Supposed to be repeated by Mary, Queen of Scots, from the deck of the ship which was to convey her to Scotland.
O land of elegance, where every grace
Resides - where science fills the polished mind,
How sad the bitter contrast I must find
In barren Scotia's rude and frowning face!
Oft, when away, shall memory love to trace
Thy smiling hillocks and thy flowery vales,
Thy groves, where feathered songsters tell their tales,
Thy purple vines, thy cheerful peasant race,
Thy court - but, ah! fond memory naught avails:
No more shall I of that gay court be queen!
For ever then farewell each long-loved scene.
And, see, the cruel wind now swells the sails!
I go, with feeble power to meet the storm,
Where hate and furious zeal my native shores deform.
O land of elegance, where every grace
Resides - where science fills the polished mind,
How sad the bitter contrast I must find
In barren Scotia's rude and frowning face!
Oft, when away, shall memory love to trace
Thy smiling hillocks and thy flowery vales,
Thy groves, where feathered songsters tell their tales,
Thy purple vines, thy cheerful peasant race,
Thy court - but, ah! fond memory naught avails:
No more shall I of that gay court be queen!
For ever then farewell each long-loved scene.
And, see, the cruel wind now swells the sails!
I go, with feeble power to meet the storm,
Where hate and furious zeal my native shores deform.