals that had been scared away by the fire would have returned.
Accordingly, on the following morning, accompanied by a few of
the aggageers, I started upon the south bank of the river, and
rode for some distance into the interior, to the ground that was
entirely covered with high withered grass. We were passing
through a mass of kittar thorn bush, almost hidden by the im-
mensely high grass, when, as I was ahead of the party, I came
suddenly upon the tracks of rhinoceros; these were so unmis-
takably recent that I felt sure we were not far from the animals
themselves. As I had wished to fire the grass, I was accom-
panied by my Tokrooris, and my horse-keeper, Mahomet No. 2.
It was difficult ground for the men, and still more unfavorable
for the horses, as large disjointed masses of stone were concealed
in the high grass.
We were just speculating as to the position of the rhinoceros,
and thinking how uncommonly unpleasant it would be should he
obtain our wind, when whiff! whiff! whiff ! We heard the sharp
whistling snort, with a tremendous rush through the high grass
and thorns close to us; and at the same moment two of these
determined brutes were upon us in full charge. I never saw
such a scrimmage; sauve qui peut! There was no time for
more than one look behind. I dug the spurs into Aggahr's
flanks, and clasping him round the neck, I ducked my head
down to his shoulder, well protected with my strong hunting
cap, and I kept the spurs going as hard as I could ply them,
blindly trusting to Providence and my good horse, over big rocks,


## p. 1279 (#69) ############################################

SIR SAMUEL WHITE BAKER
1279
fallen trees, thick kittar thorns, and grass ten feet high, with
the two infernal animals in full chase only a few feet behind me.
I heard their abominable whiffing close to me, but so did my
horse also, and the good old hunter few over obstacles that I
should have thought impossible, and he dashed straight under
the hooked thorn bushes and doubled like a hare. The aggageers
were all scattered; Mahomet No. 2 was knocked over by a rhi-
noceros; all the men were sprawling upon the rocks with their
guns, and the party was entirely discomfited. Having passed the
kittar thorn, I turned, and seeing that the beasts had gone
straight on, I brought Aggahr's head round, and tried to give
chase, but it was perfectly impossible; it was only a wonder that
the horse had escaped in ground so difficult for riding. Although
my clothes were of the strongest and coarsest Arab cotton cloth,
which seldom tore, but simply lost a thread when caught in a
thorn, I was nearly naked. My blouse was reduced to shreds;
as I wore sleeves only half way from the shoulder to the elbow,
my naked arms were streaming with blood; fortunately my hunt-
ing cap was secured with a chin strap, and still more fortunately
I had grasped the horse's neck, otherwise I must have been
dragged out of the saddle by the hooked thorns. All the men
were cut and bruised, some having fallen upon their heads
among the rocks, and others had hurt their legs in falling in
their endeavors to escape.
Mahomet No. 2, the horse-keeper,
was more frightened than hurt, as he had been knocked down by
the shoulder, and not by the horn of the rhinoceros, as the
animal had not noticed him: its attention was absorbed by the
horse.
I determined to set fire to the whole country immediately,
and descending the hill toward the river to obtain a favorable
wind, I put my men in a line, extending over about a mile
along the river's bed, and they fired the grass in different places.
With a loud roar, the flame leaped high in air and rushed for-
ward with astonishing velocity; the grass was as inflammable as
tinder, and the strong north wind drove the long line of fire
spreading in every direction through the country.
We now crossed to the other side of the river to avoid the
flames, and we returned toward the camp. On the way I made
a long shot and badly wounded a tétel, but lost it in thick
thorns; shortly after, I stalked a nellut (A. Strepsiceros), and
bagged it with the Fletcher rifle.


