THE DEUK'S DANG O'ER MY DADDIE. There is still much of the spirit of the old indelicate song of the same nama, in the following verses. THE bairns' gat out wi' an unco2 shout, Oh haud your tongue, my feirie auld wife, I've seen the day ye butter'd my brose, THE FIVE CARLINS.-AN ELECTION BALLAD. There is considerable humor in this ballad. It was written on a desperately contested election for the Dumfries district of boroughs, between Sir James Johnson of Wester-hall, and Mr. Miller of Dalswinton. TUNE-Chevy-chace. THERE were five Carlins" in the south, They fell upon a scheme, To send a lad to Lon'on town To bring us tidings hame. Not only bring us tidings hame, But do our errands there, And aiblins" gowd and honor baith Might be that laddie's share. 1 Children.-2 Great.-3 Duck.-4 Driven or pushed.-5 Fiend.- Stout, vigorous. Infirm, walking with a feeble step.-8 Dry, sapless.-9 Unlucky. 10 Unable, cannot.-11 Stout old women.-12 Perhaps. There was Maggie by the banks o' Nith,' And Marjorie o' the monie Loch,' A Carlin auld an' teugh." And blinkin' Bess o' Annandale,* And auld black Joan frae Creighton peel," To send a lad to Lon'on town And monie a Knight and monie a Laird, Oh! monie a Knight and monie a Laird, But nae ane could their fancy please, The first ane was a belted Knight, An' he wad gae to Lon'on town, And he wad do their errands weel, And ilka ane at Lon'on court Then neist came in a sodger youth, He wad na hecht' them courtly gift, But he wad hecht an honest heart Wad ne'er desert his friend. Dumfries. Lochmaben.-3 Tough.-4 Annan.-5 Kirkcudbright.Sanquhar.-7 Kindred.-8 Country.-9 Offer. Now whom to choose and whom refuse; Then out spak mim-mou'd Meg o' Nith, For the auld guidman o' Lon'on court But she wad send the sodger youth Then up sprang Bess o' Annandale: That she wad vote the border Knight, For far off fowls hae feathers fair, Says auld black Joan frae Creighton peel, The auld guidman or young guidman, For fools may prate o' right and wrang, While knaves laugh them to scorn: But the Sodger's friends hae blawn the best, Then whisky Jean spak o'er her drink- The auld guidman o' Lon'on court, And monie a friend that kiss'd his caup,1 But it's ne'er sae wi' whisky Jean We'll send the border Knight. 1 Gossips.-2 Wooden drinking vessel.-3 Strange, or estranged. Then slow raise Marjorie o' the Lochs, Her auld Scots heart was true. There's some great folks set light by me, So how this weighty plea will end, OH THAT I HAD NE'ER BEEN MARRIED. Written for the Musical Museum-the chorus is old. On that I had ne'er been married, Ye'll crowdie a' my meal away. Waefu' want an' hunger fley' me, But ay I'm eerie they come ben." 1 A dish made by pouring boiling water on oatmeal, and stirring it.-2 To make afraid.—3 Staring.-4 Partition wall. To fight.-6 Frighted.—7 Inwards. 44 THE JOLLY BEGGARS. A CANTATA. This spirited and humorous production was first introduced to the public by Mr. T. Stewart of Greenock. It appeared in a thin octavo, published at Glasgow in 1801, under the title of "Poems ascribed to Robert Burns, the Ayrshire Bard." Dr. Currie refused to admit it into his collection, because the Poet had trespassed slightly upon the limits of Presbyterian purity, and spoken rather irreverently of courts and churches. RECITATIVO. WHEN lyart' leaves bestrow the yird, 5 Ae night at e'en a merry core First neist" the fire, in auld red rags, An' ay he gies the toozie drab Just like an aumos15 dish. 1 Gray, or dead leaves.-2 The razor-bill.-3 To eject with great force.Hoar-frost.-5 Turbulent.—6 Strolling. The landlady of a whisky-house, in the outskirts of Mauchline, in which the beggars held their orgies, and where the present group actually met. 8 A frolic.- Superfluous rags, or pence: or whatever they could turn inte money.-10 A round plate of iron for toasting cakes over the fire.-11 Next.12 Swarthy.-13 Warm, eager.-14 Mouth.-15 An alms-dish. |