His
hero is
"Philip Hewson, the poet,
Hewson, the radical hot, hating lords and scorning ladies;"
and his heroine is no heroine, but a woman, "Elspie, the quiet, the
brave."
The metre he has chosen, the hexametral, harmonises with the spirit
of primitive simplicity in which the poem is conceived; is itself a
background, as much as are "Knoydart, Croydart, Moydart, Morrer, and
Ardnamurchan;" and gives a new individuality to the passages of
familiar narrative and every day conversation. It has an intrinsic
appropriateness; although, at first thought of the subject, this
will, perhaps, be scarcely admitted of so old and so stately a
rhythmical form.
As regards execution, however, there may be noted, in qualification
of much pliancy and vigour, a certain air of experiment in occasional
passages, and a license in versification, which more than warrants a
warning "to expect every kind of irregularity in these modern
hexameters." The following lines defy all efforts at reading in
dactyls or spondees, and require an almost complete transposition of
accent.
"There was a point which I forgot, which our gallant Highland
homes have;"--
"While the little drunken Piper came across to shake hands with
Lindsay:"--
"Something of the world, of men and women: you will not refuse me.
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