The Poetical Works of Walter C. Smith ... Revised by the Author: Coll. ed. |
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“THERE'S A HOLE IN THIS
PARLIAMENT” |
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 | The Poetical Works of Walter C. Smith |  |
“THERE'S A HOLE IN THIS PARLIAMENT”
Ill fares the land when favourites rule
A king that makes pretence to reign,
And power is given to knave or fool
Who nothing heed but lust of gain.
There is no order in the State,
No safety in the common street
For brawls and feuds among the great,
That rage wherever they chance to meet.
A king that makes pretence to reign,
And power is given to knave or fool
Who nothing heed but lust of gain.
There is no order in the State,
No safety in the common street
For brawls and feuds among the great,
That rage wherever they chance to meet.
Perhaps a Max well bites his nail,
And straight a Johnstone's sword is out;
Perhaps an angry Scott may rail,
And Carrs their slogan then will shout.
Let Douglas keep the Cause way crown,
And Hamiltons will storm the while;
And half the Clans will throng the town
To mock the pride of great Argyll.
And straight a Johnstone's sword is out;
Perhaps an angry Scott may rail,
And Carrs their slogan then will shout.
Let Douglas keep the Cause way crown,
And Hamiltons will storm the while;
And half the Clans will throng the town
To mock the pride of great Argyll.
The Grants and Gordons are not slack
To dirk each other, when they can;
The Chisholm hangs on Lovat's back
To prove which is the better man;
Lochaber troops out from its glens
To bar the Mackintoshs' way;
And all the Macs from all the Bens
Hunt the M'Gregors of Glenstrae.
To dirk each other, when they can;
The Chisholm hangs on Lovat's back
To prove which is the better man;
Lochaber troops out from its glens
To bar the Mackintoshs' way;
And all the Macs from all the Bens
Hunt the M'Gregors of Glenstrae.
They brawl even in the Hall of State,
And plot and organise deceit,
And at the crossways stand in wait
For broil and battle in the street;
While thieves are raiding on the border,
And doing murder in the North,
And there's no power of Law or order
Beyond the bridge across the Forth.
And plot and organise deceit,
And at the crossways stand in wait
For broil and battle in the street;
While thieves are raiding on the border,
And doing murder in the North,
And there's no power of Law or order
Beyond the bridge across the Forth.
Lo! Arran swaggers 'mong his peers,
And lords it like a very king;
A man in vice, a boy in years,
Who women's hearts is fain to wring.
They come by sudden death who chance
To stand, apparent, in his way;
And yet he gaily leads the dance,
A trifler and a popinjay.
And lords it like a very king;
A man in vice, a boy in years,
Who women's hearts is fain to wring.
They come by sudden death who chance
To stand, apparent, in his way;
And yet he gaily leads the dance,
A trifler and a popinjay.
An evil time of wild unrest,
And malice plotting how to kill,
And sorrow doth our homes infest,
And plague and famine work their will.
And hard the lot is of the poor,
On every hand by ills beset,
With nothing, but their hunger, sure,
And nothing growing, but their debt.
And malice plotting how to kill,
And sorrow doth our homes infest,
And plague and famine work their will.
And hard the lot is of the poor,
On every hand by ills beset,
With nothing, but their hunger, sure,
And nothing growing, but their debt.
572
'Tis sorry work in growing age
To see all love of learning fail,
And youth turn from the thoughtful page
To stoups of wine and cogs of ale,
And lewd-eyed women lead the men,
Who lead the nation in its path,
And Priests and Masses back again,
And all the signs of coming wrath.
To see all love of learning fail,
And youth turn from the thoughtful page
To stoups of wine and cogs of ale,
And lewd-eyed women lead the men,
Who lead the nation in its path,
And Priests and Masses back again,
And all the signs of coming wrath.
May God have pity on the land,
Give wisdom to the King to rule,
Let Law and Justice, hand-in-hand,
Put down the oppressor and his tool,
Bring back the order of the State,
And plenty to the poor man's home,
And make the Kirk her pride abate,
And let His kingdom truly come.
Give wisdom to the King to rule,
Let Law and Justice, hand-in-hand,
Put down the oppressor and his tool,
Bring back the order of the State,
And plenty to the poor man's home,
And make the Kirk her pride abate,
And let His kingdom truly come.
| The Poetical Works of Walter C. Smith | |