To Mr. James Hodge, Farmer, Arthursheil, Liberton,

167

Address to William Bertram, Esq., .

Welcome for Lord and Lady Douglas to Bothwell Castle,

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SONGS AND BALLADS OF CLYDESDALE.

OUR AULD SCOTS SANGS.

Air-Traveller's Return."

O WEEL I lo'e our auld Scots sangs,
The mournfu' and the gay;
They charmed me by a mother's knee,
In bairnhood's happy day:

And even yet, though owre my pow
The snaws o' age are flung,

The bluid loups joyfu' in my veins,
Whene'er I hear them sung.

They bring the fond smile to the cheek,
Or tear-drap to the e'e;

They bring to mind auld cronies kind,
Wha sung them aft wi' glee.
We seem again to hear the voice

Of mony a lang-lost frien';
We seem again to grip the hand
That lang in dust has been.

And oh, how true our auld Scots sangs,
When nature they portray !

We think we hear the wee bit burn

Gaun bickerin' doun the brae;

We see the spot, though far awa',
Where life's first breath we drew,
And a' the gowden scenes of youth
Seem risin' to the view.

And dear I lo'e the wild war strains
Our langsyne minstrels sung—
They rouse wi' patriotic fire

The hearts of auld and young ;

And even the dowie dirge that wails

Some brave but ruined band, Inspires us wi' a warmer love For hame and fatherland.

Yes, leese me on our auld Scots sangs--
The sangs of love and glee,

The sangs that tell of glorious deeds
That made auld Scotland free.

What though they sprang frae simple bards,
Wha kent nae rules of art!

They ever, ever yield a charm
That lingers round the heart.

A. MACKAY.

THE BANKS O' CLYDE.

THE BANKS O' CLYDE.

ON the grassy banks o' Clyde, bonnie lassie, O,
Oft we've roamed at eventide, bonnie lassie, O,
'Mang the bonnie yellow broom

When the air was all perfume

Wi' the simmer flowers in bloom, bonnie lassie, O.

Auld Tintoc looked so grand, bonnie lassie, O,
Over all the smiling land, bonnie lassie, O,
While all the green-wood rang

Wi' the blackbird's evening sang,

As we roamed the birks amang, bonnie lassie, O.

Happy, happy was the time! bonnie lassie, O,
When we heard the soothing chime, bonnie lassie, O,
Of the distant village bell,

Tolling day's departing knell,

As we trode the flowery dell, bonnie lassie, O.

When the swallows o' Clyde Stairs,1 bonnie lassie, O,
A' were sleepin' in their lairs, bonnie lassie, O,
And the stars in heaven so high,

Were reflected from the sky,

In the river gliding by, bonnie lassie, O.

15

Then we sought the fairy bower, bonnie lassie, O;
Where the brier and hawthorn flower, bonnie lassie, O,
While the heaven's lovely queen,

In all her radiant sheen,

Rose, resplendent, o'er the scene, bonnie lassie, O.

Then you'll aye be leal and true, bonnie lassie, O;
I'll be firm and true to you, bonnie lassie, O,

Thro' all the care and strife—

All the ups and downs of life,

Be my true and faithful wife, bonnie lassie, O.

1 Clyde Stairs is a high shelving bank on the right side of the river, at the point nearest Carnwath, which, in summer, is usually tenanted by a great flock of swallows.