The Genius of Scotland; or, Sketches of Scottish Scenery, Literature and ReligionTurnbull, Robert
Religion
The Genius of Scotland; or, Sketches of Scottish Scenery, Literature and Religion
Turnbull, Robert
Scotland -- Description and travel
Sweet bird! that singst away the early hours
Of winters past or coming, void of care,
Well pleased with delights which present are,
Fair seasons, budding sprays, sweet-smelling flowers:
To rocks, to springs, to rills, from leafy bowers,
Thou thy Creator's goodness dost declare,
And what dear gifts on thee he did not spare,
A stain to human sense in sin that lowers.
What soul can be so sick as by thy songs
(Attired in sweetness) sweetly is not driven
Quite to forget earth's turmoils, spites and wrongs,
And lift a reverend eye and thought to heaven?
Sweet, artless songster! thou my mind dost raise
To airs of spheres--yes, and to angels' lays.
But we have entered the vale of Roslin, and there, in its beauty, stands
the Chapel of Roslin, one of the most exquisite architectural ruins in
Scotland. It was founded in 1484, or even earlier than that, by the
Earl of Caithness and Orkney. The whole Chapel is profusely decorated
with the most delicate sculpture both within and without. The roof, the
capitals, key-stones and architraves, are all overlaid with sculpture,
representing foliage and flowers, grotesque figures, sacred history and
texts of Scripture. The fine fluted column called the "Apprentice's
Pillar," so named from a tradition which no one believes, and which
therefore we do not repeat, is exceedingly beautiful, being ornamented
with wreaths of foliage and flowers twining around it in spiral columns.
So perfect are these alto relievos, that the author of a pamphlet
describing them, says that he can liken them to nothing but Brussels
lace.
How solemn a thing it is in this chequered light, to wander amid these
sounding aisles and ancient monuments! In the vaults beneath lie the
Barons of Roslin, all of whom, till the time of James the Seventh, were
buried without a coffin, in complete armor. This circumstance, and the
vulgar belief that on the night preceding the death of any of these
barons, the chapel appeared in flames, has been finely described by
Walter Scott, in his touching ballad of Rosabelle.
O listen, listen, ladies gay!
No haughty feats of arms I tell;
Soft is the note, and sad the lay,
That mourns the lovely Rosabelle.
"Moor, moor the barge, ye gallant crew!
And gentle ladye deign to stay!
Rest thee in castle Ravensheuch,
Nor tempt the stormy Firth to-day.
"The blackening wave is edged with white,
To inch and rock the sea-mews fly;
The fishers have heard the water sprite,
Whose screams forebode that wreck is nigh.
"Last night the gifted seer did view,
A wet shroud swathed round ladye gay!
Then stay thee, fair, in Ravensheuch;
Why cross the gloomy Firth to-day?"
"'Tis not because Lord Lindesay's heir,
To-night at Roslin leads the ball,
But that my ladye mother there,
Sits lonely in her castle hall.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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