 | The Poetical Works of Walter C. Smith |  |
THE SIEGE OF THE BASS
Just two miles off from the mainland,
Where the Forth is broad and free,
The Bass and its grim rock-fortress
Stands fronting the grey North Sea;
The wild gulls nest on its ledges,
Or over it fly in clouds,
And round it the sea-waves breaking
Turn white for the sailor's shrouds.
Where the Forth is broad and free,
The Bass and its grim rock-fortress
Stands fronting the grey North Sea;
The wild gulls nest on its ledges,
Or over it fly in clouds,
And round it the sea-waves breaking
Turn white for the sailor's shrouds.
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Four of Dundee's wild gallants,
Left in its prison to pine,
Seized on it, one day the soldiers
Had gone off for fuel and wine,
Closed the gate fast on them sternly,
And threatened to shoot them down;
They would hold the Fort for its Master,
The king who owned the crown.
Left in its prison to pine,
Seized on it, one day the soldiers
Had gone off for fuel and wine,
Closed the gate fast on them sternly,
And threatened to shoot them down;
They would hold the Fort for its Master,
The king who owned the crown.
A Middleton, a Halyburton,
With ensigns Roy and Dunbar,
They were reckless and brave as the Leader
They had followed in peace and war;
Young Crawford, Ardmillan, and others
Ere long, too, would share in the fight;
And sixteen men, at the utmost,
They bearded a nation's might.
With ensigns Roy and Dunbar,
They were reckless and brave as the Leader
They had followed in peace and war;
Young Crawford, Ardmillan, and others
Ere long, too, would share in the fight;
And sixteen men, at the utmost,
They bearded a nation's might.
They had ample shot and powder,
More guns than they well could man,
And plenty of swords and muskets
To ply when the fray began;
And watch and ward they kept strictly,
As the soldier's custom is,
For it was the last rag of his kingdom
King James could still call his.
More guns than they well could man,
And plenty of swords and muskets
To ply when the fray began;
And watch and ward they kept strictly,
As the soldier's custom is,
For it was the last rag of his kingdom
King James could still call his.
They had nights of wild adventure
When they roved in search of prey,
And nights of deep carousal
That lasted till break of day.
Where the Whigs were of late psalm-singing,
And their prayers had been loud and long,
Now the roof was with laughter ringing,
And ribald jest and song.
When they roved in search of prey,
And nights of deep carousal
That lasted till break of day.
Where the Whigs were of late psalm-singing,
And their prayers had been loud and long,
Now the roof was with laughter ringing,
And ribald jest and song.
They raided the coast of Lothian,
They plundered the towns of Fife,
They tithed the Merse to provide them
With bread to maintain their life.
But sixteen men in a fortress
Two miles out at sea,
What could they hope to accomplish?
What could their purpose be?
They plundered the towns of Fife,
They tithed the Merse to provide them
With bread to maintain their life.
But sixteen men in a fortress
Two miles out at sea,
What could they hope to accomplish?
What could their purpose be?
By day they would boast and swagger,
By night they would rob and steal
Where they found a cove to shelter,
Or a shore to beach their keel;
And they flaunted the king's broad banner
Aloft in the sun and rain,
And drank to his health, and shouted
He should soon have his own again.
By night they would rob and steal
Where they found a cove to shelter,
Or a shore to beach their keel;
And they flaunted the king's broad banner
Aloft in the sun and rain,
And drank to his health, and shouted
He should soon have his own again.
Wroth were the Lords of Council
When they met in Parliament,
And the Lion ship of battle
To the leaguer straight was sent:
But she had to lie off helpless
Till the sailors' hearts were sick,
For the guns of the Fort were heavy,
And they would have sunk her quick.
When they met in Parliament,
And the Lion ship of battle
To the leaguer straight was sent:
But she had to lie off helpless
Till the sailors' hearts were sick,
For the guns of the Fort were heavy,
And they would have sunk her quick.
The French king heard their story,
And thereon manned a ship
Which the Lion feared to tackle,
And straight away did slip;
So the French left fresh munitions,
And store of food and wine,
That they might maintain the battle,
And also bravely dine.
And thereon manned a ship
Which the Lion feared to tackle,
And straight away did slip;
So the French left fresh munitions,
And store of food and wine,
That they might maintain the battle,
And also bravely dine.
Around the Council table
The nobles gnashed their teeth;
Their swords hung at their girdles,
But each glued in its sheath.
A nation stood behind them
With all its power and might,
Yet sixteen men on the Bass Rock
Held out in their despite.
The nobles gnashed their teeth;
Their swords hung at their girdles,
But each glued in its sheath.
A nation stood behind them
With all its power and might,
Yet sixteen men on the Bass Rock
Held out in their despite.
Where was the ancient courage
That stood by the gallant Bruce?
And the large resource and patience
That sought nor peace nor truce?
Where were the daring spirits
That did to Wallace turn?
And where the skill of battle
That won at Bannockburn?
That stood by the gallant Bruce?
And the large resource and patience
That sought nor peace nor truce?
Where were the daring spirits
That did to Wallace turn?
And where the skill of battle
That won at Bannockburn?
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Once Scotland had her soldiers
Who could her cause make good—
Her Douglases and Randolphs,
Her brave Sir Andrew Wood,
Her Lindsays and her Leslies,
And hosts of fighting men;
But now she has Dalrymples,
And for the sword a pen.
Who could her cause make good—
Her Douglases and Randolphs,
Her brave Sir Andrew Wood,
Her Lindsays and her Leslies,
And hosts of fighting men;
But now she has Dalrymples,
And for the sword a pen.
It is craft they use for courage,
And blows dealt in the dark,
As the men of Glencoe can witness,
And no dog dares to bark;
They follow the ways of Rothes,
And Lauderdale, and those
Who sought but to find their profit
In the nation's wrongs and woes.
And blows dealt in the dark,
As the men of Glencoe can witness,
And no dog dares to bark;
They follow the ways of Rothes,
And Lauderdale, and those
Who sought but to find their profit
In the nation's wrongs and woes.
We hoped when the Papist monarch
Took shipping across the sea,
That all would be now well ordered,
And the people glad and free.
But their rule is weak and cruel,
And the nation rent and torn;
And sixteen men on the Bass Rock
Could laugh them all to scorn.
Took shipping across the sea,
That all would be now well ordered,
And the people glad and free.
But their rule is weak and cruel,
And the nation rent and torn;
And sixteen men on the Bass Rock
Could laugh them all to scorn.
For two long years it lasted,
That siege of the brave sixteen;
And when at length they yielded,
All hunger-pinched and lean,
They came off with flying colours
In soldierly array,
With sword, and dirk, and pistol,
And a sporran—with their pay!
That siege of the brave sixteen;
And when at length they yielded,
All hunger-pinched and lean,
They came off with flying colours
In soldierly array,
With sword, and dirk, and pistol,
And a sporran—with their pay!
Now, shame upon the laggards,
With hands so weak and slack,
To be mocked by these rough troopers,
With a nation at their back!
And to pay the rogues for robbing
The poor folk on the shore,
And send them away, still bragging
They would play the game once more!
With hands so weak and slack,
To be mocked by these rough troopers,
With a nation at their back!
And to pay the rogues for robbing
The poor folk on the shore,
And send them away, still bragging
They would play the game once more!
| The Poetical Works of Walter C. Smith | |