Note 10 — BOOKS AND AUTHORS. (continued 2)
Reading edition
Campbell’s alterations were, generally, decided improvements; but in one instance he failed lamentably. The noble peroration of Lochiel is familiar to most readers:—
“Shall victor exult, or in death be laid low, With his back to the field and his feet to the foe; And leaving in battle no blot on his name, Look proudly to heaven from the death-bed of fame.”
In the quarto edition of Gertrude of Wyoming, when the poet collected and reprinted his minor pieces, this lofty sentiment was thus stultified:—
“Shall victor exult in the battle’s acclaim, Or look to yon heaven from the death-bed of fame.”
The original passage, however, was wisely restored in the subsequent editions.