AE FOND KISS, AND THEN WE SEVER (1791) Ae fond kiss, and then we sever; I'll ne'er blame my partial fancy, Fare-thee-weel, thou first and fairest! 5 10 15 Peace, Enjoyment, Love and Pleasure! Ae fond kiss, and then we sever! 2( Ae farewell, alas, for ever! Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee, Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee. TAM O'SHANTER (First published 1791) "Of Brownyis and of Bogillis full is this Buke." GAWIN DOUGLAS. When chapman billies1 leave the street, This truth fand honest TAM o' SHANTER, O Tam! had'st thou but been sae wise, Ae market-day thou wasna sober; 5 10 15 20 That hour, o' night's black arch the key-stane, That dreary hour he mounts his beast in; 70 That ilka melder 10 wi' the Miller, And sic a night he taks the road in, The wind blew as 't wad blawn its last; A better never lifted leg, Tam skelpit 20 on thro' dub21 and mire, 80 Whiles holding fast his gude blue bonnet, Whiles crooning o'er some auld Scots sonnet, Whiles glow'rin round wi' prudent cares, Lest bogles22 catch him unawares; Kirk-Alloway was drawing nigh, Where ghaists and houlets23 nightly cry. 85 95 By this time he was cross the ford, Where in the snaw the chapman smoor'd;24 90 And past the birks25 and meikle stane, Where drunken Charlie brak's neck-bane; And thro' the whins, 28 and by the cairn,27 Where hunters fand the murder'd bairn; And near the thorn, aboon the well, Where Mungo's mither hang'd hersel'. Before him Doon pours all his floods; The doubling storm roars thro' the woods, The lightnings flash from pole to pole, Near and more near the thunders roll, When, glimmering thro' the groaning trees, Kirk-Alloway seem'd in a bleeze, Thro' ilka bore28 the beams were glancing, And loud resounded mirth and dancing. 100 20 Dashed, hurried. 22 Ghosts, hobgoblins. 23 Owls. 25 Birches 24 Was smothered. 26 Furze. 27 A heap of stones. 23 Hole, opening. Lang after ken'd on Carrick shore; (For mony a beast to dead she shot, And perish'd mony a bonie boat, 165 54 170 And shook baith meikle corn and bear," But here my Muse her wing maun cour, 175 180 185 Twa span-lang, wee, unchristened bairns; Tam tinto his reason a' thegither, 135 And roars out, "Weel done, Cutty-sark!" And in an instant all was dark: 190 Which even to name wad be unlawfu'. 195 When, pop! she starts before their nose; As eager runs the market-crowd, When "Catch the thief!" resounds aloud; So Maggie runs, the witches follow, 145 They reel'd, they set, they cross'd, they cleekit, 41 Till ilka carlin swat and reekit, And coost her duddies42 to the wark, 150 Wi' mony an eldritch skreich65 and hollow. 200 Ah, Tam! ah, Tam! thou'll get thy fairin! In hell they 'll roast thee like a herrin! In vain thy Kate awaits thy comin! Kate soon will be a woefu' woman! Now, do thy speedy-utmost, Meg, And win the key-stane o' the brig; There, at them thou thy tail may toss, A running stream they darena cross! But ere the key-stane she could make, The fient a tailes she had to shake! For Nannie, far before the rest, Hard upon noble Maggie prest, so Perhaps wrinkled, withered. Staff, a witch's stick. And flew at Tam wi' furious ettle;69 Now, wha this tale o' truth shall read, AFTON WATER (1791) 215 220 There Simmer first unfald her robes, O' my sweet Highland Mary. How sweetly bloom'd the gay, green birk,2 How rich the hawthorn's blossom, As underneath their fragrant shade, I clasp'd her to my bosom! Wi' mony a vow, and lock'd embrace, O pale, pale now, those rosy lips, I aft hae kiss'd sae fondly! And clos'd for aye, the sparkling glance And mouldering now in silent dust, 5 10 15 20 25 30 |