Volume 6 / Part 2 — WILLIAM STIRLING, M.P.
Reading edition
William Stirling of Keir, parliamentary representative of the county of Perth, was born on the 8th March 1818, in the mansion of Kenmure, in the vicinity of Glasgow. The only son of the late Archibald Stirling of Keir, his paternal ancestors, for a course of centuries, have been extensive landowners in the counties of Lanark and Perth. The representative of the house, Sir George Stirling, was a conspicuous supporter of the famous Marquis of Montrose. On the side of his mother, who was a daughter of Sir John Maxwell, Bart., of Polloc, he is descended from a family who adhered to the Covenant and the Revolution of 1688.
Mr Stirling took the degrees of B.A. and M.A. at Trinity College, Cambridge. To literary pursuits ardently devoted from his youth, he afforded the first indication of his peculiar tastes in a small poetical brochure. "The Songs of the Holy Land," composed chiefly during a visit to Palestine, were printed for private circulation in 1846, but were published with considerable additions in a handsome octavo volume in 1848. Two specimens of these sacred lays are inserted in the present work with the author's permission.
During a residence in Spain, Mr Stirling was led to direct his attention to the state of the Fine Arts in that country; and in 1848 he produced a work of much research and learning, entitled "Annals of the Artists of Spain," in three volumes octavo. In 1852 appeared "The Cloister Life of the Emperor Charles V.," which has already passed through several editions, and has largely increased the reputation of the writer. His latest publication, "Velasquez and his Works" was published in 1855.
In 1852 Mr Stirling was elected, without opposition, member of Parliament for the county of Perth, and was again returned at the general election in April 1857. Recently he has evinced a deep interest in the literary improvement of the industrial population, by delivering lectures to the district Mechanics' Institutions.
RUTH.
The golden smile of morning On the hills of Moab play'd, When at the city's western gate Their steps three women stay'd. One laden was with years and care, A gray and faded dame, Of Judah's ancient lineage, And Naomi her name; And two were daughters of the land, Fair Orpah and sweet Ruth, Their faces wearing still the bloom, Their eyes the light of youth; But all were childless widows, And garb'd in weeds of woe, And their hearts were full of sorrow, And fast their tears did flow. For the Lord God from Naomi Her spouse and sons had taken, And she and these that were their wives, Are widow'd and forsaken; And wish or hope her bosom knows None other but to die, And lay her bones in Bethlehem, Where all her kindred lie. So gives she now upon the way To Jordan's western waters Her farewell kisses and her tears Unto her weeping daughters: "Sweet daughters mine, now turn again Unto your homes," she said, "And for the love ye bear to me, The love ye bear the dead, The Lord with you deal kindly, And give you joy and rest And send to each a faithful mate To cheer her widow'd breast." Then long and loud their weeping was, And sore was their lament, And Orpah kiss'd sad Naomi, And back to Moab went; But gentle Ruth to Naomi Did cleave with close embrace, And earnest spoke, with loving eyes Up-gazing in her face— "Entreat me not to leave thee, Nor sever from thy side, For where thou goest I will go, Where thou bidest I will bide, Thy people still my people, And thy God my God shall be, And where thou diest I will die, And make my grave with thee." So Naomi, not loath, was won Unto her gentle will; And thence, with faces westward set, They fared o'er plain and hill; The Lord their staff, till Bethlehem Rose fair upon their sight, A rock-built town with towery crown, In evening's purple light, Midst slopes in vine and olive clad, And spread along the brook, White fields, with barley waving, That woo'd the reaper's hook. * * * * * Now for the sunny harvest field Sweet Ruth her mother leaves, And goes a-gleaning after The maids that bind the sheaves. And the great lord of the harvest Is of her husband's race, And looks upon the lonely one With gentleness and grace; And he loves her for the brightness And freshness of her youth, And for her unforgetting love, Her firm enduring truth— The love and truth that guided Ruth The border mountains o'er, Where her people and her own land She left for evermore. So he took her to his home and heart, And years of soft repose Did recompense her patient faith, Her meekly-suffer'd woes; And she became the noblest dame Of palmy Palestine, And the stranger was the mother Of that grand and glorious line Whence sprang our royal David, In the tide of generations, The anointed king of Israel, The terror of the nations: Of whose pure seed hath God decreed Messiah shall be born, When the day-spring from on high shall light The golden lands of morn; Then heathen tongues shall tell the tale Of tenderness and truth— Of the gentle deed of Boaz And the tender love of Ruth.
SHALLUM.
Oh, waste not thy woe on the dead, nor bemoan him Who finds with his fathers the grave of his rest; Sweet slumber is his, who at night-fall hath thrown him Near bosoms that waking did love him the best. But sorely bewail him, the weary world-ranger, Shall ne'er to the home of his people return; His weeping worn eyes must be closed by the stranger, No tear of true sorrow shall hallow his urn. And mourn for the monarch that went out of Zion, King Shallum, the son of Josiah the Just; For he the cold bed of the captive shall die on, Afar from his land, nor return to its dust.