William Cleland

Rating: 4.33
Rating: 4.33

William Cleland Poems

IN melancholic fancy,
Out of myself,
In the vulcan dancy,
All the world surveying,
...

To die obscure must be a dismal Fate,
Since Mortals purchase Fame at such a rate;
As burning Cities, razing Regal seats
...

William Cleland Biography

William Cleland (ca. 1661 – 21 August 1689) was a Scottish poet and soldier. William was the son of Thomas Cleland, gamekeeper to the Marquess of Douglas, chief of the House of Douglas. He was probably brought up on the Douglas estate, centred at Douglas Castle, Lanarkshire, and was educated at St Andrew's University. Immediately on leaving college he joined the army of the Covenanters, and was present at the Battle of Drumclog, where, says Robert Wodrow, some attributed to Cleland the manoeuvre which led to the victory. He also fought at the Battle of Bothwell Bridge. He and his brother James were described in a royal proclamation of 16 June 1679, among the leaders of the insurgents. He escaped to Holland, but in 1685 was again in Scotland in connection with the abortive invasion of the earl of Argyll. He escaped once more, to return in 1688 as agent for William III of England (William of Orange). He was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the Cameronian regiment raised from the Marquess' tenantry and a minority of the western Covenanters who consented to serve under William II. The Cameronians were entrusted with the defence of Dunkeld, which they held against the fierce assault of the Jacobites on 21 August at the Battle of Dunkeld where William Cleland was killed. His Major was wounded and the command fell to George Munro. The defeat of the Jacobites at Dunkeld ended the Jacobite rising, but Cleland fell in the struggle from a gunshot wound to head. His Collection of several Poems and Verses composed upon various occasions was published posthumously in 1697. Of Hullo, my fancie, whither wilt thou go? only the last nine stanzas are by Cleland. His poems have small literary merit, and are written, not in pure Lowland Scots, but in English. with a large admixture of Scottish words. The longest and most important of them are the mock poems On the Expedition of the Highland Host who came to destroy the western shires in winter 1678 and On the clergie when they met to consult about taking the Test in the year 1681.)

The Best Poem Of William Cleland

Hallo, My Fancy

IN melancholic fancy,
Out of myself,
In the vulcan dancy,
All the world surveying,
Nowhere staying,
Just like a fairy elf;
Out o'er the tops of highest mountains skipping,
Out o'er the hills, the trees and valleys tripping,
Out o'er the ocean seas, without an oar or shipping.
Hallo, my fancy, whither wilt thou go?

Amidst the misty vapors,
Fain would I know
What doth cause the tapers;
Why the clouds benight us,
And affright us
While we travel here below.
Fain would I know what makes the roaring thunder,
And what these lightnings be that rend the clouds asunder,
And what these comets are on which we gaze and wonder.
Hallo, my fancy, whither wilt thou go?

Fain would I know the reason
Why the little ant,
All the summer season,
Layeth up provision,
On condition
To know no winter's want:
And how these little fishes, that swim beneath salt water,
Do never blind their eyes; methinks it is a matter
An inch above the reach of old Erra Pater!
Hallo, my fancy, whither wilt thou go?

Fain would I be resolved
How things are done;
And where the bull was calved
Of bloody Phalaris,
And where the tailor is
That works to the man i' the moon!
Fain would I know how Cupid aims so rightly;
And how these little fairies do dance and leap so lightly;
And where fair Cynthia makes her ambles nightly.
Hallo, my fancy, whither wilt thou go?

In conceit like Phaeton,
I 'll mount Phœbus' chair,
Having ne'er a hat on,
All my hair a-burning
In my journeying,
Hurrying through the air.
Fain would I hear his fiery horses neighing,
And see how they on foamy bits are playing;
All the stars and planets I will be surveying!
Hallo, my fancy, whither wilt thou go?

O, from what ground of nature
Doth the pelican,
That self-devouring creature,
Prove so froward
And untoward,
Her vitals for to strain?
And why the subtle fox, while in death's wounds is lying,
Doth not lament his pangs by howling and by crying;
And why the milk-white swan doth sing when she 's a-dying.
Hallo, my fancy, whither wilt thou go?

Fain would I conclude this,
At least make essay,
What similitude is;
Why fowls of a feather
Flock and fly together,
And lambs know beasts of prey:
How Nature's alchymists, these small laborious creatures,
Acknowledge still a prince in ordering their matters,
And suffer none to live, who slothing lose their features.
Hallo, my fancy, whither wilt thou go?

I 'm rapt with admiration,
When I do ruminate,
Men of an occupation,
How each one calls him brother,
Yet each envieth other,
And yet still intimate!
Yea, I admire to see some natures farther sund'red,
Than antipodes to us. Is it not to be wond'red?
In myriads ye 'll find, of one mind scarce a hundred?
Hallo, my fancy, whither wilt thou go?

What multitude of notions
Doth perturb my pate,
Considering the motions,
How the heavens are preserved,
And this world served
In moisture, light, and heat!
If one spirit sits the outmost circle turning,
Or one turns another, continuing in journeying,
If rapid circles' motion be that which they call burning!
Hallo, my fancy, whither wilt thou go!

Fain also would I prove this,
By considering
What that, which you call love, is:
Whether it be a folly
Or a melancholy,
Or some heroic thing!
Fain I 'd have it proved, by one whom love hath wounded,
And fully upon one his desire hath founded,
Whom nothing else could please though the world were rounded.
Hallo, my fancy, whither wilt thou go?

To know this world's centre,
Height, depth, breadth, and length,
Fain would I adventure
To search the hid attractions
Of magnetic actions,
And adamantine strength.
Fain would I know, if in some lofty mountain,
Where the moon sojourns, if there be trees or fountain;
If there be beasts of prey, or yet be fields to hunt in.
Hallo, my fancy, whither wilt thou go?

Fain would I have it tried
By experiment,
By none can be denied!
If in this bulk of nature,
There be voids less or greater,
Or all remains complete.
Fain would I know if beasts have any reason;
If falcons killing eagles do commit a treason;
If fear of winter's want make swallows fly the season.
Hallo, my fancy, whither wilt thou go?

Hallo, my fancy, hallo!
Stay, stay at home with me,
I can thee no longer follow,
For thou hast betrayed me,
And bewrayed me;
It is too much for thee.
Stay, stay at home with me; leave off thy lofty soaring;
Stay thou at home with me, and on thy books be poring;
For he that goes abroad lays little up in storing:
Thou 'rt welcome home, my fancy, welcome home to me.

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