James Hyslop (23 July 1798 – 1827) was a Scottish poet.

Life

Born in the parish of

Kirkconnel Kirkconnel ( Gaelic: ''Cille Chonaill'') is a small parish in Dumfries and Galloway, southwestern Scotland. It is located on the A76 near the head of Nithsdale. Principally it has been a sporting community. The name comes from The Church of Sai ...

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county. I ...

, an illegitimate son of Margaret Lambie (1778–1845) and William Hyslop (born 1775), Hyslop was early put out to farm-work, but taught himself languages and mathematics. From 1812 to 1816 he was engaged as a

shepherd A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' 'herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, i ...

on Nether Wellwood farm, in the parish of

Muirkirk Muirkirk ( gd, Eaglais an t-Slèibh) is a small village in East Ayrshire, southwest Scotland. It is located on the north bank of the River Ayr, between Cumnock and Glenbuck on the A70. Conservation The Muirkirk & North Lowther Uplands Special ...

. Between 1816 and 1818 he was employed at Corsebank; from there he wrote a poetical epistle to his early Kirkconnel teacher, signed "James Hislop", but later always used the spelling "Hyslop". In 1818 Hyslop went to

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

, where he opened a day-school, and wrote for the '' Edinburgh Magazine''. At first he was fairly successful, but his prospects were blasted by having to pay a large sum for which he had become security. Leaving Greenock in 1821, he obtained a post as tutor on board HMS ''Doris'', bound for

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

The voyage lasted for three years, and an account of part of the voyage, with impressions of the scenery, natural history and social conditions of Brazil, was given by Hyslop in a series of eleven papers contributed to the ''Edinburgh Magazine'', May–November 1825. Hyslop was next engaged as a reporter in London in 1826, where he was intimate with Allan Cunningham,

Edward Irving Edward Irving (4 August 17927 December 1834) was a Scottish clergyman, generally regarded as the main figure behind the foundation of the Catholic Apostolic Church. Early life Edward Irving was born at Annan, Annandale the second son of Ga ...

, and others; but the work proved too heavy for him, and he again took to teaching, first as superintendent of a

charity school Charity schools, sometimes called blue coat schools, or simply the Blue School, were significant in the history of education in England. They were built and maintained in various parishes by the voluntary contributions of the inhabitants to ...

, and afterwards as tutor on board HMS ''Tweed''. The vessel sailed for the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...

in October 1827, and on 4 November Hyslop died of fever contracted on the island of

Santiago, Cape Verde Santiago (Portuguese for “ Saint James”) is the largest island of Cape Verde, its most important agricultural centre and home to half the nation's population. Part of the Sotavento Islands, it lies between the islands of Maio ( to the east) ...

. His body was consigned to the sea with military honours.

Works

Hyslop is known for his poem, ''The Cameronian Dream''. While a shepherd at Nether Wellwood, near the scene of the battle where Richard Cameron was killed, Hyslop had been familiar with the story of the Scottish

Covenanters Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from ''Covenan ...

whose experiences he described. Among his 82 poems collected in 1887 by Peter Mearns, ''The Scottish Sacramental Sabbath'', ''The Scottish National Melody'', and ''The Child's Dream'' were also popular in Scotland. Most of Hyslop's poetry published during his lifetime appeared in the ''Edinburgh Magazine'', from 1819. He wrote also in prose, mainly on the Covenanters. Two essays in the ''Edinburgh Magazine'', 1820, were "A Defence of Modern Scottish Poetry", and "An Account of an Apparition in Airsmoss". Contributions to the ''Greenock Advertiser'' and other newspapers were frequently signed "The Muirkirk Shepherd".

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Hyslop, James 1798 births 1827 deaths Scottish poets 19th-century poets