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Title: A Lowden Sabbath Morn
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
Illustrator: A. S. Boyd
Release date: March 11, 2011 [eBook #35546]
Most recently updated: January 7, 2021
Language: English
Credits: Produced by David T. Jones, Ross Cooling and the Online
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A LOWDEN SABBATH MORN ***
A LOWDEN SABBATH MORN
THE PRAYER p. 16
BY ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON
ILLUSTRATED BY A. S. BOYD
& PUBLISHED AT LONDON BY
CHATTO & WINDUS MCMIX
First Illustrated Edition published 1898, and a Second Impression in the same year.
New Edition in 1907; and with Coloured Frontispiece in 1909.
Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson & Co.
At the Ballantyne Press, Edinburgh
TO
THE MEMORY OF
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED
BY
THE ILLUSTRATOR
A Lowden Sabbath Morn
I
The clinkum-clank o' Sabbath bellsNoo to the hoastin' rookery swells,Noo faintin' laigh in shady dells,Sounds far an' near,An' through the simmer kintry tellsIts tale o' cheer.
II
An' noo, to that melodious play,A' deidly awn the quiet sway—A' ken their solemn holiday,Bestial an' human,The singin' lintie on the brae,The restin' plou'man.
III
He, mair than a' the lave o' men,His week completit joys to ken;Half-dressed, he daunders out an' in,Perplext wi' leisure;An' his raxt limbs he'll rax againWi' painfü' pleesure.
IV
The steerin' mither strang afitNoo shoos the bairnies but a bit;Noo cries them ben, their Sinday shüitTo scart upon them,Or sweeties in their pouch to pit,Wi' blessin's on them.
V
The lasses, clean frae tap to taes,Are busked in crunklin' underclaes;The gartened hose, the weel-filled stays,The nakit shift,A' bleached on bonny greens for daysAn' white's the drift.
VI
An' noo to face the kirkward mile:The guidman's hat o' dacent style,The blackit shoon, we noo maun fyleAs white's the miller:A waefü' peety tae, to spileThe warth o' siller.
VII
Our Marg'et, aye sae keen to crack,Douce-stappin' in the stoury track,Her emeralt goun a' kiltit backFrae snawy coats,White-ankled, leads the kirkward packWi' Dauvit Groats.
VIII
A thocht ahint, in runkled breeks,A' spiled wi' lyin' by for weeks,The guidman follows closs, an' cleiksThe sonsie missis;His sarious face at aince bespeaksThe day that this is.
IX
And aye an' while we nearer drawTo whaur the kirkton lies alaw,Mair neebours, comin' saft an' slawFrae here an' there,The thicker thrang the gate, an' cawThe stour in air.
X
But hark! the bells frae nearer clang;To rowst the slaw, their sides they bang;An' see! black coats a'ready thrangThe green kirkyaird;And at the yett, the chestnuts spangThat brocht the laird.
XI
The solemn elders at the plateStand drinkin' deep the pride o' state:The practised hands as gash an' greatAs Lords o' Session;The later named, a wee thing blateIn their expression.
XII
The prentit stanes that mark the deid,Wi' lengthened lip, the sarious read;Syne wag a moraleesin' heid,An' then an' thereTheir hirplin' practice an' their creedTry hard to square.
XIII
It's here our Merren lang has lain,A wee bewast the table-stane;An' yon's the grave o' Sandy Blane;An' further ower,The mither's brithers, dacent men!Lie a' the fower.
XIV
Here the guidman sall bide aweeTo dwall amang the deid; to seeAuld faces clear in fancy's e'e;Belike to hearAuld voices fa'in saft an' sleeOn fancy's ear.
XV
Thus, on the day o' solemn things,The bell that in the steeple swingsTo fauld a scaittered faim'ly ringsIts walcome screed;An' just a wee thing nearer bringsThe quick an' deid.
XVI
But noo the bell is ringin' in;To tak their places, folk begin;The minister himsel' will shüneBe up the gate,Filled fu' wi' clavers about sinAn' man's estate.
