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Like you I vainly trusted then,
That men alone were born to reign.

Great Hercules, and Sampson too,
Were stronger men than me or you;
Yet they were baffled by their dears,
And felt the distaff and the shears.

Stout gates of brass, and well-built walls,
Are proof 'gainst swords and cannon balls;
But nocht is found, by sea or land,
That can a wayward wife withstand. *

AULD ROB MORRIS.

TUNE-Auld Rob Morris.

MOTHER.

AULD Rob Morris, that wons in yon glen,
He's the king o' guid fallows, and wale o' auld men ;
He has fourscore o' black sheep, and fourscore too;
Auld Rob Morris is the man ye maun lo'e.

DAUGHTER.

Haud your tongue, mother, and let that abee;
For his eild and my eild can never agree:
They'll never agree, and that will be seen;
For he is fourscore, and I'm but fifteen.

MOTHER.

Haud your tongue, dochter, and lay by your pride,
For he is the bridegroom, and ye'se be the bride;
He shall lie by your side, and kiss you too;
Auld Rob Morris is the man ye maun lo'e.

DAUGHTER.

Auld Rob Morris, I ken him fu' weel,
His back sticks out like ony peat-creel;

* From Herd's Collection, 1776.

He's out-shinn'd, in-kneed, and ringle-eyed too;
Auld Rob Morris is the man I'll ne'er lo'e.

MOTHER.

Though auld Rob Morris be an elderly man,
Yet his auld brass will buy you a new pan;
Then, dochter, ye should na be sae ill to shoe,
For auld Rob Morris is the man ye maun lo'e.

DAUGHTER.

But auld Rob Morris I never will hae,

His back is so stiff, and his beard is grown grey;
I had rather die than live wi' him a year;

Sae mair o' Rob Morris I never will hear. *

HEY FOR A LASS WI' A TOCHER!

BURNS.

TUNE-Ballinamona and Ora.

Awa wi' your witchcraft o' beauty's alarms,
The slender bit beauty you grasp in your arms;
O, gie me the lass that has acres o' charms,
O, gie me the lass wi' the weel-stockit farms!
Then, hey for a lass wi' a tocher,
Then, hey for a lass wi' a tocher,
Then, hey for a lass wi' a tocher !

The nice yellow guineas for me!

Your beauty's a flower in the morning that blows,
And withers the faster, the faster it grows;
But the rapturous charm o' the bonnie green knowes,
Ilk spring they're new-deckit wi' bonnie white ewes.

And e'en when this beauty your bosom has bless'd,
The brightest o' beauty may cloy when possess'd;

From the Tea-Table Miscellany (1724,) where it is printed with the signature Q.

But the sweet yellow darlings, wi' Geordie imprest, The langer ye ha'e them, the mair they're carest.

AE FOND KISS.

BURNS.

Ae fond kiss, and then we sever;
Ae farewell, alas, for ever!

Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee,
War in sighs and groans I'll wage thee.
Who shall say that fortune grieves him,
While the star of hope she leaves him?
Me, nae cheerfu' twinkle lights me;
Dark despair around benights me.

I'll ne'er blame thy partial fancy,
Naething could resist my Nancy;
But to see her, was to love her;
Love but her, and love for ever.
Had we never loved sae kindly,
Had we never loved sae blindly;
Never met-or never parted,
We had ne'er been broken-hearted.

Fare thee well, thou first and fairest !
Fare thee well, thou best and dearest!
Thine be ilka joy and treasure,
Peace, enjoyment, love, and pleasure!
Ae fond kiss, and then we sever;
Ae farewell, alas, for ever!

Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee,
War in sighs and groans I'll wage thee.

STREPHON AND LYDIA.

WILLIAM WALLACE, ESQ.

ALL lovely, on the sultry beach,
Expiring Strephon lay;

No hand the cordial draught to reach,
Nor cheer the gloomy way.
Ill-fated youth! no parent nigh
To catch thy fleeting breath,
No bride to fix thy swimming eye,
Or smooth the face of death.

Far distant from the mournful scene,
Thy parents sit at ease;
Thy Lydia rifles all the plain,

And all the spring to please.
Ill-fated youth! by fault of friend,
Not force of foe, depress'd,
Thou fall'st, alas! thyself, thy kind,
Thy country, unredress'd.*

POLWARTH, ON THE GREEN.†

RAMSAY.

TUNE-Polwarth on the Green.

AT Polwarth, on the Green,

If you'll meet me the morn,
Where lads and lasses do convene

To dance around the thorn;

This Song was written by William Wallace, Esq. of Cairnhill, in Ayrshire, upon the fate of an unfortunate couple who figured in fashionable society at Edinburgh during the earlier half of the last century. Strephon was a gentleman commonly known by the name of Beau Gibson, and Lydia was a lady celebrated in the poems of Mr Hamilton of Bangour, under the title of Gentle Jean. Having met frequently at public places, they formed a reciprocal attachment, which their friends thought dangerous, as their resources were by no means adequate to their tastes and habits of life. To elude the bad consequences of such a connexion, Strephon was sent abroad with a commission, and perished in Admiral Vernon's expedition to Carthagena.

Polwarth is a small primitive-looking parish-village in the centre of Berwickshire, with a green, in the centre of which three thorns grow within a little enclosure. These trees are the successors of one aged thorn, which,

A kindly welcome you shall meet
Frae her, wha likes to view

A lover and a lad complete,
The lad and lover you.

Let dorty dames say Na,
As lang as e'er they please,
Seem caulder than the snaw,
While inwardly they bleeze;
But I will frankly shaw my mind,
And yield my heart to thee-
Be ever to the captive kind,
That langs na to be free.

At Polwarth, on the Green,
Amang the new-mawn hay,
With sangs and dancing keen
We'll pass the live-lang day.
At nicht, if beds be ower thrang laid,
And thou be twined of thine,
Thou shalt be welcome, my dear lad,
To take a part of mine.

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AWA, WHIGS, AWA!
[JACOBITE SONG.]

TUNE-Awa, Whigs, awa!

OUR thistles flourish'd fresh and fair,
And bonny bloom'd our roses,
But Whigs came, like a frost in June,
And wither'd a' our posies.

Awa, Whigs, awa !

Awa, Whigs, awa!

after keeping its place there for centuries, was blown down some years ago. It was formerly the custom of the villagers, who are a simple race, and were formerly vassals to the Earl of Marchmont, whose seat is in the neighbourhood, to dance round this venerable tree at weddings; which they are said to have done in consequence of a romantic incident in the history of the noble family just mentioned.

The song first appeared in the Tea-Table Miscellany, 1724.

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