kingston chronicle nec rege nec populo sed utroque vol x saturday october 4 1828 no xiv poetry the original ballad of rob rot the followiog stanzas are printed from n small collection of old scotch ballads in the handwriting of robert bums from which we propose ere long to give some farther extracts the story relates not to the hero of the romance who died peace ably in bis bed in 1740 but to bis son rob roy macgregorog the younger tbis person appears to have inherited along with the name of his renowned sire much of the daring and turbulent spirit by which he bad been distinguished but young rob wanted his fathers prudence and discre tion and he signalized himself in so many irk and desperate adventures that as bailie larvie observes he could not expect 4o come to a good end accordingly after fceiusr outlawed in early youth for shooting a kinsman after being out in the 45 and subsequently engaged in many violent transactions he finally ended bis career on the gallows in 1754 for the achievement which in his trial before the high court of justiciary is termed the forcible abduction ot the iinii oi tsdiuocuy jud ulncfj has been celebrated by some nameless min strel in the followiog rude but character istic verses the ballad does not appear to have re ceived any addition or improvement from the pen of burns we remember at least of having heard it sung many years ago by an old highland croue from the banks of loch katrine in very nearly the 6ame terms in the present copy several stanzas have been omitted either as neing of infe rior merit or otherwise unworthy of publi cation tune a rude set of the mill mill o rob roy from thp highlands cam unto the lawland border to steal awa a gay ladie to haud bis house in order lie cam owre the lough o linn twenty men his arms did carry himself gaed in and fand bef out protesting be would marry 1 0 will ye o wi me he says or will ye be my honey or will ye be my wedded wife 1 for i love you best of ony v i winna go wi you she says nor will i be your honey nor will i be your wedded wife you love me for my money but he set her on a gude black steed himsel lap on behind her an hes awa to the highland hills where her friends they canna fiud her rob roy was my father cad mgregor was his name lady he led a band o heroes bauld an i am here tbe same lady be content be content be content an stay lady for thou art my wedded wife until thy dying day lady he was a hedge unto his friends a heckle to his foes lady every one that durst him wrang ho took him by the nose iady im as bold im as bold im as bold an more lady he that daurs dispute my word shall feel my good claymore lady here the song goes on to describe robs forced marriage with the lady four held her up before the priest cc after which tbe tune changes to something like jenny dang the weaver times pursuits from pollocks course of time in times pursuits men run till out of breath the astronomer soared up and counted stars and gazed and gazed upon the heavens bright face till he dropped down dimeyed into the grave the numerisl in calculations deep grew gray the merchant at bis desk ex pired the statesman hunted for another place till death overtook bim and made him his prey the miser spent hiseldest energy in grasping for another mite the scribe rubbed pensively his old and withered brow devising new impediments to hold la doubt the suit that threatened to end too soon the priest collected tythes and pleaded rights of decimation to the very last in science learning all philosophy men laboured all their days and laboured hard and dying sighed how little they had done but in religion they at once grew wise miscellany ak the shipwrecked wanderer from the mass journal the following story is strictly true and it is published in hopes some light may be thrown upon tbe fate of the hoy frequemly alluded to in the course of it the writer imagine no injury the facts can do any one and has hope they may do some good to the interesting individual concerned in the autumn ofl827 a gentleman in norridgewock maine was drawn to the counhouse in that place by the report that an irish woman had been taken up as a vagabond and was to he committed to jail when he entered the supposed culprit was bathing her forehead in some cold water which had been brought her and frequently clasped her temples as if she- were in pain though her dress was coarse and very much soiled and her ap pearance wretched and wayworn it was plain enough at a single glance that she was no vagobond- the answers she gave to the questions directed to her were wan dering and incoherent but though intel lect was evidently in ruins the broken fragmeut betrayed that it had been rich and highly cultivated her face had no great pretensions to beanty and its expres sion indicated intense mental suffering but her figure was graceful and her motions bad the staid yet easy majesty characteris tic of welleducated english women there was an air of modesty and dignity about her that even in her forelone condition would have protected her from the insults ot hie iijosiiliodgmlea hud as it irn evi dent that the poor wanderer labored at least under occasional delirium the gentle man after consulting his wife on the subject offered her the shelter of his house her lady like departmenther refined conversati on and extreme wretchedness completely gained the heart of her hostencss and here she lingered seven weeks while her new friends were trying to ascertain in what way they could render her tbe greatest as sistance her mind was often wandering sometimes absolutely frantic but during her intervals of reason she is described as an uncommonly fascinating and elegant be ing her walk was remarkably clastic and graceful she managed a horse finely and sang french songs with much last and feeling the account she gave of herself inkier collected moments is singularly ro mantic yet it has an air of truth about it she said she was the daughter of the wealthy doctor bowring of london and had two brothers one named