250

JEANIE MORRISON.

'Twas then we loved ilk ither weel,

'Twas then we twa did part;

Sweet time! sad time!

schule,

Twa bairns, and but ae heart!

twa bairns at

'Twas then we sat on ae laigh bink,

To lear ilk ither lear;

And tones, and looks, and smiles were shed,
Remembered ever mair.

I wonder, Jeanie, aften yet,

When sitting on that bink,

Cheek touchin' cheek, loof locked in loof,
What our wee heads could think.
When baith bent down owre ae braid page,
Wi' ae buik on our knee,

Thy lips were on thy lesson, but
My lesson was in thee.

O mind ye how we hung our heads,
How cheeks brent red wi' shame,
Whene'er the schule-weans, laughin', said,
We cleek'd thegither hame?

And mind ye o' the Saturdays

The schule then skaled at noon-
When we ran aff to speel the braes -
The broomy braes o' June?

The throssil whistled in the wood,
The burn sung to the trees,
And we with Nature's heart in tune
Concerted harmonies;

THE EXILE'S SONG.

And on the knowe aboon the burn,
For hours thegither sat

In the silentness o' joy, till baith

Wi' very gladness grat!

Aye, aye, 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 blessed time,
When hearts were fresh and young,
When freely gushed all feelings forth,
Unsyllabled-unsung!

251

ALARIC ALEXANDER WATTS.

I TOO am changed — I scarce know why
Can feel each flagging pulse decay;
And youth and health, and visions high,
Melt like a wreath of snow away;

TEN YEARS AGO.

Time cannot sure have wrought the ill;

Though worn in this world's sickening strife, In soul and form, I linger still

In the first summer month of life;

Yet journey on my path below,
Oh! how unlike - ten years ago!

But look not thus: I would not give

The wreck of hopes that thou must share, To bid those joyous hours revive

When all around me seemed so fair. We've wandered on in sunny weather,

When winds were low, and flowers in bloom,
And hand in hand have kept together,

And still will keep, mid storm and gloom;
Endeared by ties we could not know
When life was young — ten years ago!

253

Has Fortune frowned? Her frowns were vain,
For hearts like ours she could not chill;
Have friends proved false? Their love might wane,
But ours grew fonder, firmer still.

Twin barks on this world's changing wave,
Steadfast in calms, in tempests tried;

In concert still our fate we'll brave,
Together cleave life's fitful tide;

Nor mourn, whatever winds may blow,
Youth's first wild dreams- ten years ago!

254

WE MET

WE MET.

THOMAS HAYNES BAYLY.

WE met- 'twas in a crowd-and I thought he would shun me;

He came I could not breathe, for his eye was

upon me;

He spoke his words were cold, and his smile was unaltered;

I knew how much he felt, for his deep-toned voice falter'd.

I wore my bridal robe, and I rivall'd its whiteness; Bright gems were in my hair, how I hated their brightness!

He called me by my name, as the bride of another — Oh, thou hast been the cause of this anguish, my mother!

And once again we met, and a fair girl was near him : He smiled, and whispered low- as I once used to hear him.

She leant upon his arm

only

once 'twas mine, and mine

I wept, for I deserved to feel wretched and lonely. And she will be his bride! at the altar he'll give her The love that was too pure for a heartless deceiver. The world may think me gay, for my feelings I smother

Oh, thou hast been the cause of this anguish, my mother!