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NOTES.
133

P. 96. v. 374. Crookstone belonged originally to the ancient family of the Crucks in Renfrewshire, and came by marriage to the Stewarts of Darnley, in the reign of David II. The Stewarts, the most illustrious clan of Renfrewshire, are thus characterised by Defoe:

Stewart, ancient as the hills from which they sprung; The mountains still do to the name belong: From hence they branch to every high degree, And foreign courts embrace the progeny[1].

P. 97. v. 398. The battle of Langside has lately been selected as a scene in "Mary Stewart," a historical drama of great poetical merit, superior to any one of the dramas on the same subject, in the Italian, German, or English languages, though sometimes defective in dramatic propriety. The following is a beautiful allusion to history:

"Mother of God! the Douglasses in front:See, see the Bruce's heart, as in the breeze Their standards wave——————there happy Douglas cries,"Move on as thou wast wont to do, and DouglasWill follow thee, or die[2]."

P. 99. v. 426. The Cunninghams are introduced with great propriety by Defoe, in a list of clans, on whose names he despairs of conferring poetical dignity:

  1. ↑ Defoe's Caledonia, p. 48.
  2. ↑ Mary Stewart, p. 60. Edin. 1801.
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