The bleeze it roarit and wantonit roun'

The weel-pilet wawis o' the Newtoun Ha',
And ruif and rafter, bauk and beam,
Aneath the bauld fyris doun did fa'!

Now waly for the crewel Laird—
As he cam loupin' through the lowe,
Erle Douglas swappit aff his heid
And swung it at his saddil bowe !

CXXIX.

THE MERMAIDEN.

"THE nicht is mirk, and the wind blaws schill,
And the white faem weets my bree,

And my mind misgi'es me, gay maiden,
That the land we sall never see!"
Then up and spak' the mermaiden,
And she spak' blythe and free,
"I never said to my bonnie bridegroom,
That on land we sud weddit be.

"Oh! I never said that ane erthlie priest
Our bridal blessing should gi'e,

And I never said that a landwart bouir
Should hauld my love and me."

"And whare is that priest, my bonnie maiden,
If ane erthlie wicht is na he?"

"Oh! the wind will sough, and the sea will rair, When weddit we twa sall be?"

"And whare is that bouir, my bonnie maiden, If on land it sud na be?"

"Oh! my blythe bouir is low," said the mermaiden, "In the bonnie green howes of the sea:

My gay bouir is biggit o' the gude ship's keels,

And the banes o' the drowned at sea;
The fisch are the deer that fill my parks,
And the water waste my dourie.

"And my bouir is sklaitit wi' the big blue waves,
And paved wi' the yellow sand,

And in my chaumers grow bonnie white flowers
That never grew on land.

And have ye e'er seen, my bonnie bridegroom,
A leman on earth that wud gi'e

Aiker for aiker o' the red plough'd land,
As I'll gi'e to thee o' the sea?

"The mune will rise in half ane hour,

And the wee bright starns will schine ;

Then we'll sink to my bouir, 'neath the wan water
Full fifty fathom and nine!"

A wild, wild skreich gi'ed the fey bridegroom,
And a loud, loud lauch, the bride ;

For the mune raise up, and the twa sank down
Under the silver'd tide.

CXXX.

SONG.

HE courted me in parlour, and he courted me in ha',
He courted me by Bothwell banks, amang the flowers sae
sma',

He courted me wi' pearlins, wi' ribbons, and wi' rings,
He courted me wi' laces, and wi' mony mair braw things;
But O he courted best o' a' wi' his black blythesome ee,
Whilk wi' a gleam o' witcherie cuist glaumour over me.

We hied thegither to the Fair-I rade ahint my joe,

I fand his heart leap up and doun, while mine beat faint and low;

He turn'd his rosy cheek about, and then, ere I could trow, The widdifu' o' wickedness took arles o' my mou!

Syne, when I feigned to be sair fleyed, sae pawkily as he Bann'd the auld mare for missing fit, and thrawin him ajee.

And aye he waled the loanings lang, till we drew near the town,

When I could hear the kimmers say "There rides a comelie loun!"

I turned wi' pride and keeked at him, but no as to be seen, And thought how dowie I wad feel, gin he made love to Jean! But soon the manly chiel, aff-hand, thus frankly said to me, Meg, either tak me to yourself, or set me fairly free!"

To Glasgow Green I link'd wi' him, to see the ferlies there, He birled his penny wi' the best—what noble could do mair : But ere ae fit he'd tak me hame, he cries-"Meg, tell me noo? Gin ye will hae me, there's my lufe, I'll aye be leal an' true.' On sic an honest, loving heart, how could I draw a bar? What could I do but tak Rab's hand, for better or for waur?

CXXXI.

THE LEAN LOVER.

I PACED, an easy rambler,

Along the surf-washed shore-
And watched the noble freightage
The swelling ocean bore.

I met a moody fellow

Who thus discoursed his wo"Across the inconstant waters, Deceitful woman, go!

"I loved that beauteous lady

More truly wight ne'er loved-
I loved that high-born lady,

My faith she long had proved:
Her troth to me she plighted

With passion's amorous show-
Go o'er the inconstant waters,
Ungrateful worldling, go!

"Be mine yon cliff-perched chapel
Which beetles o'er the deep;
There, like some way-worn palmer,
I'll sit me down and weep.
I'll note upon the billows

Her lessening sail of snow,
And waft across the waters—
Go, fleeting fair one, go!'

He clambered to the chapel

That toppled o'er the deep-
There, like a way-worn palmer,

He laid him down to weep:
And still I heard his wailing
Upon the strand below-
"Go o'er the inconstant waters,
Go, faithless woman, go!"

CXXXII.

AFFECTEST THOU THE PLEASURES OF THE SHADE?

AFFECTEST thou the pleasures of the shade,
And pastoral customs of the olden time,
When gentle shepherd piped to gentle maid
On oaten reed, his quaint and antique rhyme ?

Then welcome to the green and mossy nook,
The forest dark and silver poppling brook,
And flowers in fragrant indolence that blossom
On the sequestered valley's sloping bosom―
Where in the leafy halls glad strains are pealing,
The woodland songsters' amorous thoughts revealing :
Look how the morning's eager kisses wake
The clouds that guard the Orient, blushing red—
Behold heaven's phantom-chasing Sovereign shake
The golden honours of his graceful head
Above that earth this day-dawn saw so fair!—
Now damsels lithe trip lightsomely away,

To bathe their clustered brows and bosoms bare
In virgin dews of budding, balmy May !

CXXXIII.

MUSIC.

STRANGE how the mystically mingled sound
Of voices rising from these rifted rocks
And unseen valleys-whence no organ ever
Thundered harmonious its stupendous notes,
Nor pointed arch, nor low-browed darksome aisle,
Rolled back their mighty music-seems to me
An ocean vast, divinely undulating,

Where, bathed in beauty, floats the enraptured soul:
Now borne on the translucent deep, it skirts
Some dazzling bank of amaranthine flowers,
Now on a couch of odours cast supine,
It pants beneath o'erpowering redolence :-
Buoyant anon on a rejoicing surge,
It heaves, on tides tumultuous, far aloft,
Until it verges on the cope of heaven,
Whence issued, in their unity of joy,
The anthems of the earth-creating Morn :