The blue of the heavens is thine,
The stars on thy canvas shine;
Thy heraldry tells thee divine—
Hail, hail to thee!
Thy white proclaims thee unstain'd,
Thy crimson thy love unfeign'd
To man, by despots enchain'd—
Hail, hail to thee!
Under thy God-given light
Our fathers went forth to fight
'Gainst sceptred wrong for the right—
Hail, hail to thee!
The Lion of England no more
'Gainst thy proud Eagle shall roar:
Peace strideth from shore to shore—
Hail, hail to thee!
Float forth, thou flag of the free—
Flash far over land and sea,
Till the world shout, Liberty—
Hail, hail to thee!
EVAN M'COLL.
A writer both of English and Gaelic songs, Evan M'Coll was born in 1808, at Kenmore, Lochfineside, Argyllshire. His father, Dugald M'Coll, followed an industrial occupation, but contrived to afford his son a somewhat liberal education. The leisure hours of the youthful poet were ardently devoted to literary culture. In 1837, he became a contributor of Gaelic poetry to a Glasgow periodical, and his compositions began to excite an interest in the Highlands. Two influential Highland gentlemen secured him an appointment in the Customs at Liverpool. He subsequently emigrated to America, and is now resident at Kingston.
Besides many fugitive pieces, Mr M'Coll has published a volume of lyrics, entitled "The Mountain Minstrel," and a volume of Gaelic poetry. A specimen of his Gaelic minstrelsy will be found among the translations at the end of the present volume.