They shall hing nae mair upon the bush in our kail-yard, They shall hing nae mair upon the bush in our kail-yard; They shall bob on Athole green, and there they will be seen, And the rocks and the trees shall be their safeguard. my bonnie bonnie flouirs, they shall bloom ower them a', When they gang to the dancin' in Carlisle ha'; O what will I do for a lad, when Sandy gangs awa? He's coming frae the north that's to marry me, THE LAIRD O' COCKPEN. TUNE-The Laird o' Cockpen. THE Laird o' Cockpen, he's proud an' he's great; Doun by the dyke-side a lady did dwell, His wig was weel pouther'd, as guid as when new, * From Mr Hogg's Jacobite Relics. He took the grey mare, and rade cannilie— Mistress Jean she was makin' the elder-flower wine; And when she cam ben, he boued fu' low; Dumfounder'd he was, but nae sigh did he gie; And now that the Laird his exit had made, Neist time that the Laird and the lady were seen, THE KAIL-BROSE OF AULD SCOTLAND. WHEN our ancient forefathers agreed wi' the laird And O! the auld Scottish kail-brose. Supposed, with the exception of the two last verses, (which are sup plementary,) to be the composition of the accomplished authoress of Marriage. When Fergus, the first of our kings, I suppose, Our sodgers were drest in their kilts and short hose, At our annual elections for bailies or mayor, But when we remember the English, our foes, But, now that the thistle is joined to the rose, Yet each true-hearted Scotsman, by nature jocose, And O! the auld Scottish kail-brose ! * *Said to have been written by Sheriff, an Aberdeenshire poet, who published two volumes of poems, and regarding whom the following anecdote is told : When Burns first came to Edinburgh, in the end of the year 1786, he applied to one of the most respectable printers in town, and ordered a quanHe had shaken off tity of prospectuses of the second edition of his poems. but little of his professional mould; his dress was by no means gay; and he had acquired a very small portion of the reputation he afterwards attained to. Of course, he did not appear in the eyes of an Edinburgh tradesman the most promising customer in the world. So much, indeed, had he the appearance of something the reverse, that when he called for his prospectuses, and began to talk of having the work itself printed, Mr with great politeness of manner, hinted at a custom which obtained among men of his profession, namely, to require payment by advance, in the case of doing business for the first time with strangers. At this ungracious insinuation, the dark cheek of Burns flushed in a moment with the brightest crimson, and pulling a considerable quantity of money from his pocket, he eagerly demanded what he had to pay, tabled the amount, and instantly left the place, notwithstanding all that the printer could say in palliation of his suspicions. OH, ARE YE SLEEPIN', MAGGIE? TANNAHILL. TUNE-Sleepy Maggie. O, ARE ye sleepin', Maggie? Is roarin' o'er the warlock craigie ! Mirk and rainy is the night; No a starn in a' the carie; And winds drive on wi' winter's fury. Fearfu' soughs the boor-tree bank; The rifted wood roars wild and drearie; Loud the iron yett does clank; And cry o' howlets maks me eerie. Aboon my breath I daurna speak, She oped the door; she let him in; A multitudinous impression of Burns's poems was issued next spring from a rival printing-house, and Mr cursed the mal-a-propos cautiousness which had lost him so excellent and so promising a job. With the usual blindness of all persons connected with his profession, which supposes, that because one thing has succeeded, another thing of the same external nature will also succeed, he resolved not to let slip another opportunity of printing the effusions of a rustic muse. It fell to the lot of Mr Sheriff to afford him this opportunity. The Aberdeenshire poet was one of the very first of those individuals who were encouraged by the success of Burns to attempt similar poetical publications. Mr, the printer, agreed, without a moment's hesitation, to undertake the risk of putting his lucubrations into the shape of a book. An enormous edition was printed in two duodecimo volumes. The work was published; but, alas for the calculations of the publisher, although the poetry possessed a very respectable degree of merit, and seemed to be exactly of the same sort with that of the Ayrshire bard, a tithe of it did not sell. The lucky moment and the lucky man were lost; and Mr, in addition to his former negative misfortune, had now to regret one of a positive nature, and which was ten times harder to bear. This anecdote, the poetical justice of which is very striking, may be depended on as true, being derived from the memory of a respectable printer, who was in Mr 's employment at the time when the whole circum. stances took place. Blaw your warst, ye wind and rain, Now, since ye're waukin', Maggie, For boor-tree bank and warlock craggie! WE'LL MEET BESIDE THE DUSKY GLEN. TANNAHILL. TUNE-There grows a bonnie Brier Bush. WE'LL meet beside the dusky glen on yon burn-side, Where the bushes form a cozie den, on yon burn-side: Though the broomy knowes be green, Yet there we may be seen; But we'll meet-we'll meet at e'en, down by yon burnside. I'll lead thee to the birken bower on yon burn-side, Sae sweitly wove wi' woodbine flower, on yon burnside: There the busy prying eye Ne'er disturbs the lover's joy, While in other's arms they lie, down by yon burn-side. Awa, ye rude unfeelin' crew, frae yon burn-side! Those fairy scenes are no for you, by yon burn-side: There fancy smooths her theme, By the sweetly murmurin' stream, And the rock-lodged echoes skim, down by yon burnside. Now the plantin' taps are tinged wi' gowd on yon burn-side, And gloamin' draws her foggie shroud o'er yon burn side: |