Will fire our blood for evermore, CALEDONIA. AIR-Lord Aboyne. CALEDONIA! thou land of the mountain and rock; Of the ocean, the mist, and the wind: Thou land of the torrent, the pine, and the oak; Of the roe-buck, the heart, and the hind: Though bare are thy cliffs, and though barren thy glens; Though bleak thy dun islands appear; Yet kind are the hearts, and undaunted the clans, That roam on those mountains so drear. Thou land of the bay, and the headland so steep; Of the eagle that hovers on high O'er the still lake, where, etch'd on his bosom, asleep Lie the mountain, the cloud, and the sky. A foe from abroad, or a tyrant at home, The invincible bands of imperial Rome Of genius unshackled and free; The Muses have left all the vales of the south, My lov'd Caledonia, for thee. THE WEE HOUSE. I LIKE the weel, my wee auld house, My head's grown gray aneath thy kipple, Baith to the blind man an' the cripple. What gart my ewes thrive on the hill, The poor man left me aye his blessin'. As I've had by this hallan sittin'. My bonny bairns around me smiled In notes sae artless an' sae winning. Our e'ening psalm a hymn of joy; Sae calm an' peacefu' was our rest, Our bliss, our love, without alloy. I canna help but haud the dear, My auld storm-batter'd, homely shieling; Thy sooty lum, an' kipples clear I better love than gaudy ceiling. Thy roof will fa', thy rafters start, How damp an' cauld thy earth will be! Ah! sae will soon ilk honest heart, That erst was blythe and bauld in thee! I thought to cower aneath thy wa', 'Till death should close my weary een, Then leave thee for the narrow ha', Wi' lowly roof o' sward sae green. Fareweel my house an' burnie clear, My bourtree bush an' bowzy tree! The wee while I maun sojourn here, I'll never find a hame like thee. |