XVII
The tünes are up—French, to be shüre,The faithfü' French, an' twa-three mair;The auld prezentor, hoastin' sair,Wales out the portions,An' yirks the tüne into the airWi' queer contortions.
XVIII
Follows the prayer, the readin' next,An' than the fisslin' for the text—The twa-three last to find it, vextBut kind o' proud;An' than the peppermints are raxed,An' southernwood.
XIX
For noo's the time whan pows are seenNid-noddin' like a mandareen;When tenty mithers stap a preenIn sleepin' weans;An' nearly half the parochineForget their pains.
XX
There's just a waukrif' twa or three:Thrawn commentautors sweer to 'gree,Weans glowrin' at the bumlin' beeOn windie-glasses,Or lads that tak a keek a-gleeAt sonsie lasses.
XXI
Himsel', meanwhile, frae whaur he cocksAn' bobs belaw the soundin'-box,The treesures of his words unlocksWi' prodigality,An' deals some unco dingin' knocksTo infidality.
XXII
Wi' sappy unction, hoo he burkesThe hopes o' men that trust in works,Expounds the fau'ts o' ither kirks,An' shaws the best o' themNo muckle better than mere Turks,When a's confessed o' them.
XXIII
Bethankit! what a bonny creed!What mair would ony Christian need?—The braw words rumm'le ower his heid,Nor steer the sleeper;And in their restin' graves, the deidSleep aye the deeper.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
It may be guessed by some that I had a certain parish in my eye, and
this makes it proper I should add a word of disclamation. In my time
there have been two ministers in that parish. Of the first I have a
special reason to speak well, even had there been any to think ill. The
second I have often met in private and long (in the due phrase) "sat
under" in his church, and neither here nor there have I heard an unkind
or ugly word upon his lips. The preacher of the text had thus no
original in that particular parish; but when I was a boy he might have
been observed in many others; he was then (like the schoolmaster)
abroad; and by recent advices, it would seem he has not yet entirely
disappeared.
ILLUSTRATOR'S NOTE
I am not certain of the particular parish Stevenson had in his mind when
he wrote this poem, but I am certain that the description is typical of
almost any Scottish rural parish, Lowden (that is, Lothian) or other.
In illustrating the verses it has seemed to me, therefore, unnecessary
to make portraits from any one locality. I fancy the writer looked back
to the period of his boyhood and to the people he knew in more than one
part of his native country, so I have tried to depict that period and
that class of people as I remember them in various counties of his land
and mine.
A. S. B.
The clinkum-clank o' Sabbath bellsNoo to the hoastin' rookery swells,Noo faintin' laigh in shady dells,Sounds far an' near,An' through the simmer kintry tellsIts tale o' cheer.
An' noo, to that melodious play,A' deidly awn the quiet sway—A' ken their solemn holiday,Bestial an' human,The singin' lintie on the brae,The restin' plou'man.
He, mair than a' the lave o' men,His week completit joys to ken;Half-dressed, he daunders out an' in,Perplext wi' leisure;An' his raxt limbs he'll rax againWi' painfü' pleesure.
The steerin' mither strang afitNoo shoos the bairnies but a bit;Noo cries them ben, their Sinday shüitTo scart upon them,Or sweeties in their pouch to pit,Wi' blessin's on them.
The lasses, clean frae tap to taes,Are busked in crunklin' underclaes;The gartened hose, the weel-filled stays,The nakit shift,A' bleached on bonny greens for days,An' white's the drift.
An' noo to face the kirkward mile:The guidman's hat o' dacent style,The blackit shoon, we noo maun fyleAs white's the miller:A waefü' peety tae, to spileThe warth o' siller.
Our Marg'et, aye sae keen to crack,Douce-stappin' in the stoury track,Her emeralt goun a' kiltit backFrae snawy coats,White-ankled, leads the kirkward packWi' Dauvit Groats.A thocht ahint, in runkled breeks,A' spiled wi' lyin' by for weeks,The guidman follows closs, an' cleiksThe sonsie missis;His sarious face at aince bespeaksThe day that this is.
And aye an' while we nearer drawTo whaur the kirkton lies alaw,Mair neebours, comin saft an' slawFrae here an' there,The thicker thrang the gate, an' cawThe stour in air.
