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  • Feb. 10, 1866
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The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine, Feb. 10, 1866: Page 2

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    Article FREEMASONRY IN THE DANUBIAN PRINCIPALITIES. ← Page 2 of 2
    Article MASONIC POETS OF SCOTLAND—No. II. Page 1 of 4 →
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Freemasonry In The Danubian Principalities.

pursue , and which consists in the improvement of ihe human species . " We also bid a hearty " God speed" to these ^ excellent emissaries and harbingers of civilisation la their efforts tending to redeem and regain the magnificent countries watered by the mouths of the Danube .

Masonic Poets Of Scotland—No. Ii.

MASONIC POETS OF SCOTLAND—No . II .

SIE WAITEE SCOTT . _ % the BEV . ANDREW It . BONAE , Minister of First Charge of Canongate , Edinburgh . ( Continued from page 87 . ) But let us quote here a vivid and graphic descriptive passage : —

"The western waves of ebbing day Roll'd o'er the glen their level way ; Each purple peak , each flinty spire , Was bathed in floods of living fire . JBut not a setting beam could glow "Within the dark ravines below ,

Where twined the path , in shadoiv hid , Round many a rocky pyramid , Shooting abruptly from the dell Its thunder-splintered pinnacle : The rocky summits split and rent , 3 ? orm'd turret , dome , or battlement ,

Or seem'd fantastically set With cupola or minaret . Nor were these earth-born castles bare , Ufor lack'd they many a banner fair ; For , from their shiver'd brows displayed , J ? ar o ' er the unfathomable glade , All twinkling with the dewdrops' sheen , 'The brier-rose fell in streamers green :

.. And creeping shrubs , of thousand dyes , Waved in the west wind ' s summer skies . Boon nature scattered , far and wild , Each plant or flower , the mountain ' s child . Here eglantine embalmed the air ; jHawthorn and hazel mingled there , -And boughs , that quaked at every breath ;

Gray birch and aspen wept beneath ; Aloft , the ash and warrior-oak Cast anchor in the rifted rock ; And higher yet tho pine-tree hung His shattered trunk , and frequent flung , 'Where seemed the cliffs to meet on high ,

His houghs athwart the narrowed sky . Highest of all , where white peaks glanced , Where glittering streamers waved and danced , The wanderer's eye could scarcely vieiv The summer heaven's delicious blue : "So wondrous wild , the whole might seem

Tiie scenery of a fairy dream . " Here is another gem from the same poem : — " The summer dawn ' s reflected hue To purple changed Loch Katrine blue ; Mildly and soft the western breeze . Just kiss'd the lake , just stirr'd the trees , . And the pleased lake , like maiden coy , Trembled , bat dimpled not , for joy .

***** The water-lily to the light Het chalice reared , of silver bright ; The doe awoke , and to the lawn , Begemm'd with dew-drops , led her fawn ; The gray mist left the mountain side ;

The torrent show'd its glistening pride ; Invisible in flecked sky , The lark sent down her revelry ; The blackbird and the speckled thrush Good morrow gave from brake and hush ; In answer coo'd the cushat-dove

Her notes of peace , and rest , and love . " "Marmion , " not in sustained dignity , but in separate and sometimes long-continuous passages , must be pronounced the greatest of Scott ' s poetical efforts . Nothing can be more picturesque

than the description at length of the mustering of King Jarnes' forces ere they left Edinburgh for Flodden , mingled as it is with the writer's reminiscences of boyish days . Marmion and Sir David Lindsay are nearing the capital : —

. . . . " Their route was laid Across the furzy hills of Braid . They pass'd the glen aud scanty rill , And climbed th' opposing bank , until Thoy gained the top of Blackford Hill . " Marmion arrives , and joins the English host . He

meets with Surrey , who appoints Marmion to the vanguard . The stir and animation of the whole battle-picture toward the close of the poem are truly Homeric . We refrain from further characterising the poetry

of Scott . The question remains—How shall we rank him among British bards ? He belongs , not to the school or class of any one age , but to that of nature and truth . If the framework of the old minstrelsy was borrowed by him , Scott filled

it up with what constitutes effective and interesting poetry . They were but the rude chroniclers , ( though forcible narrators ) of past events . But perhaps some of my readers will understand me when I observe , that what these chroniclers were

to Scott , Ennius , in his roughness and boldness , was to Virgil , with his polished beauty . Scott has not Byron's misanthropy and gloom : he wants , also , his condensed and passionate power : there is nothing to equal the roll and sweep of not a few

of the stanzas in "Ohilde Harold . " But , in a lesser degree , as in his novels , a vast variety of personages—living , acting beings—sweep across the stage ; so , ia his poetry , the personages are those of real flesh and blood—even the " Lady of the Lake" can steer and guide her boat across Loch Katrine's waters . Iii point of natural des-

