ha dyed the muir wi' hostile gore;
Wha slavery's bands indignant tore,
An' bravely fell for you an' me.

My gallant brithers, brave an' bauld,
Wha haud the pleugh, or wake the fauld,
Until your dearest bluid rin cauld,
Aye true unto your country be.
Wi' daring look her dirk she drew,
An' coost a mither's e'e on you;
Then let na ony spulzien crew
Her dear-bought freedom wrest frae thee.

JOHN STRUTHERS.

John Struthers, whose name is familiar as the author of "The Poor Man's
Sabbath," was born on the 18th July 1776, in the parish of East
Kilbride, Lanarkshire. His parents were of the humbler rank, and were
unable to send him to school; but his mother, a woman of superior
intelligence, was unremitting in her efforts to teach him at home. She
was aided in her good work by a benevolent lady of the neighbourhood,
who, interested by the boy's precocity, often sent for him to read to
her. This kind-hearted individual was Mrs Baillie, widow of the Rev. Dr
Baillie of Hamilton, who was then resident at Longcalderwood, and whose
celebrated daughter, Joanna Baillie, afterwards took a warm interest in
the fame and fortunes of her mother's _protege_. From the age of eight
to fourteen, young Struthers was engaged as a cowherd and in general
work about a farm; he then apprenticed himself to a shoemaker. On the
completion of his indenture, he practised his craft several years in his
native village till September 1801, when he sought a wider field of
business in Glasgow. In 1804, he produced his first and most celebrated
poem, "The Poor Man's Sabbath," which, printed at his own risk, was well
received, and rapidly passed through two editions. On the recommendation
of Sir Walter Scott, to whom the poem was made known by Joanna Baillie,
Constable published a third edition in 1808, handing the author thirty
pounds for the copyright. Actively employed in his trade, Struthers
continued to devote his leisure hours to composition. In 1816 he
published a pamphlet "On the State of the Labouring Poor." A more
ambitious literary effort was carried out in 1819; he edited a
collection of the national songs, which was published at Glasgow, under
the title of "The Harp of Caledonia," in three vols. 18mo. To this work
Joanna Baillie, Mrs John Hunter, and Mr William Smyth of Cambridge
contributed songs, while Scott and others permitted the re-publication
of such of their lyrics as the author cho