212 Lag's Elegy and Other Chap Books. 



the minister to the elder it would be easy in the second place to 

 confound the two dominies. 



" In his later years Irving produced no long poem, but occa- 

 sionally, as I have shewn, he scribbled short pieces displaying 

 some of the qualities so noticeable in ' Lag's Elegy.' That the 

 old man had the heart of a child is delightfully evident from one 

 entry in his diary : — ' April 25, 1769. This day the weather 

 turned warm, and the corn appeared above ground, the hawthorn 

 took leaves, and the gowk cryed.' 



" Irving died in May, 1782. He was buried in the churchyard 

 of Iloddom, which is also the repository of the dust of Charles 

 Kirkpatrick Sharpe, who often boasted of his connection with 

 Lag, the Persecutor. Peeping from the long grass of the church- 

 yard is a modest headstone bearing this inscription : — ' To the 

 memory of Mr William Irving, who was schoolmaster of this 

 parish for 36 years. He died May 11th, 1782, aged 78 years." 



" Turning our attention to works widely different in character 

 from the Covenanting chap-books, let us now glance at the once- 

 popular humorous writings of Dougal Grahani, who is described 

 by an admirer as — 



' The wittiest fellow in his time, 

 Either for prose or making rhyme.' 



Dougal was born at Haploch, near Stirling, probably in 1724, 

 attached himself to the Highland army in the second Jacobite 

 rebellion, and held on till all the hopes of Prince Charlie were 

 crushed on Drummossie Moor. Settling in Glasgow, he became so 

 great a favourite there that when a new bellman was required for 

 the city he obtained the post, which he held till his death in 1779. 

 The ablest of his prose tales is entitled ' The Whole Proceedings 

 of Jockey and Maggy.' This work is written with no small 

 vigour, and shows a thorough knowledge of certain phases of 

 Scottish life and character. In respect of language too it has 

 value, being rich in expressive words which have long been 

 obsolete. His ' History of John Cheap, the Chapman,' was more 

 popular than even ' The Whole Proceedings of Jockey and 

 Maggy.' If we may trust the account it gives of the life of the 

 Scottish chapman of a century and a half ago that life was a hard 

 one. Here is a brief extract desci'ibing one of John Cheap's 

 experiences in a farmhouse : ' On the morning I went into the 



