William Drummond of Hawthornden

“ DRUMMOND, WILLIAM (1585–1649) , called “of Hawthornden,” Scottish poet, was born at Hawthornden, near Edinburgh, on the 13th of December 1585. His father, John Drummond, was the first laird of Hawthornden; and his mother was Susannah Fowler, sister of William Fowler (q.v.) , poet and courtier. Drummond received his early education at the high school of Edinburgh, and graduated in July 1605 as M.A. of the recently founded university of Edinburgh. ”

“ WILLIAM DRUMMOND, OF HAWTHORNDEN
O than the fairest day, thrice fairer night!
Night to blest days in which a sun doth rise
Of which that golden eye which clears the skies
Is but a sparkling ray, a shadow-light! ”

“ Among those with whom he had amicable intercourse, was William Drummond, the poet, then in the prime of life, and living as a bachelor in his romantic mansion of Hawthornden, on the Esk, seven miles from Edinburgh. It is probable that Drummond and Jonson had met before in London, and indulged together in the ‘wit-combats’ at the Mermaid and similar scenes. Indeed, there is a prevalent belief in Scotland that it was mainly to see Drummond at Hawthornden that Jonson came so far from home. ”

“ Two other poets of considerable interest and merit belong to this period, who are rather Scotch than English, but who have usually been included in histories of English literature—Drummond of Hawthornden, and Sir William Alexander, Earl of Stirling. Both, but especially Drummond, exhibit equally with their English contemporaries the influences which produced the Elizabethan Jacobean poetry; and though I am not myself disposed to go quite so far, the sonnets of Drummond have sometimes been ranked before all others of the time except Shakespere's. ”

“ So with a friendly farewell I left him as well as I hope never to see him in a worse estate ; for he is amongst Noblemen and Gentlemen that knowe his true worth, and their own honours, where with much respective [respectful] love he is worthily entertained." This was about the 20th September. He paid many other visits, including one to the elegant and scholarly poet, William Drummond of Hawthornden, near Edinburgh.* This, according to Gifford, occu- pied the greater part of April 1619 ”

“ Though Spenser's genius may have had a richer efflorescence than Dunbar's, if the mass of their work be critically weighed, quality by quality, the balance, when struck, would rest remarkably evenly between them. Drummond of Hawthornden is perhaps the most richly-gifted writer in early Scottish literature, as an all-round man of letters. But as a poet the palm must ever remain with Dunbar.
The study of the breaks which occur in the poetic succession of any literature is always interesting. ”

“ The Ascent of Man was less successful. D. was a man of great personal fascination, and wrote in an interesting and suggestive manner, but his reasoning in his scientific works was by no means unassailable.
DRUMMOND, WILLIAM (1585-1649) . —Poet, was descended from a very ancient family, and through Annabella D., Queen of Robert III., related to the Royal House. Ed. at Edin. Univ., he studied law on the Continent, but succeeding in 1610 to his paternal estate of Hawthornden, he devoted himself to poetry. ”

“ Las' tam he's gone off on de Mattawa
Say he's got 'noder wan w'en he's come nex' spring
Was mak' me for sure Madame Dandurand.
"I t'ank you de sam' M'Sieu Paul Joulin
I s'pose I mus' be de wife wan poor man
Wit' no chance at all for de Grande Moulin,
But leev all de tam on some small cabane."
De Notaire Publique den is tak' hees hat,
For he t'ink sure enough dat hees dog she's dead;
Dere's no use mak' love on de girl lak dat,
Wit' not'ing but young feller on de head. ”

“ It is two centuries and a half since Drummond of Hawthornden died; but he is still one of the most interesting figures in Scottish history. “A genius the most polite and verdant that ever the Scottish nation produced” was the character given of him in 1656 by Milton’s nephew and pupil, Edward Phillips, in the preface to a collective edition of Drummond’s poems brought out in London that year under Phillips’s editorial care. ”

“ In front of the mansion of Hawthornden is a venerable sycamore, said to be five hundred years old. In the month of January, 1619, according to a favorite and oft-told story, Drummond was sitting beneath this tree, when he saw and recognized the huge form of Ben Jonson, as that rollicking hero sauntered toward him along the private road. Jonson had walked all the way from London to see what could be seen in Scotland, and one of the attractions had been an invitation from Drummond, who was now beginning to be known in England, to spend two or three weeks at his home. ”

