PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION. How such a genuine literary treasure as Motherwell's Poems should have so long escaped the notice of publishers, ever on the lookout for what they may appropriate and again lucratively disperse,- how so rare an exotic should have been until now neglected in the daily indiscriminate transplantation of so many fruit-bearing and barren trees,-of choice flowers and unsightly weeds, is difficult to explain; but so it has been. From this circumstance, and the scarcity of the only edition ever published, these poems are known to but few, or if to many, only to a partial extent, from occasional reprints in newspapers of the day; and of their great merit,-a merit sufficient to place them among the choicest productions of their class, the literary public are mostly ignorant. Varied in style and subject, the author seems always at home and at ease; whether he sings of love or battle, he is equally in spirit; his poetry is the same full stream, whether it flow quietly amid myrtle groves or foam along a battle-field, bearing upon its bosom a Norseman's fleet. In his Scandinavian poetry the spirit of an ancient Scald seems in truth to peal forth. The notes are not those of a soft lute from silken string or silver wire, but are tones wrung from one of their own rude harps, sinew-strung, whose measures are marked by the sword-struck shield, and whose pauses are filled 411361 by the shout of the warriors or the roar of the keel-cleft wave. The selection of the pure Saxon, and the perfect adaptation of its rich, full accents to the sense in 'The Battle-Flag of Sigurd,' and The Sword Chant of Thorstein Raudi,' is particularly admirable, and the thorough manner in which the author enters into the untutored spirit of the Norse Warrior in 'The Wooing Song of Jarl Egill Skallagrim,' is equally worthy of note. The Scandinavian Sea-King does not come like a modern lover, filled with protestations of his own unworthiness. Hear his manly confidence; 'Ay, Daughter of Einar, It is a Vikingir Who kisses thy hand.' He offers no flowers, he promises no rich jewels;— 'Gifts yet more princely Jarl Egill bestows, For girdle his great arm For palace, gives he, While mad waves and winds shall Thy true subjects be.' To the last, no puling sentiment, no unmanly flattery escapes his lips. He neither compares her to a gem or a flower, nor exalts her to an angel or divinity; but tells her 'Fair Daughter of Einar Deem high of the fate That makes thee, like this blade, Proud Egill's loved mate.' The remarks of the author in the dedication, concerning the knowledge of Norse poetry, do not justly apply in this country, as it is but lately that our attention has been turned to it, principally through productions and translations of professor Longfellow. It was therefore at first contemplated adding a glossary to this edition; but it was found, that to the imitation of the old Scottish ballad, almost a verbatim translation would have to be given, increasing the size of the book unduly. Besides this, much danger would be incurred of insulting many readers by explanations of words, which, although seldom met with in general use, might, from their particular course of reading, be quite familiar; so that the same conclusion was arrived at to which the author himself had previously come, -to leave it as it is, and trust that the interest which the reader will take in what he does understand, will induce him to seek for the easily attained explanation of what he may not. *' Of 'Jeanie Morrison,'' Wearie's Well,' and 'My Heid is like to rend, Willie,' it were idle now to speak; they are amongst the most pathetic effusions of the Scottish muse-full of a soft voluptuous tenderness of feeling, and steeped in a rich tissue of warm poetical coloring, like a transparent veil over a weeping beauty. In another style of poetical composition, Motherwell has rarely been excelled-the sentimental and graceful vers de societé. Of such are 'Love's Diet,'' Could love impart,' &c. In a light airiness, and graceful flexibility of language, and in a pointed but not harsh brevity of diction, in unison with a certain gaiety and feminine elegance of thought, they appear to us to be perfect of their kind. 'The events in the life and fortunes of a man of letters, are seldom of so salient a character, or of such a stimulating variety, * The following paragraphs are from 'The Laird of Logan, or Anecdotes and Tales illustrative of the Wit and Humor of Scotland,' to which Motherwell contributed. as to form the basis of a narrative, the interest of which will extend beyond the circle of his more intimate friends and associates. 'Mr. Motherwell was born in the city of Glasgow, on the 13th of October, 1797. His family came from Stirlingshire, where they resided for several generations, on a small property belong. ing to them, called Muirmill. Early in life he was transferred to the care of an uncle in Paisley. There he received the principal part of a rather liberal education, and there he began the career of a citizen of the world, as an apprentice to the profession of law. So great was the confidence reposed in him, that at the early age of twenty-one he was appointed Sheriff-Clerk-Depute at Paisley—a situation very respectable, and of considerable responsibility, though by no means lucrative. In 1828, he became editor of the Paisley Advertiser, a journal wherein he zealously advocated Tory politics, to which he had long previously shown his attachment. During the same year, he conducted the Paisley Magazine-a periodical of local as well as general interest, and which contained many papers of a rare and curious character. In 1829, he resigned the office of Sheriff- Clerk-Depute, and applied himself exclusively to the management of the newspaper, and to literary pursuits. 'In the beginning of 1830, he appeared on a more important theatre, and in a more conspicuous character. He was engaged as editor of the Glasgow Courier -a journal of long standing, of respectable circulation, and of the Ultra-Tory school of politics. Mr. Motherwell conducted this newspaper with great ability, and fully sustained, if he did not at times outgo, its extreme opinions. From the time of his accepting this very responsible situation, to the day of his death -a period of five eventful and troubled years during which the fever of party politics raged with peculiar virulence in the veins of society, it is universally conceded, by those who were opposed to his political opinions, as well as by the members of his own party, that he sustained |