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hildren, and it produced from Gilbert the only poem of his childhood worth quoting. I cannot date it, but the very immature handwriting and curious spelling mark it as early. Probably most children have read, or at any rate up to my own generation, had read, Aytoun's _Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers_, and played at being Cavaliers as a result. But Gilbert could not play at being a Cavalier. He had learned from his father to be a Roundhead, as had every good Liberal of that day. What was to be done about it? He took the _Lays_ and rewrote them in an excellent imitation of Aytoun, but on the opposite side. In view of his own later developments such a line as "Drive the trembling Papists backwards" has an ironic humour. But one wonders what Aytoun himself would have made of a small boy who took his rhythm and sometimes his very words, turned his hero into a traitor ("false Montrose") and his traitor Argyll into a hero! I have left the spelling untouched. Sing of the Great Lord Archibald Sing of his glorious name Sing of his covenenting faith And his evelasting fame. One day he summoned all his men To meet on Cruerchin's brow Three thousand covenenting chiefs Who no master would allow Three thousand Knights With clamores drawn And targets tough and strong Knights who for the right Would ever fight And never bear the wrong. And he creid (his hand uplifted) "Soldiers of Scotland hear my vow Ere the morning shall have risen I will lay the trators low Or as ye march from the battle Marching back in battle file Ye shall there among the corpses Find the body of Argyll. Soldiers Soldiers onward onward Onward soldiers follow me Come, remember ye the crimes Of the fiend of fell Dundee Onward let us draw our clamores Let us draw them on our foes Now then I am threatened with The fate of false Montrose. Drive the trembling Papists backwards Drive away the Tory's hord Let them tell thier hous of villians They have felt the Campbell's sword." And the next morn he arose And he girded on his sword They asked him many questions But he answered not a word. And he summoned all his men And he led them to the field And We creid unto our master That we'd die and never yield. That same morn we drove right backwards All the servants of the Pope And Our Lord Archibald we saved
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