william au gustus bowring who resides in london and the other whose christian name i have forgotten residing in bolton not far from london she married mr brahlee a law yer without property but as she says ve ry acceptable to her family on account of his worth and abilities this mr bradlee was a liberal in politics and religion anil having been rather too active to be well pleasing to the british government he grew disgusted with the state of things there and resolved upon making a pur chase in some part of america where it would be agreeable to establish himself and a family consisting of a wife one son and two little daughters for this purpose he visited the united states at the time la fayette was making his famous tour through the country following the dictates of doating parental love he brought his son with him his wife and daughters remain ed at his residence in bolton awaiting the result of his travels several anecdotes she told proved the genuineness of this part of her story among the rest she said her husband wrote at the dose ut uhg of lis letters to her lafayette has lost his trank and cane and the americans will rake the missisippi to find them her husbands letters iudicated that he was pleased with this country and intended to reside here in one of them he mentioned that he regretted having taken bis son george with him as the variety of new objects he saw and the attention he receiv ed were likely to prove injurious to bis character and manners and on that ac count be had placed him under the care of janes townsend of newhaven in subse quent letters he spoke very highly of mr townsend and seemed to have great con fidence in him mr bradlee took a fever and died i am not sure that his widow told where he died i believe it was in n haven the news soon reached london and win augustus bowing went immediately to bolton to in form his bereaved sister from her own account it is probable the tidings rendered her delirious for she says she does not re member much that happened to her till she found herself in a travelling carriage with her brother on her way from edinburgh and was told that the physicians had order ed her to travel for her health when her mind became comparatively calm her fa vorite piojectwas to bring her daughters to this country and educate the whole family here as she supposed her deceased husband had intended and wished previous to carrying this design into effectshe visited a relation in ireland lord agar and a- greeably to his advice sailed from belfast ireland in a vessel which i think was call ed the robroy an old and faithful nur serymaid who had loug lived in the fami ly accompanied her to take care of the lit tle girls she died on the passage and was thrown into the sea mrs bradlee and the children suffered very much from seasick ness but no alarming accident happened to them till they were near the coast of ca nada when in a very thick fog the vessel struck on a sandbar and the captain an nounced that bhe must inevitably sink then came all the horrible details of a ship wreck the shrieks and groans aud rush- in overboard of those who were delirious in their agony mrs bradlee with a moth ers instinct found her way to tbe cabin of her little ones and taking one on each shoulder attempted to get iuto the boat in which some of the passengers were trying to save themselves the side of the ves sel was wet and slippery and her brain was dizzy by some false step she lost her ballance and the children slipped from herembrace one fell into the water be tween the vessel aud the boat but she kept hold of the others little robe with a con vubive grasp but in the confusion of the moment the gown had merely been thrown over the child and when the frantic mo ther would have clasped the little one to her heart she found but an empty robe there is no eloquence in language to heighten the pathos of that heartrending scene of desolation and despair boats and dumbbells were sent out from quebec to pick up such passengers as might have escaped the wreck and mrs bradlees next recollection is of standing ou the seacoast alone in her misery seve ral eame up and spoke kiudly to her one wotnan in particular addressing her in french begged her to go home with her hfti bradlee answered in french after soii persuasion consented to go home witti her exclaiming but let me alone let m alone i is here necessary lo remark that there whs ii jittr utmiijt i id potr lrijiiuuoimwi the rob roy who were as usual coming to this couutry for employment mr brad lee being a liberal was of course a friend to these oppressed people and his widow cherishing his slightest opinions with the fond reverence so natural to bereaved wo men had ordered a large supply of provi sions and of little comforts for those who should happen to be sick during the voy age these things she often carried to their cabin herself and frequently exprss- ed to the captain her anxiety that they should have every thing that was necessa ry and convenient the gratitude of these poor creatures was almost unbounded they absolutely wor shiped her and her children those of them who were saved were perpetually around the door of the canadian hostess inquiring whether she had her reason and whether there was nothing a poor irishman could do to serve her her reply to these inquiries cinstantly was she thanked them but there va nothing now to be done for her last an irishman asked if there was- nothing he could do for her in neweurland where he was going by the new roite through the woods her imagination was instantly kindled n haven is in newengland thought she and i shall see my son here host and hostess said every thing it was possible to say to pursiade her to desist from her pur pose but sle had all the obstinacy and energy of imanity and no earthly power could detaib her her host told her he would 6ee her on hoard a vessel under the care of thos xv wouhl not lose sight of her till she reached newhaven if she would give u the design of going through the