Volume V Part 4 (2/2)

A scentless flower, a leafless tree; My song with love,--my love with pride, Are full,--my love, are full of thee.

MY BONNIE WEE WIFIE.

My bonnie wee wifie, I 'm waefu' to leave thee, To leave thee sae lanely, and far frae me; Come night and come morning, I 'll soon be returning; Then, oh, my dear wifie, how happy we 'll be!

Oh, cauld is the night, and the way dreigh and dreary, The snaw 's drifting blindly o'er moorland an' lea; All nature looks eerie. How can she be cheery, Since weel she maun ken I am parted frae thee?

Oh, wae is the lammie, that 's lost its dear mammy, An' waefu' the bird that sits chirping alane; The plaints they are making, their wee bit hearts breaking, Are throbbings o' pleasure compared wi' my pain.

The sun to the simmer, the bark to the timmer, The sense to the soul, an' the light to the e'e, The bud to the blossom, sae thou 'rt to my bosom; Oh, wae 's my heart, wifie, when parted frae thee.

There 's nae guid availing in weeping or wailing, Should friends.h.i.+p be failing wi' fortune's decay; Love in our hearts glowing, its riches bestowing, Bequeaths us a treasure life takes not away.

Let nae anxious feeling creep o'er thy heart, stealing The bloom frae thy cheek when thou 'rt thinking of me; Come night and come morning, I 'll then be returning; Nae mair, cozie wifie, we parted shall be.

THE BONNIE BIRD.

Oh, where snared ye that bonnie, bonnie bird?

Oh, where wiled ye that winsome fairy?

I fear me it was where nae truth was heard, And far frae the shrine o' guid St Mary.

I didna snare the bonnie, bonnie bird, Nor try ony wiles wi' the winsome fairy, But won her young heart where the angels heard, In the bowery glen of Inverary.

And what want ye wi' sic a bonnie bird?

I fear me its plumes ye will ruffle sairly; Or bring it low down to the lane kirkyard, Where blossoms o' grace are planted early.

As life I love my bonnie, bonnie bird, Its plumage shall never be ruffled sairly; To the day o' doom I will keep my word, An' cherish my bonnie bird late an' early.

Oh, whence rings out that merry, merry peal?

The laugh and the sang are cherish'd rarely; It is--it is the bonny, bonny bird, Wi' twa sma' voices a' piping early.

For he didna snare that bonny, bonny bird, Nor did he beguile the winsome fairy, He had made her his ain, where the angels heard, At the holy shrine o' the blest St Mary.

COME WHEN THE DAWN.

Come when the dawn of the morning is breaking, Gold on the mountain-tops, mist on the plain, Come when the clamorous birds are awaking Man unto duty and pleasure again; Bright let your spirits be, Breathing sweet liberty, Drinking the rapture that gladdens the brain.

High o'er the swelling hills shepherds are climbing, Down in the meadows the mowers are seen, Haymakers singing, and village bells chiming; La.s.ses and lads lightly trip o'er the green, Flying, pursuing, Toying, and wooing-- Nature is now as she ever has been.

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