Blair Collection > Book of Common Order, commonly called John Knox's Liturgy

xxvi Notices of Bishop Carswell.
They shall raise thee the next day,
Then alternately bearing thy body ;
Young man, though great is thy mirth,
The game of the grave shall be played with thee.
A little bier which thou wouldst not like,
They shall take with thee to the mouth of the pit ;
The hand that was kindest to thee once,
Shall now shovel earth rapidly on thee.
They shall carry thee to the mouth of the grave
Without strength, without sight, without power ;
Thy friends following thee in grief,
And thou shalt be left there alone.
Miserable man, wilt thou not fear,
Seest thou death hastening towards thee ?
Thou art just as if on the brink of the grave.
Even although thou shouldst live longest of any.
There are numerous traditions throughout the West
Highlands respecting Carswell, and these have in some-
cases taken the shape of popular rhymes. One has
reference to his height, which is said to have been
uncommon. The following are the lines : —
An Carsalach mòr tha'n Carnasaraidh,
Tha na cuig cairt 'n a chasan ;
Tha 'dhroll mar dhruinnein na corra,
'S a sgròban lorn, gionach, farsaing.
In English —
The great Carswell of Carnassery,
There are five quarters (45 inches) in his legs ;
His rump is like the back of a crane,
His stomach empty, greedy, capacious.
Other fragments of a similar kind exist, but it is not
necessary to give them. They represent a feeling