William Topaz Mcgonagall
An Ode to the Queen
All hail to the Empress of India, Great Britain’s Queen! Long may she live in health, happy and serene; Loved by her subjects at home and abroad; Blest may she be when lying down
The Battle of Flodden Field
‘Twas on the 9th of September, a very beautiful day, That a numerous English army came in grand array, And pitched their tents on Flodden field so green In the year of our Lord
A Tale of the Sea
A pathetic tale of the sea I will unfold, Enough to make one’s blood run cold; Concerning four fishermen cast adrift in a dory. As I’ve been told I’ll relate the story. T’was on
Farewell Address at the Argyle Hall
Fellow Citizens of Dundee. I now must bid farewell to ye. For I am going to London far away. But when I will return again I cannot say. Farewell! Farewell! to the bonnie banks
The Wreck of the Steamer Storm Queen
Ye landsmen, all pray list to me, While I relate a terrible tale of the sea, Concerning the screw steamer “Storm Queen” Which was wrecked, alas! a most heast-rending scene. From Sebastopol, with a
Lines in Defence of the Stage
Good people of high and low degree, I pray ye all be advised by me, And don’t believe what the clergy doth say, That by going to the theatre you will be led astray.
A Humble Heroine
‘Twas at the Seige of Matagarda, during the Peninsular War, That a Mrs Reston for courage outshone any man there by far; She was the wife of a Scottish soldier in Matagarda Port, And
The Wreck of the Thomas Dryden
As I stood upon the sandy beach One morn near Pentland Ferry, I saw a beautiful brigantine, And all her crew seem’d merry. When lo! the wind began to howl, And the clouds began
The Battle of Inkermann
‘Twas in the year of 1854, and on the 5th November, Which Britain will no doubt long remember, When the Russians plotted to drive the British army into the sea, But at the bayonet
The Disastrous Fire at Scarborough
‘Twas in the year of 1898, and on the 8th of June, A mother and six children met with a cruel doom In one of the most fearful fires for some years past And
The Battle of Waterloo
‘Twas in the year 1815, and on the 18th day of June, That British cannon, against the French army, loudly did boom, Upon the ever memorable bloody field of Waterloo; Which Napoleon remembered while
A New Year's Resolution to Leave Dundee
Welcome! thrice welcome! to the year 1893, For it is the year I intend to leave Dundee, Owing to the treatment I receive, Which does my heart sadly grieve. Every morning when I go
The Funeral of the Late Ex-Provost Rough, Dundee
‘Twas in the year of 1888, and on the 19th of November, Which the friends of the late Ex-Provost Rough will long remember, Because ’twas on the 19th of November his soul took its
The Beautiful City of Perth
Beautiful Ancient City of Perth, One of the grandest on the earth, With your stately mansions and streets so clean, And situated between two Inches green, Which are most magnificent to be seen The
Beautiful Nairn
All ye tourists who wish to be away From the crowded city for a brief holiday; The town of Nairn is worth a visit, I do confess, And it’s only about fifteen miles from