Графични страници
PDF файл
ePub

Bids bauld to bear the gree awa',
Wi' a' this graith,

Whan bienly clad wi' shell fu' braw
O' gude Braid Claith.

Waesuck for him wha has nae fek o't!
For he's a gowk they 're sure to geck at,
A chield that ne'er will be respekit

While he draws breath,

Till his four quarters are bedeckit
Wi' gude Braid Claith.

On Sabbath days the barber spark,
Whan he has done wi' scrapin' wark,
Wi' siller broachie in his sark

Gangs trigly, faith,

Or to the Meadows or the Park,

In gude Braid Claith.

Weel might ye trow, to see them there,
That they to shave your haffits bare,
Or curl an' sleek a pickle hair,

Wud be right laith,

Whan pacing wi' a gawsy air
In gude Braid Claith.

If ony mettled stirrah grien
For favour frae a lady's ein,
He mauna care for being seen
Before he sheath

ΙΟ

15

20

25

30

[blocks in formation]

Braid Claith lends fouk an unco heese,
Makes mony kail-worms butterflees,

Gies mony a doctor his degrees

For little skaith:

In short, you may be what you please
Wi' gude Braid Claith.

For thof ye had as wise a snout on

As Shakespeare or Sir Isaac Newton,
Your judgment fouk wud hae a doubt on,
I'll tak' my aith,

Till they cou'd see ye wi' a suit on
O' gude Braid Claith.

1772.

45

50

ODE TO THE GOWDSPINK

Frae fields whare Spring her sweets has blawn
Wi' caller verdure o'er the lawn,
The gowdspink comes in new attire,
The brawest 'mang the whistling choir,
That, ere the sun can clear his een,
Wi' glib notes sane the simmer's green.
Sure Nature herried mony a tree,
For spraings and bonny spats to thee;
Nae mair the rainbow can impart
Sic glowing ferlies o' her art,
Whase pencil wrought its freaks at will
On thee, the sey-piece o' her skill.

Nae mair through straths in simmer dight
We seek the rose to bless our sight,
Or bid the bonny wa'-flowers blaw
Whare yonder ruins crumblin' fa';
Thy shining garments far outstrip
The cherries upo' Hebe's lip,

And fool the tints that Nature chose
To busk and paint the crimson rose.

'Mang men, wae 's-heart! we aften find
The brawest drest want peace of mind,
While he that gangs wi' ragged coat
Is weel contentit wi' his lot.
Whan wand wi' glewy birdlime's set,

5

ΙΟ

151

20

25

To steal far aff your dautit mate,
Blyth wad ye change your cleething gay
In lieu of lav'rock's sober grey,

In vain thro' woods you sair may ban
Th' envious treachery of man,
That, wi' your gowden glister ta'en,
Still haunts you on the simmer's plain,
And traps you 'mang the sudden fa's
O' winter's dreary dreepin' snaws.
Now steekit frae the gowany field,
Frae ilka fav'rite houff and bield,
But mergh, alas! to disengage
Your bonny bouck frae fettering cage,
Your free-born bosom beats in vain
For darling liberty again.

[blocks in formation]

In window hung, how aft we see
Thee keek around at warblers free,
That carol saft, and sweetly sing
Wi' a' the blythness of the spring!
Like Tantalus they hing you here
To spy the glories o' the year;

40

45

And tho' you're at the burnie's brink,
They douna suffer you to drink.

Ah, Liberty! thou bonny dame, How wildly wanton is thy stream, Round whilk the birdies a' rejoice, An' hail you wi' a gratefu' voice.

50

The gowdspink chatters joyous here,

And courts wi' gleesome sangs his peer;
The mavis frae the new-bloomed thorn

55

Begins his lauds at earest morn;

And herd-lowns, louping o'er the grass,
Need far less fleetching till their lass
Than paughty damsels bred at courts,
Wha thraw their mou's and take the dorts:
But, reft of thee, fient flee we care
For a' that life ahint can spare.

60

The gowdspink, that sae lang has kenned
Thy happy sweets (his wonted friend),

Her sad confinement ill can brook
In some dark chamber's dowy nook;

65

Tho' Mary's hand his nebb supplies,
Unkend to hunger's painfu' cries,
Ev'n beauty canna chear the heart
Frae life, frae liberty apart,
For now we tyne its wonted lay,
Sae lightsome sweet, sae blythely gay.
Thus Fortune aft a curse can gie,

To wyle us far frae liberty:

70

70

Then tent her syren smiles wha list,

I'll ne'er envy your girnal's grist;

For whan fair Freedom smiles nae mair,
Care I for life? Shame fa' the hair:

75

A field o'ergrown wi' rankest stubble,

The essence of a paltry bubble.

80

1773.

JOHN SKINNER

TULLOCHGORUM

Come gie's a sang! Montgomery cried,
And lay your disputes all aside;
What signifies 't for folk to chide

For what's been done before 'em?

Let Whig and Tory all agree,

Whig and Tory, Whig and Tory,

5

[blocks in formation]

For blythe and cheery we's be a,'
As lang as we hae breath to draw,
And dance, till we be like to fa',
The reel o' Tullochgorum!

There needs na be sae great a phrase
Wi' dringing dull Italian lays;
I wadna gi'e our ain strathspeys

For half a hundred score o' 'em:
They're douff and dowie at the best,
Douff and dowie, douff and dowie,
They're douff and dowie at the best,
Wi' a' their variorum;

They're douff and dowie at the best,
Their allegros and a' the rest;
They canna please a Scottish taste,

Compared wi' Tullochgorum.

Let warldly minds themselves oppress
Wi' fears of want and double cess,
And sullen sots themselves distress
Wi' keeping up decorum:
Shall we sae sour and sulky sit?
Sour and sulky, sour and sulky,
Shall we sae sour and sulky sit,
Like auld Philosophorum?

25

330

35

40

[blocks in formation]

And dainties a great store o' 'em!
May peace and plenty be his lot,
Unstained by any vicious spot,
And may he never want a groat

That's fond o' Tullochgorum!

60

« ПредишнаНапред »