Part 39

But now leaving Prodigalls to their Purgatoriall Postings, I come to Trace through Rosse, Sutherland, and Cathnes: Soiles so abundant in all things, fit to illustrate greatnesse, Resplendour Gentry, and succour Commons; that their fertile goodnesse far exceeded my expectation, and the affability of the better sort my deservings: beeing all of them the best, and most bountifull Christmasse-keepers (the Greekes excepted) that ever I saw in the Christian World: Whose continuall incorporate Feastings one with another, beginning at Saint Andrewes day, never end til Shrovetide: which Ravished me, to behold, such great and daily cheare, familiar fellow-ship, and joviall chearefulnesse; that me thought the whole Winter there, seemed to me, but the Jubilee of one day. And now beeing arrived at Maii, to imbarke for Orknay, sight, [A dutifull remembrance of two Noble persons.] time, and duty, command me to celebrate these following Lines, to gratifie the kindnesse of that noble Lord, George Earle of Cathnes, with his Honorable Cousing, and first Accadent of his House, the Right worshipful Sir William Sinclair of Catboll Knight, Laird of Maii.

Sir! sighting now thy Selfe, and Pallace Faire, I find a novelty, and that most rare, The time though cold and stormy, sharper Sun, And far to Summer, scarce the Spring begun; Yet with good lucke, in Februar, Saturnes prey Have I not sought, and found out Fruitfull May, Flank'd with the Marine Coast, prospective stands, Right opposite to the Orcade Iles and Lands: Where I for floures, ingorg'd strong grapes of Spaine, And liquor'd French, both Red and white amaine: Which Pallace doth containe, two foure-squar'd Courts, Graft with brave Works, where th' Art-drawne pensile sports On Hals, high Chambers, Galleries, office Bowres, Cells, Roomes, and Turrets, Plat-formes, stately Towres: Where greene-fac'd gardens, set at Floraes feet, Make Natures beauty, quicke Appelles greet: All which surveigh'd, at last the mid-most gate Design'd to me, the Armes of that great state, The Earles of Cathnes; to whose praise inbag'd, My Muse must mount, and here's my pen incadg'd: First then their Armes, a Crosse, did me produce Limbd like a Scallet, trac'd with fleur du Luce; The Lyon, red, and rag'd, two times divided From coyne to coyne, as Heraulds have decyded: The third joynd Staunce denotes to me a Galley, That on their sea-rapt foes, dare make assailley: The fourth a gallant Ship, pust with taunt saile Gainst them, their Ocean dare, or Coast assaile: On whose bent Creist, a Pelican doth sit An Embleme, for like love, drawne wondrous fit: Who as shee feeds her young, with her heart blood Denotes these Lords, to theirs, like kind, like good: Whose best Supporters, guard both Sea, and Land, Two sterne drawne Griffons, in their strength to stand: Their Dictum beares this verdict, for Heavens Ode Ascribd this clause; commit thy worke to God: O sacred Motto! Bishop Sinclairs straine, Who turnd Fiffes Lord, on Scotlands foes agayne: Loe! here's the Armes of Cathnes, here's the Stock! On which branch'd-boughes relye, as on a Rocke. But further in, I found like Armes more patent; To kind Sir William, and his line as latent; The Primier Accade, of that noble race Who for his vertue, may reclayme the place; Whose Armes, with tongue and buckle, now they make Fast crosse, signe ty'd, for a faire Lesslyes sake. The Lyon hunts o're Land, the Ship, the Sea, The ragged Crosse can scale high walles wee see; The wing-layd Galley, with her factious oares Both Havens and Floods command, and circling shoares: The feathred Griffon flees, O grim-limbd beast! That winging Sea and Land, upholds this Creist: But for the Pelicans, life-sprung kind Story, [Sir William Sinclairs Motto.] Makes honour sing, Virtute, et Amore. Nay, not by blood, as she her selfe can do, But by her paterne, feeding younglings too; For which this Patrones Crescent stands so stay, That neither Spight, nor Tempest, can shake Maii: Whose Cutchions cleave so fast, to top, and side, Portends to mee, his Armes shall ever bide. So Murckles Armes are so, except the Rose Spred on the Crosse, which Bothwels Armes disclose; Whose Uterine blood he is, and present Brother To Cathnes Lord; all three sprung from one Mother. Bothwels prime Heretrix, plight to Hepburnes Race, From whom Religious Murckles Rose I trace, This Countries instant Shrieve: whose Vertue rais'd His honoured worth, his godly life more prais'd. But now to rouze their Rootes, and how they Sprung, See how Antiquity, Times triumph Sung. This Scallet, worth them blanch'd, for endeavour And Service done, to Englands Conquerour; With whom from France, they first to Britaine came, Sprung from a Towne St. Claire, now turn'd their name. Whose Predecessours, by their Val'rous hand, Wonne endlesse Fame, twice in the Holy Land: Where in that Christian Warre, their blood beene lost, They loath'd of Gaule, and sought our Albion Coast. Themselves to Scotland came, in Cammoires Raigne With good Queene Margret, and her English traine. The Ship from Orknay Sayl'd, now rul'd by Charles, Whereof they Sinclairs, long time, had beene Earles. Whose Lord then William, was by Scotlands King, (Call'd Robert Second, First, whence Stewarts spring) Sent with his second Sonne, to France, cross'd James Who eighteene yeares, liv'd Captivate at Thames. This Prisner last turn'd King, call'd James the First, Who Sinclairs Credit, kept in Honours thirst: The Galley was the Badge of Cathnes Lords, As Malcome Cammoirs raigne at length Records: Which was to Magnus given, for Service done, Against Mackbaith, usurper of his Crowne. The Lyon came, by an Heretrix to passe, By Marriage; whose Sire, was surnam'd Dowglas. Where after him, the Sinclair now Record, Was Shirefe of Dumfreis, and Nidsdales Lord: Whose wife was Neece, to good King James the Third; Who for exchange, 'twixt Wicke and Southerne Nidde Did Lands incambiat: whence this Cathnes Soile Stands fast for them, the rest, their Friends recoile. Then Circle-bounded Cathnes, Sinclairs ground, Which Pentland Firth invirones, Orknayes sound; Whose top is Dunkanes Bay, the Roote the Ord; Long may it long, stand fast for their true Lord: And as long too, Heavens grant what I require, The Race of Maii, may in that Stocke aspire; Till my Age may last, Times glasse be runne, For Earths last darke Ecclipse, of no more Sunne.

