HEATHER BEDS. 



the hunter's ear when he wakes from dreams of joy, 

 and has heard the music of the spirits of the hill." 



And Hogg, in his "Queen's Wake," in the narra- 

 tive of that never-to-be-forgotten bardic contest, draws 

 a comparison between the primitive and more hardy 

 methods of the nation's bards and those existing dur- 

 ing the period of Queen Mary's reign, in this manner : 



Unlike the bards, whose milky lays 

 Delight in these degenerate days ; 

 Their crystal spring and heather brown 

 Is changed to wine and couch of down. 

 Effeminate as lady gay 

 Such is the bard, so is his lay. 



We are reminded, says Geikie, that poetry was 

 born among the mountains ; that the bards were hunt- 

 ers and cragsmen, familiar with the corries where the 

 red deer pasture, and with the precipices where eagles 

 build. 



The Bed of Heath 



"Soldier, awake, the night is past. 

 Hear'st thou not the bugle's blast? 

 Feel'st thou not the day-spring's breath? 

 Rouse thee from thy bed of heath ; 

 Arm thou, bold and strong. 



"Soldier, what deep spell hath bound thee? 

 Fiery steeds are neighing round thee ; 

 Banners to the fresh wind play 

 Rise and arm 'tis day, 'tis day ! 

 And thou hast slumbered long." 



74 