woods hut the allusion to a vessel made her lips tura pale and she would hold her temples and shriek finding all intreaties useless her kind canadian host furnishiug h w coarse cloathes and strong shoes suitable for travelling in the wilderness mrs bradlees account of her journey through the woods with these irish- ifieh wbffleu and children is very inter esting nothing but their respect could e- qual their kindness and attention when their vompanion was weary or when a streaiu was to be crossed they would make palanquin of boughs and carry her and when the insects were trou blesome they would keep green boughs waving around her in this manner she came through the woods treated with as much tenderness and respect as if 6he had been a beloved queen but grateful as she felt for these scrvicesher sense of propriety taught her that travelling irishmen were improper companions to be seen with her and as soon a they came to settlements she told them it would be best for them to separate at tie same time assuring them she should remember their kindness to her dying day how long she had been wandering about when she first attracted the attention in norridgewock is uncertain from her complaint of suffering from the heat as she passed through the woods it must have been several months she said all she re collected was that she frequently wakened up and found herself bathing her head by the 6ide of some stream probably the be wildered creature had wandered back and forth without knowing where she was go ing and when the water cooled the raging fire in her brain she thought she had just awaked many who saw her and heard her talk were convinced she was no im postor the deadly paleness and sudden frenzy which all allusions to tbe water oc casioned tbe burst of tears when the young childitn of the family attempted to caress her the piercing shriek she uttered when one of the children appeared in a little blue gown which she said was very like the one she had clasped to her heart when she thought she clasped her iufant all proved that the distressing talo was too true cas ual remarks and accidtntal associations which no imposter can counterfeit were in good keeping with her story she des cribed la grange which she said she had twice visited j a circumstance very likely to be true considering her husbands politics she shewed lie was no american by ask ing whether the penny post had got in she never boasted of her former wealth but her habits and tastes were all those of one used to the elegancies aud luxuries of a refined life once when she saw a handsome grey horse pass by she observed that is a fine animal he looks like the arabian greys they take so much pride in in eng land when asked if her family owned any of that breed she replied m we had six of the most beautiful creatures i ever looked upooand they were trained so well that at a whistle from the coachman they would all take their places ready for the harness while combing her hair one day she said to her hostess my side combs are sadly broken did you eversee gold side combs on being amtwered in the negative she added we have ele gant ones in england sir john gave me two beauties who is sir john enquir ed her hostess oh i forgot you would not know whom i meant he is sir john johnstone of montreal son of sir john johnstone who gave his name to a town in newyork a church and mansion house he built are still in tolerable repair my husband went to see them when he was in america on account of the friendship between the johnstone family and ours young sir john has a son in the 9ttb regi ment of his majestys troops my brother sent letters to sir john johnstone by me ttwa grumpily yuu lib utfltfuliu lo liiul when yon were in quebec said her hos tess it is a pity indeed she obsesved but i did not remember any thing about him then the gold combs brought him to my mind she said mr buchanan the british consul at newycrk was hercou sin on his mothers side her name baving been bowring she objected to writing to him until she could reach newhaven where her husband bad left all the funds he had with him in this country when urged todo it however she did notshrink from it but wrote a plain statement of her dis tressing shipwreck her letter was en closed in one from her host hegging to be informed whether such people as she had talked of lived in the places she mention ed and asking a multitude of minute ques tions likely to throw light on the affair a- nother letter was written to the postmas ter in newhaven connecticut in hopes of obtaining information concerning james townsend both these letters remained unanswered in the mean time her friends were laughed at by some for taking such interest in a common vagabond hut those who most observed her manness and heard her talk in the hours of rationality believed her story to be true she spoke of the former president wheelock as hav ing been one ofherfatherscorrespondents and related several domestic details she had read in his letters when told that the wife of president allen of brunswick was the daughter of president wheelock she ex pressed a wish to see her in hopes she had some of her fathers letters her hostess ac companied herto brunswick for this pur pose mrs allen had none of the letters but she recollected bowring of london as one of her fathers friends and when asked concerning the domesticdetails of the fami ly which mrs bradlee bad related she said they were strictly true president allen likewise knew of a sir john johnstone of montreal deceased from old sir john johnstone during the time all this was happening the wretched mother was with great diffi culty restrained from her wanderings newhaven and her hoy were the only i- deas that kept constant possession of her shattered mind and at times she was like a chained wild creature straining to be off once 6he made her escape but was over taken a few hours after and persuaded to return during tbis short absence her hos tess observed a small bunch under the car pet near her bedside