Page:Ballads, Stevenson, 1890.djvu/78

 A periwig'd lord of London,2

Called on the clans to rise.

And the riders rode, and the summons

Came to the western shore,

To the land of the sea and the heather,

To Appin and Mamore.

It called on all to gather

From every scrog and scaur,

That loved their fathers' tartan

And the ancient game of war.

And down the watery valley

And up the windy hill,

Once more, as in the olden,

The pipes were sounding shrill;

Again in highland sunshine

The naked steel was bright;

And the lads, once more in tartan,

Went forth again to fight.

"O, why should I dwell here

With a weird upon my life,

When the clansmen shout for battle

And the war-swords clash in strife?

I cannae joy at feast,

I cannae sleep in bed, 66