But hark! the bells frae nearer clang;To rowst the slaw, their sides they bang;An' see! black coats a'ready thrangThe green kirkyaird;And at the yett, the chestnuts spangThat brocht the laird.
The solemn elders at the plateStand drinkin' deep the pride o' state:The practised hands as gash an' greatAs Lords o' Session;The later named, a wee thing blateIn their expression.
The prentit stanes that mark the deid,Wi' lengthened lip, the sarious read;Syne wag a moraleesin' heid,An' then an' thereTheir hirplin' practice an' their creedTry hard to square.
It's here our Merren lang has lain,A wee bewast the table-stane;An' yon's the grave o' Sandy Blane;An' further ower,The mither's brithers, dacent men!Lie a' the fower.
Here the guidman sall bide aweeTo dwall amang the deid; to seeAuld faces clear in fancy's e'e;Belike to hearAuld voices fa'in saft an' sleeOn fancy's ear.
Thus, on the day o' solemn things,The bell that in the steeple swingsTo fauld a scaittered faim'ly ringsIts walcome screed;An' just a wee thing nearer bringsThe quick an' deid.
But noo the bell is ringin' in;To tak their places, folk begin;
The minister himsel' will shüneBe up the gate,Filled fu' wi' clavers about sinAn' man's estate.
The tünes are up—French, to be shüre,The faithfü' French, an' twa-three mair;The auld prezentor, hoastin' sair,Wales out the portions,An' yirks the tüne into the airWi' queer contortions.
Follows the prayer, the readin' next,An' than the fisslin' for the text—The twa-three last to find it, vextBut kind o' proud;
An' than the peppermints are raxed,An' southernwood.
For noo's the time whan pows are seenNid-noddin' like a mandareen;When tenty mithers stap a preenIn sleepin' weans;An' nearly half the parochineForget their pains.
There's just a waukrif' twa or three:Thrawn commentautors sweer to 'gree,
Weans glowrin' at the bumlin' beeOn windie-glasses,Or lads that tak a keek a-gleeAt sonsie lasses.
Himsel', meanwhile, frae whaur he cocksAn' bobs belaw the soundin'-box,The treesures of his words unlocksWi' prodigality,An' deals some unco dingin' knocksTo infidality.
Wi' sappy unction, hoo he burkesThe hopes o' men that trust in works,Expounds the fau'ts o' ither kirks,An' shaws the best o' themNo muckle better than mere Turks,When a's confessed o' them.Bethankit! what a bonny creed!What mair would ony Christian need?—
The braw words rumm'le ower his heid,Nor steer the sleeper;
And in their restin' graves, the deidSleep aye the deeper.
Works by Robert Louis Stevenson
AN INLAND VOYAGE.
EDINBURGH: PICTURESQUE NOTES.
TRAVELS WITH A DONKEY.
VIRGINIBUS PUERISQUE.
FAMILIAR STUDIES OF MEN AND BOOKS.
NEW ARABIAN NIGHTS.
TREASURE ISLAND.
THE SILVERADO SQUATTERS.
A CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSES.
PRINCE OTTO.
THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE.
KIDNAPPED.
THE MERRY MEN.
UNDERWOODS.
MEMORIES AND PORTRAITS.
THE BLACK ARROW.
THE MASTER OF BALLANTRAE.
FATHER DAMIEN: AN OPEN LETTER.
BALLADS.
ACROSS THE PLAINS.
ISLAND NIGHTS ENTERTAINMENTS.
A FOOTNOTE TO HISTORY.
CATRIONA.
WEIR OF HERMISTON.
VAILIMA LETTERS.
FABLES.
SONGS OF TRAVEL.
ST. IVES.
IN THE SOUTH SEAS.
ESSAYS OF TRAVEL.
TALES AND FANTASIES.
THE ART OF WRITING.
PRAYERS WRITTEN AT VAILIMA.
A CHRISTMAS SERMON.
with Mrs. Stevenson
THE DYNAMITER.
with Lloyd Osbourne
THE WRONG BOX. THE WRECKER. THE EBB-TIDE.
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