and on removing it found it to be the little blue robe she had grasped at the time of tbe shipwreck it was very dirty and retained offensive marks of the childs seasickness when the wanderer was brought back her joy was great at finding the robe she thought she had lost she was very averse to hav ing it washed and the proposal seemed to distress her exceedingly after a few days she observed it is just as the little crea ture last wore it if it must be washed for decencys sake i wish it might be done without my knowledge answers to the letters did not arrive and the will of the maniac was no longer to be controlled comfortably dressed and fur nished with money and letters to the bri tish vice consul in portland she recom menced her journey a very rational let ter from her to her hostess announced the kind recaption she met from mr sherwood the british vice consul at portland and a polite letter from that gentleman express ed gratitude for her kindness to a distress ed countrywoman a conviction of the truth of her story and a perfect recollect- ion of tbe circumstances of the shipwreck to which she alluded another letter from mrs bradlee dated boston spoke of the kindnes of several euglish people in that place aid her intention to go to newha ven immediately this is the last that has been heard of her after her departure a letter frm the postmaster in newhaven was received in which the writer apologiz ed for his silence by stating he bad been a longtime absent the amount of this let ter was that he knew of no gentleman by tbe naue of james townsend iu that place about ue same time a letter was received from james buchauau esq of newyork ii was ery cold aud laconic answered no questions disclaimed relationship with a persoo y the name of mrs bradlee said the woman wn delirious and should be put iuty au hospital no one knows what has become of this interesting wanderer perhaps when she arrived at newhaven and found her pur suit hopeless the little light in her mind was extinguished forever if her story be an imposition it certainly does not seem like it there are five or six newhavens in the united states if james townsend resides in any one of them we trust he will lose no time in making these circum stances known to william augustus bow ring london provided there is such a per son to be found delphi and its modern inhabitants no situation can well surpass the ap proach to delphi its grand and theatri cal appearance combined with its ancient celebrity its mouldering ruins and its fall en state form such extreme contrasts that it is difficult to decide whether more regret is excited by its departed splendour or more satisfaction felt in still beholding some remains of its former magnificence prorsus ut incertum sit utrum munimen- tum loci an majestasdei plus hie admira- tionis haheat the very locality breath ed the presence of apollo tbe first objects which attract the at- iolltlou iltcuhivusl pioclpicvtt ol thlic sus which rise nearly in perpendicular ma jesty behind the humble cottages of kas- tri and form the two noble points celebra ted in antiquity the vale is circular and deep and surrounded by the rough and bar ren rocks of parmassos and kirphis by which it seems excluded from the rest of the world part of the vale is planted with olives and mulberry trees and the corn grows on the terraces which were raised by the delphians for the security oftheir temples and their habitations which could not otherwise have been sup ported against the rapidity oftbe descent the inhabitants of this valley exhibit a people in a state of more inartificial and simple existence than any 1 have before seen tbis was written before the pre sent revolution began indeed they have little to do out of their own valley and their poverty while it keeps them at home affords no inducement for the in trusion of tbe turks they are however governed by an agha who bears a good character amongst them our arrival excited the eager curiosity of the kasriotes they crowded into our cottage where every thing we had was a matter of astonishment they were so much pleased with our sugar that every one begged a little bit and it is difficult to describe the surprise which they manifest ed when they saw me use india rubber to efface some pencil lines the grown up persons stared at each other and observ ed that i was apolugnosticosoothropos the children ran away and said i was the devil the kastriote women are distinguish ed by their native beauty and their una dorned elegance to fine figures they u- nite handsome profiles good teeth and large black eyes we went one day to a cottage to inquire for coins and making the woman of the house a compliment for her good looks she seemed highly pleased ind said she bad been handsome when young and that it was now her sunset ijjii however she had five daughters all as handsome as she had been and whom she would shew us if we would dance at her cottage the next day during our con versation two of her daughters came in with large pitchers on their heads with water from the kastaliau spring and convinced us that she had spoken the truth it gave us pleasure to find that most of the poor inhabitants of kaslri could read and write and could also speak both the greek the albanianor arbaniticlangtta ges although greece in general is in a state of ignorance several parts of great britain as well as other civilized and en lightened countries are in the same situa tion butthe mind is more forcibly struck in tbe formercase by the contrast between its ancient and its present state when greece monopolized the learning of the world our island was in a state of barba rism at present the case is the reverse apollo and the muses have fled from greece to hyperborean climes and england is the favored seat of useful knowledge and elegant erudition yet kastri has its school although tbe famous island of lona the boast of scotland in her better days and the seat oflearning and religion has not even a school nor one single person who