The thunder loud, the burstin' cloud, May speak o' ghaists an' witches, An' spunkie lichts may lead puir wichts Through bogs an' droonin' ditches; There's no ae imp in a' the host This nicht will daur come near ye; My Highland Plaid is warm an' wide-- Creep closer, my wee dearie!
Why do you heave sic heavy sighs, Why do ye sab sae sair, love? Altho' beneath my rustic plaid An earl's star I wear love, I woo'd ye as a shepherd youth, And as a queen revere thee; My Highland plaid is warm an' wide-- Creep closer, my wee deerie!
Oh! dear to my heart are my heather-clad mountains, An' the echoes that burst from their caverns below, The wild woods that darken the face of their fountains-- The haunts of the wild deer an' fleet-footed roe; But dearer to me is the bower o' green bushes That flowers the green bank where the Tay gladly gushes, For there, all in tears, an' deep crimson'd wi' blushes, I won the young heart o' the Flower o' Glencoe.
Contented I lived in my canty auld biggin', 'Till Britain grew wud wi' the threats o' a foe; Then I drew my claymore frae the heather-clad riggin', My forefathers wielded some cent'ries ago. An' though Mary kent weel that my heart was nae ranger, Yet the thoughts o' my wa'-gaun, the dread an' the danger O' famine and death in the land o' the stranger, Drave the bloom frae the cheek o' the Flower o' Glencoe.
But success crown'd our toils--ye hae a' heard the story, How we beat the proud French, an' their eagles laid low-- I've walth o' war's wounds, an' a share o' its glory, An' the love o' auld Scotland wherever I go. Come, now fill the wine cup! let love tell the measure; Toast the maid of your heart, an' I'll pledge you with pleasure; Then a bumper I claim to my heart's dearest treasure-- The fair-bosom'd, warm-hearted Flower o' Glencoe.
Jane Cross Bell, better known by her assumed name of "Gertrude," is the daughter of the late James Bell, Esq., Advocate, and was born in Glasgow. Her first effusions, written in early youth, were published in the _Greenock Advertiser_, while her father for a short time resided in that town, as assessor to the Magistrates. To the pages of the _Edinburgh Literary Journal_ she afterwards contributed numerous poetical compositions, and subsequently various articles in prose and verse to the _Scottish Christian Herald_, then under the able editorship of the Rev. Dr Gardner. In 1836, "Gertrude" published a small volume of tales and sketches, entitled, "The Piety of Daily Life;" and, in 1838, a duodecimo volume of lyric poetry, named, "April Hours." Her latest work, "Woman's History," appeared in 1848.