When the roaring shot pour'd close and hot
They were stalwart men and true.

"On the fatal field of Naseby,
Where Rupert lost the day
By hanging on the flying crowd
Like a lion on his prey,

I stood and fought it out, until,
In spite of plate and steel,
The blood that left my veins that day
Flow'd up above my heel.

"And certainly, it made those quail
Who never quail'd before,
To look upon the awful front
Which Cromwell's horsemen wore.
I felt that every hope was gone,
When I saw their squadrons form,
And gather for the final charge
Like the coming of the storm.

"Oh! where was Rupert in that hour
Of danger, toil, and strife?

It would have been to all brave men
Worth a hundred years of life

To have seen that black and gloomy force,
As it poured down in line,

Met midway by the Royal horse

And Rupert of the Rhine.

Though the king I serv'd has got his own,

In poverty and gloom.

Well, well, I serv'd him for himself,
So I must not now complain,
But I often wish that I had died

With my son on Worcester plain."

EPITAPH ON CHARLES II

EARL OF ROCHESTER

Of the profligate noblemen at the court of Charles II., the Earl of Rochester was probably the meanest and the most brilliant. This epitaph, while too true of the witty, selfish king, comes with an ill grace from the favorite earl.

Here lies our Sovereign Lord the King,
Whose word no man relies on,

Who never said a foolish thing,

Nor ever did a wise one.

THE SONG OF THE WESTERN MEN

ROBERT STEPHEN HAWKER

THE " "Merry Monarch" was succeeded by his brother James II. (1685), a man of different temper. James was an ardent Romanist and was bent on securing toleration for Roman Catholics. Most Englishmen feared that this would mean the restoration of the Pope's authority over the English church. The king's Declaration of Indulgence was therefore resented, and many of the clergy refused to read it to their congregations. Seven of the bishops who protested against the Declaration were thrown into the Tower on charge of seditious libel. Among them was Trelawney, Bishop of Bristol, a native of Cornwall, and very popular in his diocese. The excitement of the people, not only in Cornwall, but in London and throughout the kingdom, was so great that the jury appointed to try the bishops was overawed and gave verdict for acquittal.

A good sword and a trusty hand!

A merry heart and true!
King James's men shall understand
What Cornish lads can do.

And have they fix'd the where and when?
And shall Trelawney die?·

Here's twenty thousand Cornishmen
Will know the reason why!

Out spake their captain brave and bold, A merry wight was he:

"If London Tower were Michael's hold, We'll set Trelawney free!

"We'll cross the Tamar, land to land,

The Severn is no stay,

With one and all,' and hand in hand,
And who shall bid us nay?

"And when we come to London Wall, A pleasant sight to view,

Come forth! come forth! ye cowards all! Here's men as good as you!

'Trelawney he's in keep and hold,

Trelawney he may die;

But here's twenty thousand Cornish bold, Will know the reason why!"

KILLIECRANKIE

(The Burial-March of Dundee)

WILLIAM EDMONDSTOUNE AYTOUN

THE children of James II. were two daughters, Mary and Anne, both Protestants. Men hoped that the death of the king would bring the Romanizing policy to an end. But when (1688) a prince was born, this hope was frustrated, and the leading English statesmen determined to depose James and place his daughter Mary on the throne. They appealed to William of Orange, Mary's husband, to come to their aid. The Revolution of 1688 was accomplished without bloodshed so far as England was concerned. The Toleration Act, allowing freedom of worship to all but Roman Catholics, was a satisfactory settlement of the religious controversy. There was little enthusiasm for the obstinate old king, and James, remembering his father's fate, made revolution easy by fleeing to France. But in Scotland, the slight put upon the Stuart king was hotly resented. Under the inspiring leadership of the Viscount of Dundee, the Highlanders fought and won the battle of Killiecrankie. The death of Dundee was a fatal blow to James's cause, for there was no other man who could unite the jealous Scotch clans in his support.

On the heights of Killiecrankie
Yester-morn our army lay:
Slowly rose the mist in columns
From the river's broken way;
Hoarsely roared the swollen torrent,
And the Pass was wrapt in gloom,
When the clansmen rose together
From their lair amidst the broom.
Then we belted on our tartans,

And our bonnets down we drew,
And we felt our broadswords' edges,
And we proved them to be true;

And we prayed the prayer of soldiers, And we cried the gathering-cry, And we clasped the hands of kinsmen, And we swore to do or die!

Then our leader rode before us

On his war-horse black as nightWell the Cameronian rebels

Knew that charger in the fight! And a cry of exultation

From the bearded warriors rose; For we loved the house of Claver'se, And we thought of good Montrose. But he raised his hand for silence "Soldiers! I have sworn a vow: Ere the evening star shall glisten On Schehallion's lofty brow, Either we shall rest in triumph, Or another of the Græmes

Shall have died in battle-harness

For his country and King James! Think upon the Royal Martyr Think of what his race endure Think of him whom butchers murdered On the field of Magus Muir :By his sacred blood I charge ye, By the ruined hearth and shrineBy the blighted hopes of Scotland, By your injuries and mine — Strike this day as if the anvil Lay beneath your blows the while,