can read or write i have made this digression ferthe pur pose of undeceiving those who imagine that the modern greeks in general are immersed in the deepest ignorance and that the poorest inhabitants of the remote parts of great britain are superior to tliem both in understanding and education the greeks however are far our superi ors in native genius quickness of percep tion and natural intellect as we are su perior to the icelanders and laplanders but education extricated us from our natu ral darkness as the want of it has plunged the greeks into an obscurity illsuiting their natural genius but happily learn ing is reviving and beginning again to take root in its native soil where if pro perly cultivatedit will again flourish but will probably never rear its head so high as in the days of its power aud indepen dence the village of kastri consists of ninety cottages the inhabitants arc aruauts and have the same costumes as the galaxidi- otes the poorer people live in cottages which consist of only one long room the wealthier and among them the papas have houses with two rooms raised on a second floor the lower part being divided into a stable cowhouse and cellar the cold was extremely piercing and the house which we occupied bad neither chimney nor glass to the windows the smoke was so painfulto our eyes that in spite of the inclemency of the weather we were obli ged to keep tbe shutters open but the people of the house were so inured to tbis nuisance that they beheld our fastidious ness with a contemptuous smile the papas has a wife three 6ons and a daughter the eldest son a short time be fore our arrival married a fine girl of the village she paid us a visit and on enter ing the room made some very low bows and kissed our hands she then kissed her own hand with which she touched our hands at the same time saying sas pros- kuno a salutation of this kind denotes the greatest respect it is practised in the mountainous parts of italy and is an an cient custom she repeated her saluta tions so frequently that i was induced to ask if there was any particular reason for it and was informed by the papas that sri witotiic uotmiiou ueraiuuiiidl windo new ly married women practised towards stran gers who came to their house and which it would be deemed irreligious and inhos pitable to neglect tbe young husband also we corned us with great good na ture and native politeness the most curious part of the menage but not the most agreeable to us was the manner in which we passed tbe night the second room being full of olives and sacks of corn we all slept in the same cham ber the papas and his family occupied one end of the room and we took the o- ther part they slept upon mats spread upon the floor and to make up for the de ficiency of blankets kept their clothes on the papas and his wife the papadia occu pied one mat the new married couple a- nother and the rest of the family lay scat tered in different parts of the room their curiosity was very great to see us go to bed indeed it was reciprocal and if wa were surprised at seeing them sleep with their clothes on they were still more at seeing us undress a circumstance occurred which though trifling in itself is mentioned in this place as strongly characteristic of the simple and pastoral habits of these poor people the cow of the papas having recently calved and the weather being extremely cold the calf was brought up every night and slept by the fire side with the rest of the family et pecus etdoroinos commu nis clauserat umbra or as one of or poets express it shelter atoncefor man and beast supplied we here noticed a custom which is pre valent throughout the greater part of ita ly aud is probably of ancient date the person who after sunset brought the light into the room wished the company a good evening and the same salutation was returned by them all frequently re peating the words kale hespera the kastalian spring is clear and forms an excellent beverage but i confess that its waters produced none of thoae effects upon me which were felt by travellers of more lively imaginations or more tender stomachs than myself mr spon it seems was converted into a poet by its draught while in dr chand ler a far more credible fact it manifested its effects in a stomach ache and a shiver ing fit but if similar results were the u- niform product of tbe kastalian springs we might expect to find all the inhabitants of kastri particularly liable to frigid shi- verings or poetic ecstacies the water which oozes from the rock was in ancient times introduced into a hollow square where it was retained for tbe use of tbe pythiaand oracular priests some steps that are cut in the rock formed a descent to this bath the face and sides of the precipiceswhich enclose the spring have been cut and flattened it was no doubt anciently covered in for it cannot well he imagined that the pythoness laved her holy limbs in open day a circular niche which was probably designed for a statue is cut in the face of the rock a small arch and passage is seen on the wes tern side a little above the usual level of tbe spring this was made to let ofl the su perfluous water at the opposite side is the diminutive chapel of st john which seems to have been contrived in order to exhibit the triumph of the cross over the adoration of apollo and the muses the fountain is ornamented with pen dant ivy and overshadowed by a large fig- tree the roots of which have penetrated tho fissures of the rock while its wide spread ing branches throw a cool and refreshing gloom over this interesting spot at the front of the spring we were gratified by the sight of a majestic plane tree that merely defends it from the rays oftbe sun which shines upon it only a few hours in the day homer in bis bymu to apollo mentions the fountain delphonsa at this place pro bably meaning the kastalian dodwdls classical tour in greece administration of the earl of dalhols1e concluded it was besides desirable to leave the assembly to their own course which it