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The lovely Lass of Inverness.

121

The snaw-drap and primrose our woodlands adorn, An' violets bathe in the weet o' the morn;

They pain my sad bosom, sae sweetly they blaw, They mind me o' Nannie-an' Nannie's awa'.

Thou lav'rock that springs frae the dews of the lawn, The shepherd to warn o' the gray-breaking dawn, An' thou mellow mavis that hails the night-fa', Give over for pity-my Nannie's awa'.

Come, autumn, sae pensive, in yellow an' gray,
An' soothe me wi' tidings o' nature's decay;
The dark, dreary winter an' wild-driving snaw
Alane can delight me-now Nannie's awa'.

THE LOVELY LASS OF INVERNESS.

TUNE-"The Lass of Inverness."

THE lovely lass o' Inverness,

Nae joy nor pleasure can she see;
For e'en and morn she cries "Alas!"
And aye the saut tear blin's her e'e:
"Drumossie mcor-Drumossie day—
A waefu' day it was to me!
For there I lost my father dear,

My father dear, and brethren three.

"Their winding sheet the bluidy clay,
Their graves are growing green to see;
And by them lies the dearest lad

That ever blest a woman's e'e!
Now wae to thee, thou cruel lord,
A bluidy man I trow thou be;
For mony a heart thou hast made sair
That ne'er did wrong to thine or thee."

SONG OF DEATH.

TUNE-"Oran an Aoig," but now sung to the Irish air, "My lodging is on the cold ground."

["Looking over, with a musical friend, M'Donald's Collection of Highland Airs, I was struck with one, an Isle of Skye tune, entitled 'Oran an Aoig,' or, 'The song of death,' to the measure of which I have adapted my stanzas."-Burns to Mrs. Dunlop, December 17, 1791.]

Scene,-A field of battle.-Time of the day, evening.-The wounded and dying of the victorious army are supposed to join in the following song:

FAREWELL, thou fair day, thou green earth,and ye skies, Now gay with the bright setting sun;

Farewell loves and friendships, ye dear tender tiesOur race of existence is run!

Thou grim king of terrors, thou life's gloomy foe! Go, frighten the coward and slave;

Go, teach them to tremble, fell tyrant! but know, No terrors hast thou to the brave!

Logan Braes.

123

Thou strik'st the dull peasant-he sinks in the dark, Nor saves e'en the wreck of a name;

Thou strik'st the young hero-a glorious mark !He falls in the blaze of his fame!

In the field of proud honour-our swords in our hands,

Our king and our country to save

While victory shines on life's last ebbing sands,
Oh, who would not die with the brave!

LOGAN BRAES.

TUNE-"Logan Water."

["Have you ever, my dear sir, felt your bosom ready to burst with indignation on reading of those mighty villains who divide kingdom against kingdom, desolate provinces, and lay nations waste, out of the wantonness of ambition, or often from still more ignoble passions? In a mood of this kind I recollected the air of 'Logan Water,' and it occurred to me that its querulous melody probably had its origin from the plaintive indignation of some swelling suffering heart, fired at the tyrannic strides of some public destroyer, and overwhelmed with private distress, the consequence of a country's ruin."-Burns to Thomson.]

O LOGAN, Sweetly didst thou glide
That day I was my Willie's bride;
An' years sinsyne ha'e o'er us run,
Like Logan to the simmer sun.
But now thy flow'ry banks appear
Like drumlie winter, dark an' drear,

While my dear lad maun face his faes,
Far, far frae me an' Logan braes.

Again the merry month o' May
Has made our hills an' valleys gay;
The birds rejoice in leafy bowers,

The bees hum round the breathing flowers;
Blithe morning lifts his rosy eye,
An' evening's tears are tears of joy;
My soul, delightless, a' surveys,
While Willie's far frae Logan braes.

Within yon milk-white hawthorn bush,
Amang her nestlings sits the thrush;
Her faithfu' mate will share her toil,
Or wi' his songs her cares beguile :
But I, wi' my sweet narslings here,
Nae mate to help, nae mate to cheer,
Pass widow'd nights an' joyless days,
While Willie's far frae Logan braes.

Oh, wae upon you, men o' state,
That brethren rouse to deadly hate!
As ye make many a fond heart mourn,
Sae may it on your
heads return!

How can your flinty hearts enjoy

The widow's tear, the orphan's cry?

But soon may peace bring happy days,
An' Willie hame to Logan braes!

Fair Eliza.

125

FAIR ELIZA.

A Gaelic air.

["The original title of this song was 'Fair Rabina:' the heroine was a young lady to whom one of the poet's friends was attached, and Burns wrote it in compliment to his passion. Johnson, the proprietor of the Museum, disliked the name, and desiring to have one more suitable for singing, the poet unwillingly changed it to Eliza."-Cunningham.]

TURN again, thou fair Eliza,

Ae kind blink before we part,

Rue on thy despairing lover!

Canst thou break his faithful heart?
Turn again, thou fair Eliza;

If to love thy heart denies,

For pity hide the cruel sentence
Under friendship's kind disguise !

Thee, dear maid, ha'e I offended?
The offence is loving thee:
Canst thou wreck his peace for ever
Wha for thine wad gladly die?
While the life beats in my bosom,
Thou shalt mix in ilka throe;
Turn again, thou lovely maiden,
Ae sweet smile on me bestow.

Not the bee upon the blossom,
In the pride o' ́sunny noon;
Not the little sporting fairy,

All beneath the simmer moon;

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