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Ye, lastly, bonnie blossoms a',

Ye royal lasses dainty,

Heav'n mak you guid as weel as braw,'
lads a plenty :

An'

gie you

But sneer na British boys awa',
For kings are unco scant" ay;
An' German gentles are but sma',
They're better just than want ay
On onie day.

God bless you a', consider now,
Ye're unco muckle dautet:w
But, ere the course o' life be thro',
It may be bitter sautet:*
An' I hae seen their coggie fou,
That yet hae tarrow'd2 at it:
But or the day was done, I trow,
The laggena they hae clautetb

Fu' clean that day.

ADDRESS TO THE DEIL.

O Prince! O Chief of many throned Pow'rs,
That led th' embattled Seraphim to war.-Millon.

O THOU! whatever title suit thee,
Auld Hornie, Satan, Nick, or Clootie,
Wha in yon cavern, grim an' sootie,
Clos'd under hatches,
Spairges about the brunstane cootie,

To seaude poor wretches!

Hear me, auld Hangie, for a wee,
And let poor damned bodies be;

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b Scraped.

u Very few.

y Cup or dish full.

w Very much caressed z Murmured.

a The angle between the side and bottom of a wooden dish.

d Brimstone dish, or ladle.

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I'm sure sma's pleasure it can gie,
É'en to a Deil,

To skelp1 an' scaud poor dogs like me,
An' hear us squeel!

Great is thy pow'r, an' great thy fame;
Far kenn'dk and noted is thy name;
An' tho' yon lowin' heugh' 's thy hame.
Thou travels far;

An' faith! thou's neither lag nor lame,
Nor blate,m nor scaur."

Whyles ranging like a roaring lion
For prey, a' holes an' corners tryin';
Whyles on the strong-wing'd tempest flyin',
TirlingP the kirks:

Whyles in the human bosom pryin',
Unseen thou lurks.

I've heard my reverend graunie say,
In lanely glens ye like to stray;
Or where auld, ruin'd castles, gray,
Nod to the moon,

Ye fright the nightly wand'rer's way
Wi' eldritch croon.¶

When twilight did my graunie summon,
To say her prayers, douce, honest woman!
Aft yont the dyke she's heard you bummin',
Wi' eeriet drone;

Or, rustlin', thro' the boortries" comin',
Wi' heavy groan.

Ae dreary, windy, winter night,

The stars shot down wi' sklentin' light;

g Small. h Give. i Strike, or beat. k Known.

1 Flaming pit. m Bashful.

• Sometimes. p Uncovering. r Wise, good. s Beyond.

u Elder-trees. w One.

n Apt to be scared. Frightful hollow moan. Frighted, or frightful. x Glimmering.

Wi' you, mysel, I gat a fright,
Ayout the lough;

Ye, like a rash-bush, stood in sight,
Wi' waving sugh.

The cudgel in my nieveb did shake,
Each bristl'd hair stood like a stake,
When wi' an eldritch stour, quaick-quaick—
Amang the springs,

Awa' ye squatter'd like a drake,

On whistling wings.

Let warlockse grim, an' wither'd hags,
Tell how wi' you on ragweed' nags,
They skim the muirs an' dizzy crags,
Wi' wicked speed;

And in kirk-yards renew their leagues
-Owre howkits dead.

Thence countra wives wi' toil an' pain,
May plunge an' plunge the kirnh in vain ;
For, oh! the yellow treasure 's ta'en
By witching skill:

An' dawtit, twal-pintk Hawkie's gaen
As yell's" the Bill.

Thence mystic knots mak great abuse,
On young guidmen,P fond, keen, an' crouse ;9

y A pool, or sheet of water. z A bush, or iarge tuft of rushes a Rushing noise of wind or water.

c The raising a cloud of dust.

b Hand, or fist. d Fluttered in water. e Wizards. f Ragwort. g Digged up, or disinterred. Those who are, or were, believers in the old traditions relative to witchcraft, supposed that the incantations of these demoniacs were frequently performed over dead bodies, which they dug, scratched, or conjured out of their graves in order to perform their devilish orgies more effectually. h Churn. i Fondled, earessed. k Twelve-pint. n Barren.

Cow.

m Gone.

o Bull. The literal English meaning of these last two lines is, that a favourite cow, that gave daily twelve Scotch pints of milk (equal to forty-eight English pints), is become as barren as a buil, in consequence of witchcraft.

Men newly married.

9 Courageous.

When the best wark-lumer i' the house,
By cantrip wit,

Is instant made no worth a louse,
Just at the bit.

When thowest dissolve the snawy hoord,
An' float the jingling icy-boord,
Then Water kelpies" haunt the foord,
By your direction,

An' 'nighted trav❜llers are allur'd
To their destruction.

An' aft your moss-traversing Spunkies,TM
Decoy the wight that late an' drunk is,
The bleezin', curst, mischievous monkies
Delude his eyes,

Till in some miry slough he sunk is,
Ne'er mair to rise.

When Masons' mystic word an' grip
In storms an' tempests raise you up,
Some cock or cat your rage maun stop,
Or, strange to tell!

The youngest brother ye wad whip
Aff straught to h-ll!

Lang syne in Eden's bonnie yard,
When youthfu' lovers first were pair'd,
An' a' the soul of love they shar'd
The raptur'd hour,

Sweet on the fragrant, flow'ry swaird,
In shady bow'r :

r A working tool.-Fully to appreciate the meaning of the stanza beginning Thence mystic knots,' it is necessary for the English reader to know, that a tradition was entertained in Scotland of the power of witchcraft to prevent consummation on the bridal night, by rendering the young guid man powerless 'just at the bit,' or moment when, &c.

s A charm or spell.

t Thaws.

u A mischievous kind of spirits, said to haunt fords, or ferries, particularly in stormy nights.

w Will-o'-the-wisp, or Jack-a-lantern.

Then you, ye auld, snick-drawing* dog!
Ye came to Paradise incog.

An' play'd on man a cursed brogue,
(Black be your fa'!)

An' gied the infant warld a shog,y
'Maist ruin'd a'.

D'ye mind that day, when in a bizz,*
Wi' reekit duds,a an' reestit gizz,b
Ye did present your smoutier phiz,
'Mang better folk,

An' sklentedd on the man of Uz
Your spitefu' joke?

An' how ye gat him i' your thrall,
An' brak him out o' house an' hall,
While scabs an' blotches did him gall,
Wi' bitter claw,

An' lows'de his ill-tongu'd wicked scawl,
Was warst ava?

But a' your doings to rehearse,
Your wily snares an' fechtings fierce,
Sin' that day Michaelh did you pierce,
Down to this time,

Wad ding a' Lallan tongue, or Erse,
In prose or rhyme.

An' now, auld Cloots, I ken ye 're thinkin',
A certain Bardie's rantin', drinkin',

Some luckless hour will send him linkin',
To your black pit;

But, faith! he'll turn a corner jinkin','
An' cheat you yet.

But fare you weel, auld Nickie-ben!

O wad ye tak a thought an' men'!

Trick-contriving.
a Smoky clothes.
e Ugly, or smutty.
A scold.
Puzzle.

e Loosed.

y A violent shock. z Bustle. b Withered, or scorched wig. d Hit aslant, or obliquely. g_Fighting. h Vide Milton, book vi k Tripping. I Dodging.

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