The Works of the Right Honourable Sir Chas. Hanbury Williams ... From the Originals in the Possession of His Grandson The Right Hon. The Earl of Essex and Others: With Notes by Horace Walpole ... In Three Volumes, with Portraits |
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THE HIGHLANDERS FLIGHT;
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 | The Works of the Right Honourable Sir Chas. Hanbury Williams |  |
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THE HIGHLANDERS FLIGHT;
A NEW GRUB-STREET BALLAD:
(Written in June, 1743.)
Vicit Amor patriæ.
WHEN an ample relief
For Austria's chief,
At length was decreed by these islands;
We summon'd our force,
Dragoons, foot and horse,
And a regiment fetch'd from the Highlands.
For Austria's chief,
At length was decreed by these islands;
We summon'd our force,
Dragoons, foot and horse,
And a regiment fetch'd from the Highlands.
In their own country plaid
They were cleverly clad,
And seem'd so well furnish'd for war;
That one would have thought,
They'd as fiercely have fought,
As Croat, Pandour, or Hussar.
They were cleverly clad,
And seem'd so well furnish'd for war;
That one would have thought,
They'd as fiercely have fought,
As Croat, Pandour, or Hussar.
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Our troops cross'd the water,
The king follow'd after,
But the Highlanders wouldn't go over;
For tho' all of them swear,
Yet none of them care,
To fight for the House of Hanover.
The king follow'd after,
But the Highlanders wouldn't go over;
For tho' all of them swear,
Yet none of them care,
To fight for the House of Hanover.
They would not agree
To crossing the sea,
And a doubtful campaign to go thro';
For receiving their pay,
Their sixpence a day,
Was all they thought they had to do.
To crossing the sea,
And a doubtful campaign to go thro';
For receiving their pay,
Their sixpence a day,
Was all they thought they had to do.
They remember'd Argyle,
What he did ere while,
And they follow'd that step of his grace's;
Who seeing from far,
That there must be a war,
Resign'd his commands and his places.
What he did ere while,
And they follow'd that step of his grace's;
Who seeing from far,
That there must be a war,
Resign'd his commands and his places.
So when danger was nigh,
They determin'd to fly,
And on England each man turn'd his breech;
And with joy they ran home,
To the place whence they come,
To beggary, Oatmeal, and Itch.
They determin'd to fly,
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And with joy they ran home,
To the place whence they come,
To beggary, Oatmeal, and Itch.
Do our Regents act right,
Who hinder their flight,
And to Scotland won't let them repair;
They're surely too strict,
For can they inflict
A worse punishment than to go there.
Who hinder their flight,
And to Scotland won't let them repair;
They're surely too strict,
For can they inflict
A worse punishment than to go there.
O, yes, there is one,
And I wish it were done,
In spight of all Tweedale can say;
Since they won't march or fight,
Disband them out right,
And strip them of clothes and of pay.
And I wish it were done,
In spight of all Tweedale can say;
Since they won't march or fight,
Disband them out right,
And strip them of clothes and of pay.
We have sometimes been told,
That the English of old,
Have fled from their enemies blows;
But the Scotch, for their glory,
Are the first in all story,
That run without seeing their foes.
That the English of old,
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But the Scotch, for their glory,
Are the first in all story,
That run without seeing their foes.
What, then, would they've done
At th' attack of a town,
Where the bullets and bombs might have hit'em;
At the first walls or ditches,
If they'd had any breeches,
They certainly would have---'em.
At th' attack of a town,
Where the bullets and bombs might have hit'em;
At the first walls or ditches,
If they'd had any breeches,
They certainly would have---'em.
George, stand thy own friend,
And never depend
On such Jacobite rascals as these are;
They're for James the 3rd all,
And would fly to his call,
As Lepidus' troops did to Cæsar.
And never depend
On such Jacobite rascals as these are;
They're for James the 3rd all,
And would fly to his call,
As Lepidus' troops did to Cæsar.
| The Works of the Right Honourable Sir Chas. Hanbury Williams | |