“ DRUMMOND, WILLIAM, first Viscount of Strathallan (1617?–1688) , royalist general, was the fifth and youngest son of John Drummond, second Baron Maderty, by his wife, Helen, eldest daughter of Patrick Lesly, commendator of Lindores. His father was among the first of the nobility who joined the Marquis of Montrose at Bothwell after the battle of Kilsyth in 1645, for which he suffered imprisonment. Born in 1617 or 1618, Drummond was educated at the university of St. ”

“ In 1619, Ben Jonson visited him at Hawthornden. The pair were not well assorted. Brawny Ben and dreaming Drummond seem, in the expressive coinage of De Quincey, to have 'interdespised;' and is not their feud, with all its circumstances, recorded in the chronicles of the 'Quarrels of Authors' compiled by the elder Disraeli? The death of a lady sent Drummond travelling over Europe —the death of a King sent him away on a farther and a final journey. ”

“ When Lord Balmerino was put on his trial on the capital charge of retaining in his possession a petition regarded as a libel on the king’s government, Drummond in an energetic “Letter” (1635) urged the injustice and folly of the proceedings. About this time a claim by the earl of Menteith to the earldom of Strathearn, which was based on the assertion that Robert III., husband of Annabella Drummond, was illegitimate, roused the poet’s pride of blood and prompted him to prepare an historical defence of his house. ”

“ Drummond had died in 1649, leaving in manuscript, at Hawthornden or in Edinburgh, not only his History of Scotland from 1423 to 1542, or through the Reigns of the Five Jameses, but also various other prose-writings, and a good deal of verse in addition to what he had published in his life-time. Drummond's son and heir being under age, the care of the MSS. had devolved chiefly on Drummond's brother-in-law, Sir John Scot of Scotstarvet, a well-known Scottish judge, antiquary, and eccentric. ”

“ He married, first, Barbara, daughter of David Tomb of Belfast, and had several children, of whom William Bruce Drummond and two daughters survived him; and secondly, Catherine (d. 22 April 1879) , daughter of Robert Blackley of Dublin, by whom he left issue Robert Blackley Drummond, minister of St. Mark's, Edinburgh; James Drummond, LL.D., principal of Manchester New College, London, and a daughter; another daughter by the second marriage died before him.
Drummond as a poet is natural, pleasing and melodious, rich in pathos, and full of enthusiasm. ”

“ But no gettin' off—mus' strike wit' de res',
No matter—it might be worse—
We 're savin' along—never lose a day,
An' ready w'en bugle blow—"
But dat was de very las' word she say,
For dere it commence to go,
Blowin' away on de mountain dere,
W'ere snow very seldom melts,
Down by de reever an' ev'ryw'ere,
We could n't hear not'ing else—
Nobody stop to fin' out de place,
Too busy for dat to-day—
But we never forget de law in de case
W'en feller he spik dis way—
"Strike for your home an' your own contree! ”

“ More finer dan de Presbytere, w'en I am come riche man!"
I say "For w'at you spik lak dat? you must be gone crazee
Dere's plaintee feller on de State, more smarter dan you be,
Beside she's not so healtee place, an' if you mak' l'argent,
You spen' it jus' lak Yankee man, an' not lak habitant.
"For me Bateese! I tole you dis: I'm very satisfy—
De bes' man don't leev too long tam, some day Ba Gosh! he die—
An' s'pose you got good trotter horse, an' nice famme Canadienne
Wit' plaintee on de house for eat—W'at more you want ma frien'?" ”

“ Ev'ryboddy seem glad w'en dey see her, come
walkin' right down de platform,
An' way dey mak' noise on de han' den, w'y!
it's jus' lak de beeg tonder storm!
I'll never see not'ing lak dat, me, no matter
I travel de worl',
An' Ma-dam, you t'ink it was scare her? Non,
she laugh lak de Chambly girl!
Dere was young feller comin' behin' her, walk
nice, comme un Cavalier,
An' before All-ba-nee she is ready an' piano
get startin' for play,
De feller commence wit' hees singin', more
stronger dan all de res',
I t'ink he's got very bad manner, know not'ing
at all politesse. ”

“ Funny feller 's w'at dey call me—"so diff'ren' from de res',"
But ev'rybody got hees fault, as far as I can see—
An' all de t'ing I 'm doin', I do it for de bes',
Dough w'en I 'm bettin' on a race, dat 's often loss for me—
"Oho!" I say, "Alphonse ma frien', to-day is not your day,
For more you got your money up, de less your trotter go—
But never min' an' don't lie down," dat 's w'at I alway say,
An' sing de sam' ole song some more, mebbe a leetle slow—
"Jus' tak' your chance, an' try your luck." ”

