O dear, dear Jeanie Morrison, They blind my een wi' saut, saut tears, As Memory idly summons up The blithe blinks o' langsyne. 'Twas then we luvit ilk ither weel, 'Twas then we twa did part; Sweet time, sad time!-twa bairns at schule, Twa bairns, and but ae heart! 'Twas then we sat on ae laigh bink, To leir ilk ither lear; And tones, and looks, and smiles were shed, Remembered evermair. I wonder, Jeanie, aften yet, When sitting on that bink, Cheek touchin' cheek, loof locked in loof, Thy lips were on thy lesson, but My lesson was in thee. Oh, mind ye how we hung our heads, We cleek'd thegither hame? And mind ye o' the Saturdays (The schule then skail't at noon), When we ran aff to speel the braes— The broomy braes o' June? My head rins round and round about, As, ane by ane, the thochts rush back Jeanie Morrison Oh, mornin' life! Oh, mornin' luve! Oh, lichtsome days and lang, When hinnied hopes around our hearts, Oh, mind ye, luve, how aft we left And hear its waters croon? The simmer leaves hung owre our heads, The throssil whusslit in the wud, And on the knowe abune the burn For hours thegither sat In the silentness o' joy, till baith Ay, ay, dear Jeanie Morrison, Tears trinkled doun your cheek, Like dew-beads on a rose, yet nane Had ony power to speak! That was a time, a blessèd time, When hearts were fresh and young, When freely gushed all feelings forth, Unsyllabled-unsung! I marvel, Jeanie Morrison, Gin I hae been to thee As closely twined wi' earliest thochts As ye hae been to me? Oh! tell me gin their music fills Thine ear as it does mine; Oh! say gin e'er your heart grows great 937 I've wandered east, I've wandered west, I've borne a weary lot; But in my wanderings, far or near, Ye never were forgot. The fount that first burst frae this heart, Still travels on it way; And channels deeper as it rins O dear, dear Jeanie Morrison, But I could hug all wretchedness, And happy could I dee, Did I but ken your heart still dreamed O' bygane days and me! William Motherwell [1797-1835] "WHAT WILL YOU DO, LOVE?” "WHAT will you do, love, when I am going The seas beyond— What will you do, love, when waves divide us, For being fond?" "Though waves divide us—and friends be chiding, In faith abiding, I'll still be true! And I'll pray for thee on the stormy ocean, In deep devotion That's what I'll do!" "What would you do, love, if distant tidings Thy fond confidings Should undermine?— And I abiding 'neath sultry skies, Should think other eyes Were as bright as thine?" Fair Ines "Oh, name it not:-though guilt and shame Were on thy name, I'd still be true: But that heart of thine-should another share it— I could not bear it! What would I do!" "What would you do, love, when home returning With hopes high burning, With wealth for you, If my bark, which bounded o'er foreign foam, Ah! what would you do?”— "So thou wert spared, I'd bless the morrow, In want and sorrow, That left me you; And I'd welcome thee from the wasting billow, This heart thy pillow That's what I'd do!" 939 Samuel Lover [1797-1868] FAIR INES O SAW ye not fair Ines? She's gone into the West, O turn again, fair Ines, Before the fall of night, For fear the Moon should shine alone, And stars unrivaled bright; And blessed will the lover be That walks beneath their light, And breathes the love against thy cheek I dare not even write! Would I had been, fair Ines, That gallant cavalier, Who rode so gaily by thy side, Or no true lovers here, That he should cross the seas to win The dearest of the dear? I saw thee, lovely Ines, It would have been a beauteous dream,— If it had been no more! Alas, alas! fair Ines, She went away with song, With Music waiting on her steps, And shoutings of the throng; In sounds that sang Farewell, farewell, Farewell, farewell, fair Ines! That vessel never bore So fair a lady on its deck, Nor danced so light before, Alas for pleasure on the sea, And sorrow on the shore! The smile that blessed one lover's heart Has broken many more! Thomas Hood [1799-1845] A VALEDICTION GOD be with thee, my beloved,-God be with thee! Else alone thou goest forth, Thy face unto the north, |