Forsaking Cathnes, I imbraced the trembling Surges (at Dungsby) of strugling Neptune, which ingorgeth Pentland or Pitland Firth with nine contrarious Tides: each Tide over-thwarting another with repugnant courses, have such violent streames, and combustious waves, that if these dangerous Births be not rightly taken in passing over, the Passengers shall quickely loose sight of life and land for ever: yea, and one of these tides so forcible, at the backe of Stromaii, that it will carry any Vessell backward, in despight of the winds, the length of its rapinous current.

[A dangerous place in Pentland Firth.] This dreadfull Firth is in breadth betweene the Continent of Cathnes, and the Ile of South Rannald-shaw in Orknay twelve miles: And I denote this credibly, in a part of the North-west end of this Gulfe, there is a certaine place of sea, where these destracted tydes make their rancountering Randevouze, that whirleth ever about: cutting in the middle circle a devalling hole, with which if either Ship or Boat shall happen to encroach, they must quickly either throw over some thing into it, as a Barrell, a piece of timber, and such like, or that fatall Euripus shall then suddenly become their swallowing Sepulcher. A custome which these bordering Cathenians and Orcadians have ever heretofore observed.

Arriv'd at South Rannaldshaw an Ile of five miles long, and thwarting the Ile of Burray, I sighted Kirkwall, the Metropole of Pomonia, the mayne Land of Orknay, and the onely Mistresse of all the circumjacent Iles being thirty in number. The chiefest whereof (besides this tract of ground, in length twenty sixe, and broad five, sixe and seven miles) are the Iles of Sanda, Westra, and Stronza: Kirkwall it selfe is adorned with the stately and magnifick Church of St. Magnus built by the Danes, whose Signiory with the Iles lately it was; but indeed for the time present, more beautified with the godly life of a most venerable and religious Bishop Mr. George Grahame: whom now I may tearme (Soveraignity excepted) to be the Father of the Countries government, then an Ecclesiasticke Prelat: The Inhabitants being left void of a Governour, or solid Patrone, are just become like to a broken battell, a scattered people without a head: having but a Burges Shreive to administer Justice, and he too an Aliene to them, and a Resider in Edenburgh: So that in most differences, and questions of importance, the Plaintives are inforced to implore the Bishop for their Judge, and hee, the adverse Party for redresse.

[Zetland mightily impoverished by corrupt governement.] But the more remote parts of this auncient little Kingdome, as Zetland, and the adjacent Iles there; have found such a sting of deoccular government within these few yeares; that these once happy Iles, which long agoe my feet traded over, are Metamorphosed in the Anatomy of succourlesse oppression, and the felicity of the Inhabitants, reinvolved within the closet of a Cittadinean cluster.

But now referring the whole particulars, and dividuall descriptions of these Septentrion Iles, the mayne Continent, and the Gigantick Hebridian Iles, to my aforesayd worke to be published, intitulated Lithgows surveigh of Scotland, I send this generall verdict to the World:

Now having seene most part of thy selfe glore Great Kingdomes, Ilands, stately Courts, rich Townes, Most gorgeous showes, pomp-glory deckt renownes, Hearbagious fields, the Pelage-beating shoare Propitious Princes, Prelats, potent Crownes: Smoake shadow'd times, curst Churles, Misers, Clownes. Impregnate Forts, devalling floods, and more Earth-gazing heights, Vayle-curling Plaines in store: Court-rising honours, throwne on envies frownes; Worme-vestur'd workes, Enamild Arts, wits lore: Masse-marbled Mansions, Mineralls, coynd Ore, State-superficiall showes, swift-glyding Moones: I loath thy sight, pale streames, staine wattry eyne, Whose glorious shades evanish, no more seene.

And now to conclude, as a Painter, may spoyle a Picture, but not the face; so may some Stoicall Reader misconster and misconceave some parts of this eye-set History, though not able to marre the trueth of it: yet howsoever, here is the just relation of nineteene yeares travells, perfited in three deare-bought voyages: The generall computation of which dimmensious spaces, in my goings, traversings, and returnings, through Kingdomes, Continents, and Ilands, which my paynefull feet traced over (besides my passages of Seas and Rivers) amounteth to thirty six thousand and odde miles, which draweth neare to twice the circumference of the whole Earth. And so farewell.

FINIS.

NOTES

[1] Somers Tracts, Vol. IV. p. 535, Ed. 1810.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Lithgow himself says nine weeks, but in the 'Supplication of Aquila Wykes,' Keeper of the Marshalsea (Calendar of State Papers, Domestic, Vol. CLIII, No. 26), dated October 9th, 1623, Lithgow is mentioned as 'committed close prisoner 2 Febr. 1622' and still remaining in custody.

[4] He had already published in 1614 a short account of his travels, and of this a second impression was printed in 1616. Both these editions are extremely rare.

[5] Calendar of State Papers, Domestic, Vol. CCXXIX. No. 42.