## p. 1280 (#70) ############################################

1280
SIR SAMUEL WHITE BAKER
We arrived early in camp, and on the following day we moved
sixteen miles farther up stream, and camped under a tamarind-
tree by the side of the river. No European had ever been
farther than our last camp, Delladilla, and that spot had only
been visited by Johann Schmidt and Florian. In the previous
year, my aggageers had sabred some of the Basé at this very
camping-place; they accordingly requested me to keep a vigilant
watch during the night, as they would be very likely to attack
us in revenge, unless they had been scared by the rifles and by
the size of our party. They advised me not to remain long in
this spot, as it would be very dangerous for my wife to be left
almost alone during the day, when we were hunting, and that the
Basé would be certain to espy us from the mountains, and would
most probably attack and carry her off when they were assured
of our departure. She was not very nervous about this, but she
immediately called the dragoman, Mahomet, who knew the use
of a gun, and she asked him if he would stand by her in case
they were attacked in my absence; the faithful servant replied,
Mahomet fight the Basé ? No, Missus; Mahomet not fight; if
the Basé come, Missus fight; Mahomet run away; Mahomet not
come all the way from Cairo to get him killed by black fellers;
Mahomet will run — Inshallah! ” (Please God. )
This frank avowal of his military tactics was very reassuring.
There was a high hill of basalt, something resembling a pyramid,
within a quarter of a mile of us; I accordingly ordered some of
my men every day to ascend this look-out station, and I resolved
to burn the high grass at once, so as to destroy all cover for the
concealment of an enemy. That evening I very nearly burned
our camp;
I had several times ordered the men to clear away
the dry grass for about thirty yards from our resting-place; this
they had neglected to obey. We had been joined a few days
before by a party of about a dozen Hamran Arabs, who were
hippopotami hunters; thus we mustered very strong, and it would
have been the work of about half an hour to have cleared away
the grass as I had desired.
The wind was brisk, and blew directly toward our camp,
which was backed by the river. I accordingly took a fire-stick,
and I told my people to look sharp, as they would not clear
away the grass. I walked to the foot of the basalt hill, and fired
the grass in several places. In an instant the wind swept the
flame and smoke toward the camp. All was confusion; the Arabs
1


## p. 1281 (#71) ############################################

SIR SAMUEL WHITE BAKER
1281
had piled the camel-saddles and all their corn and effects in the
high grass about twenty yards from the tent; there was no time
to remove all these things; therefore, unless they could clear
away the grass so as to stop the fire before it should reach the
spot, they would be punished for their laziness by losing their
property. The fire traveled quicker than I had expected, and,
by the time I had hastened to the tent, I found the entire party
working frantically; the Arabs were slashing down the grass with
their swords, and sweeping it away with their shields, while my
Tokrooris were beating it down with long sticks and tearing it
from its withered and fortunately tinder-rotten roots, in desperate
haste. The flames rushed on, and we already felt the heat, as
volumes of smoke enveloped us; I thought it advisable to carry
the gunpowder (about 20 lbs. ) down to the river, together with
the rifles; while my wife and Mahomet dragged the various arti-
cles of luggage to the same place of safety. The fire now
approached within about sixty yards, and dragging out the iron
pins, I let the tent fall to the ground. The Arabs had swept a
line like a high-road perfectly clean, and they were still tearing
away the grass, when they were suddenly obliged to rush back
as the flames arrived.
Almost instantaneously the smoke blew over us, but the fire
had expired upon meeting the cleared ground. I now gave them
a little lecture upon obedience to orders; and from that day,
their first act upon halting for the night was to clear away the
grass, lest I should repeat the entertainment. In countries that
are covered with dry grass, it should be an invariable rule to
clear the ground around the camp before night; hostile natives
will frequently fire the grass to windward of a party, or careless
servants may leave their pipes upon the ground, which fanned
by the wind would quickly create a blaze. That night the
mountain afforded a beautiful appearance as the flames ascended
the steep sides, and ran Aickering up the deep gullies with a
brilliant light.
We were standing outside the tent admiring the scene, which
perfectly illuminated the neighborhood, when suddenly an appari-
tion of a lion and lioness stood for an instant before us at about
fiiteen yards distance, and then disappeared over the blackened
ground before I had time to snatch a rifle from the tent. No
doubt they had been disturbed from the mountain by the fire,
and had mistaken their way in the country so recently changed
111-81


## p. 1282 (#72) ############################################

1 282
SIR SAMUEL WHITE BAKER
from high grass to black ashes. In this locality I considered it
advisable to keep a vigilant watch during the night, and the
Arabs were told off for that purpose.
A little before sunrise I accompanied the howartis, or hippo-
potamus hunters, for a day's sport.