The Home Book of Verse Volume Ii Part 65

Out spake the bride's mither: "What deil needs a' this pride?

I had nae a plack in my pouch That night I was a bride; My gown was linsey woolsey, And ne'er a sark ava; And ye ha'e ribbons and buskins, Mair than ane or twa."

Out spake the bride's brither, As he cam' in wi' the kye: "Poor Willie wad ne'er ha'e ta'en ye, Had he kent ye as weel as I; For ye're baith proud and saucy And no for a puir man's wife; Gin I canna get a better, I'se ne'er tak' ane i' my life."

Out spake the bride's sister, As she cam' in frae the byre: "O gin I were but married, It's a' that I desire; But we puir folk maun live single, And do the best we can; I dinna ken what I should want, If I could get but a man!"

Alexander Ross [1699-1784]

"OWRE THE MUIR AMANG THE HEATHER"

Comin' though the craigs o' Kyle, Amang the bonnie bloomin' heather, There I met a bonnie la.s.sie, Keepin' a' her ewes thegither.

Owre the muir amang the heather, Owre the muir amang the heather; There I met a bonnie la.s.sie, Keepin' a' her ewes thegither.

Says I, My dear, where is thy hame,-- In muir or dale, pray tell me whether?

She says, I tent the fleecy flocks That feed amang the bloomin' heather.

We laid us down upon a bank, Sae warm and sunny was the weather: She left her flocks at large to rove Amang the bonnie bloomin' heather.

While thus we lay, she sung a sang, Till echo rang a mile and farther; And aye the burden of the sang Was, Owre the muir amang the heather.

She charmed my heart, and aye sinsyne I couldna think on ony ither: By sea and sky! she shall be mine, The bonnie la.s.s amang the heather.

Jean Glover [1758-1801]

MARRIAGE AND THE CARE O'T

Quoth Rab to Kate, My sonsy dear, I've wooed ye mair than ha' a year, An' if ye'd wed me ne'er cou'd speer, Wi' blateness, an' the care o't.

Now to the point: sincere I'm wi't: Will ye be my ha'f-marrow, sweet?

Shake han's, and say a bargain be't An' ne'er think on the care o't.

Na, na, quo' Kate, I winna wed, O' sic a snare I'll aye be rede; How mony, thochtless, are misled By marriage, an' the care o't!

A single life's a life o' glee, A wife ne'er think to mak' o' me, Frae toil an' sorrow I'll keep free, An' a' the dool an' care o't.

Weel, weel, said Robin, in reply, Ye ne'er again shall me deny, Ye may a toothless maiden die For me, I'll tak' nae care o't.

Fareweel for ever!--aff I hie;-- Sae took his leave without a sigh; Oh! stop, quo' Kate, I'm yours, I'll try The married life, an' care o't.

Rab wheel't about, to Kate cam' back, An' ga'e her mou' a hearty smack, Syne lengthened out a lovin' crack 'Bout marriage an' the care o't.

Though as she thocht she didna speak, An' lookit unco mim an' meek, Yet blithe was she wi' Rab to cleek, In marriage, wi' the care o't.

Robert Loch.o.r.e [1762-1852]

THE WOMEN FOLK

O sairly may I rue the day I fancied first the womenkind; For aye sinsyne I ne'er can ha'e Ae quiet thought or peace o' mind!

They ha'e plagued my heart, an' pleased my e'e, An' teased an' flattered me at will, But aye, for a' their witchery, The pawky things! I lo'e them still.

O, the women folk! O, the women folk, But they ha'e been the wreck o' me; O, weary fa' the women folk, For they winna let a body be!

I ha'e thought an' thought, but darena tell, I've studied them wi' a' my skill, I've lo'ed them better than mysel', I've tried again to like them ill.

Wha sairest strives, will sairest rue, To comprehend what nae man can; When he has done what man can do, He'll end at last where he began.

That they ha'e gentle forms an' meet, A man wi' half a look may see; An' gracefu' airs, an' faces sweet, An' waving curls aboon the bree!

An' smiles as saft as the young rose-bud, An' e'en sae pawky, bright, an' rare, Wad lure the laverock frae the clud-- But, laddie, seek to ken nae mair!

James Hogg [1770-1835]

"LOVE IS LIKE A DIZZINESS"

I lately lived in quiet ease, An' never wished to marry, O!

But when I saw my Peggy's face, I felt a sad quandary, O!

Though wild as ony Athol deer, She has trepanned me fairly, O!

Her cherry cheeks an' een sae clear Torment me late an' early, O!

O, love, love, love!

Love is like a dizziness; It winna let a poor body Gang about his biziness!

To tell my feats this single week Wad mak a daft-like diary, O!

I drave my cart out owre a dike, My horses in a miry, O!

I wear my stockings white an' blue, My love's sae fierce an' fiery, O!

I drill the land that I should pleugh, An' pleugh the drills entirely, O!

Ae morning, by the dawn o' day, I rase to theek the stable, O!

I cuist my coat, an' plied away As fast as I was able, O!

I wrought that morning out an' out, As I'd been redding fire, O!

When I had done an' looked about, Gudefaith, it was the byre, O!

Her wily glance I'll ne'er forget, The dear, the lovely blinkin' o't Has pierced me through an' through the heart, An' plagues me wi' the prinkling o't.

I tried to sing, I tried to pray, I tried to drown 't wi' drinkin' o't, I tried wi' sport to drive 't away, But ne'er can sleep for thinkin' o't.

Nae man can tell what pains I prove, Or how severe my pliskie, O!

I swear I'm sairer drunk wi' love Than ever I was wi' whiskey, O!

For love has raked me fore an' aft, I scarce can lift a leggie, O!

I first grew dizzy, then gaed daft, An' soon I'll dee for Peggy, O!

James Hogg [1770-1835]