248. JOHN ANDERSON. John Anderson my jo, John, John Anderson my jo, John, We clamb the hill thegither; And mony a canty day, John, We've had wi' ane anither. But we maun totter down, John, But hand in hand we'll go: And sleep thegither at the foot, John Anderson my jo. Lay the proud usurpers low! 250. THE BANKS O' DOON. Ye flowery banks o' bonnie Doon, And I sae fu' o' care! Thou'll break my heart, thou bonnie bird, That sings upon the bough; Thou minds't me o' the happy days When my fause luve was true. Thou'lt break my heart, thou bonnie bird, That sings beside thy mate; For sae I sat, and sae I sang, Aft hae I roved by bonnie Doon, Wi' lightsome heart I pu'd a rose, And my fause luver staw the rose, 251. THE COTTER'S SATURDAY NIGHT This night his weekly moil 2 is at an end, And weary, o'er the moor, his course does hameward bend Th' expectant wee3 things, toddlin,* stacher' through 8 His clean hearth-stane, his thriftie wifie's smile, Does a' his weary carking 10 cares beguile, Belyve" the elder bairns come drappin in, At service out, amang the farmers roun'; Their eldest hope, their Jenny, woman grown, 15 In youthfu' bloom, love sparkling in her e'e, To help her parents dear, if they in hardship be. 18 Wi' joy unfeigned, brothers and sisters meet, Gars 20 auld claes look amaist as weel's the new; The father mixes a' with admonition due. Their master's and their mistress's command, 21 An' mind their labors wi' an eydent "1 hand, 66 An' ne'er, though out o' sight, to jauk or play: “An', O! be sure to fear the Lord alway! An' mind your duty, duly, morn an' night! They never sought in vain that sought the Lord aright!" But hark! a rap comes gently to the door; Weel pleased the mother hears it's nae wild worthless rake. Little. 4 Tottering in their walk. 5 Stagger. 6 Fluttering. 7 Fire. 8 Shining at intervals. asuming. 11 By and by. 18 Drive. 13 Cautious. 4 Sorely won. 17 Wages. 18 Asks. 19 News. ALL 14 Kindly, dexterous. 15 Fine, handsome 90 Makes. Diligent. * Partly. Wi' kindly welcome Jenny brings him ben; 24 23 A strappan youth, he taks the mother's eye; The father cracks 25 of horses, pleughs, and kye." But blate 27 an' laithfu',28 scarce can weel behave: What maks the youth sae bashfu' an' sae grave, O, happy love! where love like this is found! And sage experience bids me this declare, 'Tis when a youthful, loving, modest pair In other's arms breathe out the tender tale, Is there, in human form, that bears a heart, – 30 Is there no pity, no relenting ruth,3 Points to the parents fondling o'er their child? But now the supper crowns their simple board! The soupe 32 their only hawkie 33 does afford, That 'yont 34 the hallan 35 snugly chows her cood: To grace the lad, her weel-hained 36 kebbuck,37 fell," Ar' aft he's pressed, an' aft he ca's it good; The frugal wifie, garrulous, will tell, How 'twas a towmond 39 auld,40 sin 41 lint was i' the bell." The cheerfu' supper done, wi' serious face, as Carefully preserved. 25 Converses. 26 K.ne, cows. 2' 5ashful 31 Oatmeal pudding. 85 A partition wall in a cottage 39 Twelve months. 40 014 30 Mercy, kind feeling. 37 A cheese. 38 Biting to the taste. 41 Since. 48 Flax was in blossom. 43 The great Bible kept in the hall. His bonnet reverently is laid aside, His lyart" haffets 45 wearin' thin an' bare; Those strains that once did sweet in Zion glide, He wales 46 a portion with judicious care; And "Let us worship God," he says, wi' solemn air. 47 They chant their artless notes in simple guise; They tune their hearts, by far the noblest aim; Perhaps Dundee's 47 wild warbling measures rise, Or plaintive Martyrs, worthy of the name; Or noble Elgin 47 beets the heavenward flame, The sweetest far of Scotia's holy lays: Compared with these, Italian frills are tame; The tickled ears no heartfelt raptures raise; Nae unison hae they with our Creator's praise. The priest-like father reads the sacred page, With Amalek's ungracious progeny; Or, how the Royal Bard 48 did groaning lie Perhaps the Christian volume is the theme, How guiltless blood for guilty man was shed; How He, who bore in heaven the second name, Had not on earth whereon to lay his head: How His first followers and servants sped, The precepts sage they wrote to many a land: How he 49 who lone in Patmos 50 banished, Saw in the sun a mighty angel stand, [command. And heard great Babylon's doom pronounced by Heaven's Then kneeling down to Heaven's Eternal King, No more to sigh, or shed the bitter tear, While circling time moves round in an eternal sphere. Gray. 45 The temples, the sides of the head. 46 Chooses. 48 David. 47 The names of Scottish psalm-tunes 49 Saint John. An island in the Archipelago, where John is supposed tɔ have written the book of Revelation. |