Peace and Home preferred to War and Travel to which are added The Volunteer, The Drum, and Scenes of my Youth

The Volunteer

The Drum

Scenes of my Youth

1796 per National Library of Scotland

8 pages

Chapbook #3 in a bound collection of 54 chapbooks

Four line verse on the title-page. "Oh tarry, gentle traveller; Oh, tarry now at setting day; Nor haste to leave this lowly vale for lofty mountains ar away."

Incomplete, this chapbook is missing 5 pages.

A collection of ballads and songs that follow the theme of urging young folk to remain in their home villages rather than leave for work, love, or war. The first poem paints an idyllic scene of the rural countryside and village life, cautioning young men to avoid traveling abroad or seeking their fortunes elsewhere and instead urging them to stay home with their families and lovers. The second song satirizes the life of a soldier, depicting it as full of violence, suffering, sin, and unhappiness, suggesting that young men should avoid volunteering for the army. The third poem expresses disgust/hatred of drums and recruitment that lure young men from home to be killed in distant lands and wars, while the last item begins with a quote from Shakespeare on “Such Things Were” and reminisces on scenes of youth and growing up, lamenting those loved and lost.

Ballads and songs

Crime

War

Chapbooks - Scotland - Glasgow

Archival & Special Collections, University of Guelph Library, Guelph, Ontario

National Library of Scotland http://www.nls.uk/

JPEGs and PDF derived from master file, which was scanned from the original book in 24-bit color at 600 dpi in TIFF format using an Epson Expression 10000XL scanner.

In the public domain; For higher quality reproductions, contact Archival & Special Collections, University of Guelph. libaspc@uoguelph.ca 519-824-4120, Ext. 53413

Archival and Special Collections, University of Guelph Library, Guelph, Ontario, Canada