Peg Nicholson was a good bay mare,As ever trod on airn;But now she’s floating down the Nith,And past the mouth o’ Cairn. Peg Nicholson was a good bay mare,An’ rode thro’ thick and thin;But now she’s floating down the Nith,And wanting even the skin. Peg Nicholson was a good bay mare,And ance she bore a […]

[Elegy On Captain Matthew Henderson – A Gentleman who held the Patent for his Honours immediately from Almighty God.] Should the poor be flattered?–Shakespeare. O Death! thou tyrant fell and bloody!The meikle devil wi’ a woodieHaurl thee hame to his black smiddie,O’er hurcheon hides,And like stock-fish come o’er his studdieWi’ thy auld sides! He’s gane, […]

[Written on an Envelope, enclosing a Letter to Him.] Ken ye aught o’ Captain Grose?–Igo, and ago,If he’s amang his friends or foes?–Iram, coram, dago. Is he to Abra’m’s bosom gane?–Igo, and ago,Or haudin Sarah by the wame?–Iram, coram dago. Is he south or is he north?–Igo, and ago,Or drowned in the river Forth?–Iram, coram […]

Stop, passenger! my story’s brief,And truth I shall relate, man;I tell nae common tale o’ grief,For Matthew was a great man. If thou uncommon merit hast,Yet spurn’d at Fortune’s door, man;A look of pity hither cast,For Matthew was a poor man. If thou a noble sodger art,That passest by this grave, man;There moulders here a […]

“Of Brownyis and of Bogillis full is this Buke.” Gawin Douglas. When chapman billies leave the street,And drouthy neibors, neibors, meet;As market days are wearing late,And folk begin to tak the gate,While we sit bousing at the nappy,An’ getting fou and unco happy,We think na on the lang Scots miles,The mosses, waters, slaps and stiles,That […]

By yon Castle wa’, at the close of the day,I heard a man sing, tho’ his head it was grey:And as he was singing, the tears doon came,–There’ll never be peace till Jamie comes hame. The Church is in ruins, the State is in jars,Delusions, oppressions, and murderous wars,We dare na weel say’t, but we […]

Now Nature hangs her mantle greenOn every blooming tree,And spreads her sheets o’ daisies whiteOut o’er the grassy lea;Now Phoebus cheers the crystal streams,And glads the azure skies;But nought can glad the weary wightThat fast in durance lies. Now laverocks wake the merry mornAloft on dewy wing;The merle, in his noontide bow’r,Makes woodland echoes ring;The […]

Life ne’er exulted in so rich a prize,As Burnet, lovely from her native skies;Nor envious death so triumph’d in a blow,As that which laid th’ accomplish’d Burnet low. Thy form and mind, sweet maid, can I forget?In richest ore the brightest jewel set!In thee, high Heaven above was truest shown,As by His noblest work the […]

[On the Birth of a Posthumous ChildBorn in peculiar circumstances of family distress.] Sweet flow’ret, pledge o’ meikle love,And ward o’ mony a prayer,What heart o’ stane wad thou na move,Sae helpless, sweet, and fair? November hirples o’er the lea,Chil, on thy lovely form:And gane, alas! the shelt’ring tree,Should shield thee frae the storm. May […]

Ye flowery banks o’ bonie Doon,How can ye blume sae fair?How can ye chant, ye little birds,And I sae fu’ o care!Thou’ll break my heart, thou bonie bird,That sings upon the bough!Thou minds me o’ the happy daysWhen my fause Luve was true.Thou’ll break my heart, thou bonie bird,That sings beside thy mate;For sae I […]

Sweet are the banks–the banks o’ Doon,The spreading flowers are fair,And everything is blythe and glad,But I am fu’ o’ care.Thou’ll break my heart, thou bonie bird,That sings upon the bough;Thou minds me o’ the happy daysWhen my fause Luve was true:Thou’ll break my heart, thou bonie bird,That sings beside thy mate;For sae I sat, […]

Out over the Forth, I look to the North;But what is the north and its Highlands to me?The south nor the east gie ease to my breast,The far foreign land, or the wide rolling sea. But I look to the west when I gae to rest,That happy my dreams and my slumbers may be;For far […]

[On being asked why she had been formed so little, and Mrs. A–so big.] Ask why God made the gem so small?And why so huge the granite?–Because God meant mankind should setThat higher value on it.

Chorus.–Bonie wee thing, cannie wee thing,Lovely wee thing, wert thou mine,I wad wear thee in my bosom,Lest my jewel it should tine. Wishfully I look and languishIn that bonie face o’ thine,And my heart it stounds wi’ anguish,Lest my wee thing be na mine.Bonie wee thing, etc. Wit, and Grace, and Love, and Beauty,In ae […]

[Lines Sent to Sir John Whiteford, BartWith The Lament On The Death Of the Earl Of Glencairn] Thou, who thy honour as thy God rever’st,Who, save thy mind’s reproach, nought earthly fear’st,To thee this votive offering I impart,The tearful tribute of a broken heart.The Friend thou valued’st, I, the Patron lov’d;His worth, his honour, all […]

The wind blew hollow frae the hills,By fits the sun’s departing beamLook’d on the fading yellow woods,That wav’d o’er Lugar’s winding stream:Beneath a craigy steep, a Bard,Laden with years and meikle pain,In loud lament bewail’d his lord,Whom Death had all untimely ta’en. He lean’d him to an ancient aik,Whose trunk was mould’ring down with years;His […]

Ye banks and braes o’ bonie Doon,How can ye bloom sae fresh and fair?How can ye chant, ye little birds,And I sae weary fu’ o’ care!Thou’ll break my heart, thou warbling bird,That wantons thro’ the flowering thorn:Thou minds me o’ departed joys,Departed never to return. Aft hae I rov’d by Bonie Doon,To see the rose […]

Tune–“Miss Muir.” O how shall I, unskilfu’, tryThe poet’s occupation?The tunefu’ powers, in happy hours,That whisper inspiration;Even they maun dare an effort mairThan aught they ever gave us,Ere they rehearse, in equal verse,The charms o’ lovely Davies. Each eye it cheers when she appears,Like Phoebus in the morning,When past the shower, and every flowerThe garden […]

O luve will venture in where it daur na weel be seen,O luve will venture in where wisdom ance has been;But I will doun yon river rove, amang the wood sae green,And a’ to pu’ a Posie to my ain dear May. The primrose I will pu’, the firstling o’ the year,And I will pu’ […]

What can a young lassie, what shall a young lassie,What can a young lassie do wi’ an auld man?Bad luck on the penny that tempted my minnieTo sell her puir Jenny for siller an’ lan’.Bad luck on the penny that tempted my minnieTo sell her puir Jenny for siller an’ lan’! He’s always compleenin’ frae […]