Each one, as well becomes her, Polite among the rest; And proud, and rich, and ribbony, And round and gaily dressed: The clothes on the young maidens Just showing to your eye A strong and pointed well-made shoe— I thought the heels too high. When I went into the Abbey, It was a noble sight To see the kings in order, From King Fergus, as was right; But now since they are gone from us, Our Alba wants the Crown— No wonder that her once gay court Is like a desert grown. There is a lantern made of glass, With a candle in each place, That yields a light to every eye Around a little space. Nor less a cause of pleasure Are the instruments they play, That give a sweeter music Than the cuckoo does in May. It is difficult to say how far the recovery of the regalia, her Majesty’s frequent residence in the Highlands, the crowds of tourists northward every year, and, above all, the Home Rule movement, might affect the sentiment of the line— “Our Alba wants the Crown”— but undoubtedly in these days of gas illuminations and electric-light glories, the “lantern made of glass with a candle” would be no “cause of pleasure” to the most unsophisticated son of the mountains. Macintyre composed an Elegy for himself, from which the following expressions of a feeble faith are taken:— Loudly shall the trumpet peal With echoes in all quarters heard; From the fields shall wake the dead Left by others there interred; All that perished in distress In the storm or in the flood; To Mount Zion go the host To triumph through the Saviour’s blood. To the world I say farewell, To all there on pilgrimage; Light and gay I lived my season Until I am weak through age: Changèd now my powers be While death stares me in the face, As I pray for welfare yonder Savèd through my Saviour’s grace. Contemporary with and immediately after the great singers Macdonald, Mackay, and Macintyre were many other bards whose inspiration is clearly traceable to their era. Some of them composed very largely, although in many cases not more than one or two of their compositions are remembered. Many of the composers were well educated, and had they written in a language better understood in the world in general, their names would have been better known. The present Highlanders, while frequently singing their songs, do not know so much as the names of the authors. The same may be said also of Lowlanders with regard to many of their own songs.