Mercer Chronicle

X THE MERCER CHRONICLE.
Outside " the House" great David is their man;
Nor cling to precept ; but the example scan !
" Against Thee, Thee only" 3 they think, may day by day,
Be uttered vainly while they vainly pray !
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That thou be right our clan to dearly prize,
Excuse your friend if now I plagiarize.
They for a People's Park 4, did gladly pay,
When cant was not the order of the day !
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" On Mercer's scutcheon, in a field of gold " 5
Two crosses pattee gules in chief behold ;
A third in base, while in a fesse gules too,
Three gleaming bezants are displayed to view ;
" Crux Christi nostra corona " the scroll
Bears as a motto, underneath the whole.
By the red cross the pilgrim knight is known,
While by the bezants 6 ample wealth is shown.
From these we learn that when King Louis led
His gallant warriors their heart's blood to shed
In heathen lands — the blessed cross to plant
Where the vile crescent then reigned dominant,
Brave Scotia sent her warlike sons to aid
The saintly monarch in this eighth crusade :
3 Psalm li. 4.-7. 8.
4 The North and South Inches of Perth, which form two pleasant
parks for the people, and which were once the property of "the Mercer
family.'— J. S.
5 From the " Mercer Chronicle," by Seannachie, a. d. 1859. This
pamphlet seems to have been suggested by "the book printed in 1831
by the Maitland Club, called ' Mercer's Chronicle, ' compiled by John
Mercer, Town Clerk of Perth, who flourished during the middle of the
17th century, and who purchased Potterhill, near Perth, ' from Mr, James
Mercer, only son of William Mercer, son and heir of the late Andrew
Mercer, Burgess, of Perth, on 15th May, 1639.'"— I. JS.
6 We in Ireland have a different tradition of the Bezants, which are a
Eyzantine coin, acquired in great numbers by our Flemish ancestors in
their intercourse with the East. — I. S.