Glen Collection of printed music > Printed music > British minstrel, and musical and literary miscellany

274
THE BRITISH MINSTREL; ANIl
LOGAN BRAES.
" By TjOgan*3 streams that rin sae deep,
'Fa' aft wi' glee I've herded sheep;
Herded sheep, or gatlier'd slaes,
"Wi' my dear lad, on Logan braes.
But wae's my heart ! thae days are gane,
And I, wi' grief, may herd afane ;
"\VhiIe my dear lad maun face his faes.
Far, far frae me, an' Logan braes.
" Nae mair at Logan kirk will he
Atween the preachings meet wi' me ;
Meet wi' me, or when it's mir^.
Convoy me hame frae Logan kirk.
1 weel may sing thae days are gane —
Frae kirU an' fair I come alane,
"While my dear lad maun face his faes,
Far, far frae me, an' Logan braes !
" At e'en, when hope amaist is gane,
I dauner out, or sit alane,
Sit alane beneath the tree
"Where aft he kept his tryst wi' me.
I cou'd I see thae days again,
My lover skaithless, an' my ain !
Belov'd by frien's, rever'd by faes,
We'd live in bliss on Logan braes."
"While for her love she thus did sigh.
She saw a sodger passing by.
Passing by wi* scarlet claes,
A'Vhile sair she grat on Logan braes:
Says he, " What gars thee greet sae sair,
"What fills thy heart sae fu' o' care ?
Thae sporting lambs hae blythsome days.
An' piayfu' skip on Logan braes '?"
" "What can I do but weep and mourn ?
1 fear my lad will ne'er return.
Ne'er return to ease my waes,
"Will ne'er come hame to Logan braes."
"Wi' that he clasp'd her in his anns,
,And said, " I'm free from war's alarms,
I now ha'e conquer'd a' my faes,
"We'll happy live on Logan braes."
Then straight to Logan kirk they went,
Andjoin'd their hands wi' one consent,
"Wi' one consent to end their days.
An' live in bliss on Logan braes.
An' now she sings, " thae days are gane,
"When I wi' grief did herd alane,
"While my dear lad did fight his faes.
Far, far frae me an' Logan braes."
The above beautiful song is the production of John
Mayne, author of the " Siller Gun," " Glasgow,a poem,"
&c. Mayne was a native of Dumfries, but spent the
early part of his life in Glasgow, where he served an
apprenticeship as a compositor under the celebrated
printers, Foulis. He afterwards removed to London,
and was long connected there with the Star dailv
newspaper. He died on the 14th of March, 1836.
" Logan Braes'' was first printed in the Star news-
paper on the 2.3d May, 1789, and we believe consisted
originally of only the first two stanzas, to which,
indeed, the song, in singing, is generally limited. 'I'he
four additional stanzas first appeared in the Pocket
Encyclopedia of Song^, published at Glasgow in 1816.
and are probably uot by Mayne. — Book of Scottish
Song.
FIORELLO'S FIDDLE-STICK.
{From an American Magazine.)
Among the ineii of rank in London who were
distinguished during the last century for their love
of music, the Baron Ba)go held a promiiient j)lace.
This worthy man found music in every thing. Diil
a door creak upon its hinges, did a chair make a
shrill sound in gliding over the floor, presto ! in an
instant our melonianiac seizes his tablets and marks
down thecoirespondingniusicalinflections. There
was not, in short, an itinerant merchant of the
streets of London whose favourite cry had not been
reproduced in the collection of Baron Baygo. To
speak truth, however, it must be confessed that the
nuisical educatiim of our baron had not been of the
must thorough character, being rather superficial
than solid. He was consequently f)bliged to have
recourse to an amanuensis to note down for him, in
a proper and artist-like manner, all the noises, good,
bad, or indifferent, which figured in his musical
agenda.
To procure a person of sufficient tact and patience
to understand and humour all the baron's whims,
it may readily be imagined was no easy task.
Having changed a score of times his musical secre-
taries, he succeeded at length in attaching to him
the celebrated Fiorello, an Italian violinist of rare
talent, and as simple and candid in character as the
majority of his countrymen are crafty and astute.
Still the baron, in spite of the three hours which
lie devoted every day to the practice of the violin,
could never attain the faculty of playing with cor-
rectness ; and his hannonicidal hand was continually
entangled in difficulties, and made sad havoc with
the doleful. sounding flats.
Fiorello was almost in despair. At length the
baron one day throwing his violin on the floor, cried
out in a rage : " "ifes ! I have already restrained
myself too long ; but patience ! I ain determined
that these cursed flats shall bother me no longer I"
" What is it you mean, my lord?" said Fiorel'lo,
in astonishment.
" Why I mean to say," replied the baron, "that
this very night X will make a motion in the House
of Lords, to oblige musical composers from hence-
forth to leave out all those infernal flats from their
music, under a heavy penalty."
"Ah, ha!" said Fiorello, bursting into laughter,
" the proposal will be a pleasant one."
It will at least have a good moral effect, sir,"
replied the baron, with dignity. " Have we not a
statute against profane swearing?"
" Certainly, my lord."
" Well then, were it not for these vile flats, I
should not have broken it, for my own part, more
than a thousand times, since I commenced the
practice of the violin."
Itnever appeared, however, that the baron carried
his threat into execution.
One day, when the baron, after three years of
close application, had come to handle the bow
passably well, and could execute with tolerable
correctness a solo of Jarnovichi, (leaving out the
flats,) he declared to Fiorello that he had made uj)
his mind to give his friends a taste of the first fruits
of his newly -acquired talent ; and he accordingly
directed liiin to make arrangements for a concert
for the ensuing Saturday.
By order of the baron notes of invitation were
sent out to princes of the royal family, to the grand
dignitaries of the united kingdoms, to the speakers
of the two houses of parliament, and to the lord-
mayor of London. So well known in high life
were the foibles and eccentricities of the baron, that
each one took a malicious pleasure in accepting the
invitation.
The day appointed for the concert at length ar-