Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 8.djvu/65

Rh —purchased by Alexander Hill, Esq., and now the property of Miss Davidson of Durievale, Fife.

—This is the well-known scene described by the Reformer himself, in which the beautiful queen, irritated by his bold sentiments about the limited power of sovereigns, and the liberty of their subjects, burst into tears.

, a scene at Abbotsford, in the interior of Sir Walter Scott's breakfast-room.

. In the tale of the "Heart of Mid-Lothian," Sir Walter Scott, after describing the dress, look, and attitude of the stern old father, adds, "So happily did they assort together, that, should I ever again see my friends Wilkie or Allan, I will try to borrow or steal from them a sketch of this very scene." This was a fair challenge, which Allan gladly accepted, and the picture of the meeting at Roseneath was the result.

—In this great event of Scottish history, the painter, instead of confining himself to the strict historical record, has adopted the poetical description of Sir Walter Scott in his ballad of Cadzow. This gave the artist an opportunity of introducing several personages who were not present at the scene, such as John Knox, and the Earl of Morton.

—The scene is that in the glover's house, when Henry of the Wynd was suddenly awoke on Valentine's morn by the bashful salute of the fair object of his affections, according to the established custom of the festival.

—The central and chief object in this painting is the death of Colonel Gardiner, amidst the small handful of English infantry whom he joined when his cavalry had deserted him.

—In this painting, the portraits of the principal friends of the artist and poet are introduced within the interior of Hogg s house at Eltrive, after a day spent in trouting and rambling among the mountains.

—The terrible and heart-rending fidelity and power of this delineation have always placed it in the foremost rank of Allan's artistic productions. A young man, the son of a fisherman, has just returned from a long voyage in a merchant ship, and been welcomed by his parents, relatives, and mistress: the triumphant feast is prepared, and the happiness of the party has reached its height, when a press-gang suddenly rushes in, and the sailor-boy is within their grasp, and about to be carried off. The agony of the parents; the fruitless attempt of the mother to bribe the leader of the gang; the stupor of the aged grandfather and grandmother, with whom this seems to be the last, as well as the most crushing affliction which a long-spent and now worn-out life could have in store for them—and saddest of all, the half-dressed maiden who has hurried to welcome her lover's return, but only to lose him, and who has fallen into an insensibility that might be mistaken for death—compose a group of misery which art has seldom equalled, and perhaps never surpassed.

These are but a few of Allan's many productions, which were prized by competent judges as masterpieces of historical painting, and the greater part of which