“ Of folk from aroun' de place,
Billy Dufresne, an' ole Champagne,
Comin' to see de race,
Wit' plaintee of stranger I never see,
An' some of dem from Pointe Claire,
All of dem bringin' de familee,
W'enever dere 's room to spare.
Wonderful sight—I 'm sure you say—
To see how Societee
(W'atever dat mean?) she got de way
Of foolin' de w'ole contree.
Den I 'm heetchin' de horse on de fence, for fear
Somebody run away,
So man wit' de bugle he 's comin' near,
An' dis is de t'ing he say—
"You see any fox to-day, ma frien',
Runnin' aroun' at all,
You know any place he got hees den? ”

“ Daniel remained abroad several years, and returning, cured of his attachment, he married Giustina Florio, of a family of Waldenses, who [Pg 267] had fled from the frightful persecutions carried on in the Italian Alps against that miserable people. With her, he appears to have been sufficiently happy to forget the pain of his former repulse, and enjoy, without one regretful pang, the fame it had given him as a poet.
Drummond, of Hawthornden, [111] is yet more celebrated, and with reason. He has elegance, and sweetness, and tenderness ”

“ Some nice fresh feesh for de familee,"
Many a tam he was say to me—
An' den I 'm quiet, too scare to spik,
Wile Pierre he paddle me down de crick,
Easy an' nice he mak' her go
Close to de shore w'ere de bulrush grow,
W'ere de pike an' de beeg feesh lak to feed,
Deir nose stickin' out w'ere you see de weed—
"Lissen, ma boy," say Pierre Nadeau,
"To some of de t'ing you ought to know:
Kip a lookout on de hook an' line,
In case dey 're gettin' too far behin';
For it 's purty hard job know w'at to do,
If de reever weed 's ketchin' hol' of you. ”

“ Slidin' into de pool below—
Look at de loon w'en de breeze is ketch heem
Shakin' hese'f as he cock de eye!
Takes a nice leetle win' to fetch heem,
So he 's gettin' a chance to fly.
Every bird dey mus' kip behin' heem
W'en he 's only jus' flap de wing,
Ah! dere he 's goin'—but never min' heem,
For lissen de robin begin to sing—
Trout 's comin' up too!—dat 's beeg rise dere,
Four of dem! Golly! it 's purty hard case,
No rod here, an' dey 're all good size dere!
Don't ax me not'ing about de place.
No use nobody goin' murder
T'ree an' four pounder lak dat, siree! ”

“ Never was poet or romancer more fitly shrined. Drummond at Hawthornden, Scott at Abbotsford, Dickens at Gad's Hill, Irving at Sunnyside, were not more appropriately sheltered. Shut up in his tower, he could escape from the tumult of life, and be alone with only the birds and the bees in concert outside his casement. The view from this apartment, on every side, was lovely, and Hawthorne enjoyed the charming prospect as I have known, few men to enjoy nature. ”

“ An' if I marry on dat girl, Bagosh! she's lak de Queen.
"I want you mak de promise now, before it's come too late,
An' I mus' tole you dis also, dere's not moche tam for wait.
Your foot she's hangin' down so low, I'm 'fraid she ketch de cole,
Wall! if you give me Emmeline, I pull you out de hole."
Dat mak' de ole man swear more hard he never swear before,
An' wit' de foot he's got above, he's kick it on de floor,
"Non, non," he say "Sapré tonnerre! she never marry you,
An' if you don't look out you get de jail on St. Mathieu." ”

“ De ole man 's gettin' on.
Pioneers If dey 're walkin' on de roadside, an' dey 're bote in love togeder,
An' de star of spring is shinin' wit' de young moon in between,
It was purty easy guessin' dey 're not talkin' of de wedder,
W'en de boy is comin' twenty, an' de girl is jus' eighteen.
It 's a sign de winter 's over, an' it 's pleasan' hear de talkin'
Of de bull-frog on de swamp dere wit' all hees familee—
But it 's lonesome doin' not'ing, an' dere 's not moche fun in walkin',
So we fin' some fence dat 's handy for mese'f an' Rosalie. ”

“ I 'd lick heem till he 's cryin' purty hard,
An' for fear he 's gettin' spile, I 'd geev' heem castor ile,
An' I would n't let heem play outside de yard."
If you see ma leetle boy Dominique
Hangin' on to poor ole "Billy" by de tail,
W'en dat horse is feelin' gay, lak I see heem yesterday,
I s'pose you t'ink he 's safer on de jail? ”