“The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine: 1866-02-10, Page 2” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 1 July 2025, django:8000/periodicals/mmr/issues/mmr_10021866/page/2/.
  • List
  • Grid
Title Category Page
FREEMASONRY IN THE DANUBIAN PRINCIPALITIES. Article 1
MASONIC POETS OF SCOTLAND—No. II. Article 2
CORRESPONDENCE. Article 5
THE LATE BRO. LLOYD JONES. Article 6
CHARITY STEWARDS. Article 6
Untitled Article 7
THE MASONIC MIRROR. Article 8
MASONIC MEM. Article 8
METROPOLITAN. Article 8
PROVINCIAL. Article 8
ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED RITE. Article 14
ROYAL ARCH. Article 14
KNIGHTS OF CONSTANTINOPLE. Article 15
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR. Article 15
MARK MASONRY. Article 16
CHANNEL ISLANDS. Article 16
BOOKS RECEIVED. Article 16
Obituary. Article 17
MASONIC FESTIVITIES. Article 17
Untitled Article 17
MEETINGS OF THE SCIENTIFIC AND LEARNED SOCIETIES FOR THE WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 17th, 1866. Article 18
THE WEEK. Article 18
TO CORRESPONDENTS. Article 20
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Freemasonry In The Danubian Principalities.

pursue , and which consists in the improvement of ihe human species . " We also bid a hearty " God speed" to these ^ excellent emissaries and harbingers of civilisation la their efforts tending to redeem and regain the magnificent countries watered by the mouths of the Danube .

Masonic Poets Of Scotland—No. Ii.

MASONIC POETS OF SCOTLAND—No . II .

SIE WAITEE SCOTT . _ % the BEV . ANDREW It . BONAE , Minister of First Charge of Canongate , Edinburgh . ( Continued from page 87 . ) But let us quote here a vivid and graphic descriptive passage : —

"The western waves of ebbing day Roll'd o'er the glen their level way ; Each purple peak , each flinty spire , Was bathed in floods of living fire . JBut not a setting beam could glow "Within the dark ravines below ,

Where twined the path , in shadoiv hid , Round many a rocky pyramid , Shooting abruptly from the dell Its thunder-splintered pinnacle : The rocky summits split and rent , 3 ? orm'd turret , dome , or battlement ,

Or seem'd fantastically set With cupola or minaret . Nor were these earth-born castles bare , Ufor lack'd they many a banner fair ; For , from their shiver'd brows displayed , J ? ar o ' er the unfathomable glade , All twinkling with the dewdrops' sheen , 'The brier-rose fell in streamers green :

.. And creeping shrubs , of thousand dyes , Waved in the west wind ' s summer skies . Boon nature scattered , far and wild , Each plant or flower , the mountain ' s child . Here eglantine embalmed the air ; jHawthorn and hazel mingled there , -And boughs , that quaked at every breath ;

Gray birch and aspen wept beneath ; Aloft , the ash and warrior-oak Cast anchor in the rifted rock ; And higher yet tho pine-tree hung His shattered trunk , and frequent flung , 'Where seemed the cliffs to meet on high ,

His houghs athwart the narrowed sky . Highest of all , where white peaks glanced , Where glittering streamers waved and danced , The wanderer's eye could scarcely vieiv The summer heaven's delicious blue : "So wondrous wild , the whole might seem

Tiie scenery of a fairy dream . " Here is another gem from the same poem : — " The summer dawn ' s reflected hue To purple changed Loch Katrine blue ; Mildly and soft the western breeze . Just kiss'd the lake , just stirr'd the trees , . And the pleased lake , like maiden coy , Trembled , bat dimpled not , for joy .

***** The water-lily to the light Het chalice reared , of silver bright ; The doe awoke , and to the lawn , Begemm'd with dew-drops , led her fawn ; The gray mist left the mountain side ;

The torrent show'd its glistening pride ; Invisible in flecked sky , The lark sent down her revelry ; The blackbird and the speckled thrush Good morrow gave from brake and hush ; In answer coo'd the cushat-dove

Her notes of peace , and rest , and love . " "Marmion , " not in sustained dignity , but in separate and sometimes long-continuous passages , must be pronounced the greatest of Scott ' s poetical efforts . Nothing can be more picturesque

than the description at length of the mustering of King Jarnes' forces ere they left Edinburgh for Flodden , mingled as it is with the writer's reminiscences of boyish days . Marmion and Sir David Lindsay are nearing the capital : —

. . . . " Their route was laid Across the furzy hills of Braid . They pass'd the glen aud scanty rill , And climbed th' opposing bank , until Thoy gained the top of Blackford Hill . " Marmion arrives , and joins the English host . He

meets with Surrey , who appoints Marmion to the vanguard . The stir and animation of the whole battle-picture toward the close of the poem are truly Homeric . We refrain from further characterising the poetry

of Scott . The question remains—How shall we rank him among British bards ? He belongs , not to the school or class of any one age , but to that of nature and truth . If the framework of the old minstrelsy was borrowed by him , Scott filled

it up with what constitutes effective and interesting poetry . They were but the rude chroniclers , ( though forcible narrators ) of past events . But perhaps some of my readers will understand me when I observe , that what these chroniclers were

to Scott , Ennius , in his roughness and boldness , was to Virgil , with his polished beauty . Scott has not Byron's misanthropy and gloom : he wants , also , his condensed and passionate power : there is nothing to equal the roll and sweep of not a few

of the stanzas in "Ohilde Harold . " But , in a lesser degree , as in his novels , a vast variety of personages—living , acting beings—sweep across the stage ; so , ia his poetry , the personages are those of real flesh and blood—even the " Lady of the Lake" can steer and guide her boat across Loch Katrine's waters . Iii point of natural des-

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