And at Dumblane, in my ain sight,
They took the brig' wi' a' their might,
And straught to Stirling wing'd their flight;
But, cursed lot! the gates were shut,
And monie a huntit, poor red-coat,
For fear amaist did swarf,' man."

My sister Kate cam up the gate
Wi' crowdie unto me, man;
She swore she saw some rebels run
Frae Perth unto Dundee, man:
Their left-hand general had nae skill,
The Angus lads had nae guid-will
That day their neebors' blood to spill;
For fear, by foes, that they should lose
Their cogs o' brose, they scar'd at blows
And so it goes, you see, man.

They've lost some gallant gentlemen
Amang the Highland clans, man;
I fear my Lord Panmure is slain,

Or fallen in en'mies' hands, man:
Now wad ye sing this double fight,
Some fell for wrang, and some for right;
But monie bade the world guid-night;
Then ye may tell, how peil and mell,
By red claymores, and muskets' knell,
Wi' dying yell, the Tories fell,
And Whigs to hell did flee, man.

⚫ Bridge.

THE DUMFRIES VOLUNTEERS.

TUNE-" PUSH ABOUT THE JORUM."

DOES haughty Gaul invasion threat?
Then let the louns beware, Sir.
There's wooden walls upon our seas,
And volunteers on shore, Sir.
The Nith shall run to Corsincon,'
And Criffel sink to Solway,

Ere we permit a foreign foe
On British ground to rally!

• Swoon.

Fal de ral, &c.

April, 1795,

A high hill at the source of the Nith. 4 A mountain at the mouth of the same river.

O, WHA IS SHE THAT LO'ES ME.
O let us not like snarling tykes'

In wrangling be divided;
Till slap come in an unco loon'
And with a rung3 decide it.
Be Britain still to Britain true,
Amang oursels united;
For never but by British hands
Maun British wrangs be righted!
Fal de ral, &c.

The kettle o' the kirk and state,
Perhaps a claut may fail in't;
But deil a foreign tinkler loon
Shall ever ca" a nail in't;

Our fathers' bluid the kettle bought,
And wha wad dare to spoil it;-
By heaven, the sacrilegious dog

Shall fuel be to boil it.

Fal de ral, &c.

The wretch that wad a tyrant own,

And the wretch, his true-born brother,
Who would set the mob aboon the throne,
May they be d-d together!

Who will not sing, "God save the King,"
Shall hang as high's the steeple;

But while we sing, "God save the King,"
We'll ne'er forget the People.

353

If thou shalt meet a lassie,
In grace and beauty charming,
That e'en thy chosen lassie,
Erewhile thy breast sae warming,
Had ne'er sic powers alarming;
Ŏ that's, &c.

If thou hadst heard her talking,
And thy attentions plighted,
That ilka body talking,

But her, by thee is slighted,
And thou art all delighted;
O that's, &c.

If thou hast met this fair one;
When frae her thou hast parted,
If every other fair one,

But her, thou hast deserted,
And thou art broken-hearted;
O that's the lassie o' my heart,
My lassie, ever dearer;

O that's the queen o' womankind,
And ne'er å ane to peer her.

WHISTLE OWRE THE LAVE O'T.

Where'er he be, the Lord be near him!
Igo and ago;

As for the deil, he daur na steer' him.
Iram, coram, dago.

But please transmit th' enclosed letter,
Igo and ago,

Which will oblige your humble debtor,
Iram, coram, dago.

So may ye hae auld stanes in store,
Igo and ago,

The very stanes that Adam bore,
Iram, coram, dago.

So may ye get in glad possession,
Igo and ago,

The coins o' Satan's coronation!
Iram, coram, dago.

WHISTLE OWRE THE LAVE O'T.

FIRST when Maggy was my care,
Heaven, I thought, was in her air;
Now we're married-spier nae mair3-
Whistle owre the lave o't.
Meg was meek, and Meg was mild,
Bonnie Meg was nature's child-
Wiser men than me's beguil'd;-

Whistle owre the lave o't."

How we live, my Meg and me,
How we love and how we 'gree,
I care na by how few may see-
Whistle owre the lave o't.
Wha I wish were maggots' meat,
Dish'd up in her winding sheet,
I could write-but Meg maun see't—
Whistle owre the lave o't.

¿Molest.

• Inquire no more.

The rest of it,

355

O, ONCE I LOV'D A BONNIE LASS.

TUNE-"I AM A Man UNMARRIED."

O, ONCE I lov'd a bonnie lass,
Ay, and I love her still;

And whilst that virtue warms my breast

I'll love my handsome Nell.

Fal lal de ral, &c.

As bonnie lassies I hae seen,
And monie full as braw,
But for a modest gracefu' mien
The like I never saw.

A bonnie lass, I will confess,
Is pleasant to the e'e,

But without some better qualities

She's no a lass for me.

But Nelly's looks are blithe and sweet,

And what is best of a',

Her reputation is complete,

And fair without a flaw.

She dresses aye sae clean and neat,
Both decent and genteel.

And then there's something in her gait,
Gars' onie dress look weel. $

A gaudy dress and gentle air
May slightly touch the heart,
But it's innocence and modesty
That polishes the dart.

1 For a own part, I never had the least thought or inclination of turning pt till I got once heartily in love, and then rhyme and song were, in a manner, the spontaneous language of my heart. The following composition was the first of my performances, and done at an early period of my life, when my heart glowed with honest warm simplicity; unacquainted and uncorrupted with the ways of a wicked world. The performance is, indeed, very puerile and silly; but I am always pleased with it, as it recalls to my mind those happy days when my heart was yet honest and my tongue was sincere. The subject of it was a young girl who really deserved all the praises I have bestowed on her.-R. B. She was the poet's companion in the harvest-fleld.

2 Makes.

The thoughts in the fifth stanza come finely up to my favourite idea-a sweet sonsie lass.-R. B.