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complained of a giddiness and swimming in her head,
on which he said, '' Faith, I ken something o' that
mysel', your grace; when I have been fou the night
afore, ye wad think that a bike o' bees were bizzing
in my bonnet the next morning."
In travelling he was frequently spoken to by stran-
gers, to whom description had made his dress and
appearance familiar. At Hamilton, once, he was
accosted by two gentlemen, who begged to know his
name, which having told them, they immediately
said, "Oh! you are the very man we have come
from------to see."  "Am I?" replied Neil; "by my
saul, ye're the mair fules; I wadna gang half sae far
to see you." On another occasion, when crossing
in one of the passage-boats from Kirkcaldy to Leith,
several gentlemen entered into conversation with
him, and being strangers, instead of Neil, as was
usual, they always addressed him as Master Gow.
When about to land, the Dunkeld carrier, happen-
ing to be on the pier said, "Ou, Neil, is this you?"
"Whisht, man," answered Neil, with a sly expression,
"let me land or ye ca' me Neil; I hae got naething
but Maister a'' the way o'er."
There are few professions where persons are more
exposed or tempted to habits of indulgence in liquor,
than those whose calling it is to minister music to
the midnight and morning revel. The fatigue of
playing for hours in crowded and heated  rooms—at
those times, too, which are usually devoted to sleep
—requires stimulants; and not a few have fallen
victims to habits acquired in such situations. But,
though exposed to these temptations as much as any
man ever was, Neil Gow was essentially sober and
temperate. He never indulged in unmixed spirits,
and when at home, without company, seldom took
any drink but water. At the same time he was of
a social disposition, and delighted in the interchange
of friendly and hospitable intercourse; and it befits
not the truth of our chronicle to deny, that prudence,
though often a  conquerer, did not on every occasion
gain the race with good fellowship, or in plain words,
that Neil did not find, at the close of some friendly
sederunts, "the maut aboon the meal." At least
we would infer as much from an anecdote that has
been told of him.—Returning pretty early one morn-
ing from Ruthven works, where he had been attend-
ing a yearly ball, he was met with his fiddle under
his arm, near the bridge of Almond, by some of his
friends, who lamented the length of the road he had
to walk to Inver, when Neil exclaimed, "Deil may
care for the length o' the road, it's only the breadth
o't that's fashin' me now." It was perhaps with
reference to the same occasion that a friend said to
him, "I suspect, Neil, ye've been the waur o' drink."
"The waur o' drink !" responded the musician; "na!
na! I may have been fou, but I ne'er was the waur
o't." His son Nathaniel frequently sent him presents
of shrub and ale. In acknowledging one of them,
he wrote, "I received the box and twenty bottles of
ale, which is not good,—more hop than faith—too
strong o' the water, &c. My compliments to Meg,
and give her a guinea, and ask her which of the two
she would accept of first."
He was a man most exemplary in all the private
relations of life—a faithful husband, an affectionate
parent, and a generous friend. In more cases than
one he refused lands which were offered to him at a
trifling purchase, and which would have been worth
thousands to his successors, and chose the more
disinterested part, of giving money to the unfortunate
owners to enable them to purchase their lands back.
He not only had religion in his heart, but was
scrupulous in his external observances. He was
constant in his attendance at divine worship, and
had family prayers evening and morning in his own
house. In regard to his private character altogether,
we may quote from a very elegant biographical
sketch from the pen of Dr. Macknight, who knew
him well, and which appeared in the Scots Magazine
in 1809:—"His moral and religious principles were
originally correct, rational, and heartfelt, and they
were never corrupted. His duty in the domestic
relations of life he uniformly fulfilled with exemplary
fidelity, generosity, and kindness. In short, by the
general integrity, prudence, and propriety of his
conduct, he deserved, and he lived and died possess-
ing, as large a portion of respect from his equals, and
of good-will from his superiors, as has ever fallen to
the lot of any man of his rank."
In a professional point of view Neil Gow is to be
judged according to circumstances. He never had
the advantage of great masters, and indeed was
almost entirely self-taught. It would be idle to
inquire what he might have been had he devoted
himself to the science as a study. He did not, so
far as is known, attempt the composition of difficult
or concerted pieces; and it is believed did not do
much even in the way of arrangement to his own
melodies. He was one of nature's musicians, and
confined himself to what genius can conceive and
execute, without the intervention of much science—
the composition of melodies: and, after all, melody
is the true test of musical genius;—no composi-
tion, however philosophical, learned, and elabo-
rate, can live, if it wants its divine inspiration; and
the science of Handel, Haydn, and Mozart would
not have rescued their names from oblivion, had the
soul of melody not sparkled like a gem through all
the cunning framework and arrangement of their
noble compositions. He composed a great number
of tunes, nearly a hundred of which are to be found
in the collections published by his son Nathaniel at
Edinburgh. The greater portion of them are of a
lively character, and suited for dancing, such as reels,
strathspeys, and quick-steps. It would not be in-
teresting in a notice like this to enumerate the titles
of so many compositions; but we may safely refer to
the beautiful air of Locherroch Side, to which Burns
wrote his pathetic ballad of Oh! stay, sweet warbling
Woodlark, stay, and which is equally effective as a
quick dancing tune—to the Lament for Abercairney,
and his Farewell to Whisky—as specimens which
entitled him to take his place among the best-known
composers of Scottish music which our country has
produced.
As a performer of Scottish music on the violin,
we have already said that he was acknowledged to
have been the ablest of his day; and we cannot do
better than once more quote from the biographic
sketch written by Dr. Macknight, himself a skilful
violinist, and who frequently heard Neil play, to
illustrate the peculiar character of his style:—"There
is perhaps no species whatever of music executed
on the violin, in which the characteristic expression
depends more on the power of the bow, particularly
in what is called the upward or returning stroke, than
the Highland reel. Here accordingly was Gow's
forte. His bow-hand, as a suitable instrument of his
genius, was uncommonly powerful; and when the
note produced by the up-bow was often feeble and
indistinct in other hands, it was struck in his play-
ing with a strength and certainty which never failed
to surprise and delight the skilful hearer. As an
example may be mentioned his manner of striking
the tenor C in Athol House. To this extraordin-
ary power of the bow, in the hand of great original
genius, must be ascribed the singular felicity of ex-
pression which he gave to all his music, and the