O Tam! had'st thou but been sae wise
As taen thy ain wife Kate's advice!
She tauld thee weel thou was a skellum,1
A bletherin, blusterin, drunken blellum;2 20
That frae November till October,
Ae market-day thou was nae sober;
That ilka' melder wi' the miller,
Thou sat as lang as thou had siller;
That ev'ry naige was ca'd' a shoe on,7 25
The smith and thee gat roaring fou on;
That at the Lord's house, even on Sunday,
Thou drank wi' Kirkton Jean till Monday.
She prophesied, that, late or soon,
Thou would be found deep drowned in
Doon:

Or catched wi' warlocks in the mirk,9
By Alloway's auld haunted kirk.

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4I

But to our tale:-Ae market night, Tam had got planted unco right, Fast by an ingle,12 bleezing finely, Wi' reaming swats13 that drank divinely; And at his elbow, Souter Johnie, His ancient, trusty, drouthy cronie: Tam lo'ed him like a very brither;14 They had been fou for weeks thegither. The night drave on wi' sangs and clatter; And ay the ale was growing better: The landlady and Tam grew gracious Wi' secret favors, sweet and precious: The souter15 tauld his queerest stories; The landlord's laugh was ready chorus: 50 The storm without might rair and rustle, Tam did na mind the storm a whistle.

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By this time he was cross the ford, Whare in the snaw the chapman smoored;20 And past the birks21 and meikle22 stane, 91 Whare drunken Charlie brak's neck-bane;23 And thro' the whins, 24 and by the cairn,25 Whare hunters fand the murdered bairn;2 And near the thorn, aboon27 the well, Whare Mungo's mither hanged 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; 100 When, glimmering thro' the groaning

trees

95

Kirk-Alloway seemed in a bleeze:28 Thro' ilka bore29 the beams were glancing, And loud resounded mirth and dancing. 16 hurried. 17 mud. 18 bogies. 19 owls. 20 smothered. 2 big. gorse. 25 rock-pile. 27 above. 23 blaze. 29 opening.

21 birches. 26 child.

23 neck.

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115

Warlocks and witches in a dance;
Nae cotillion brent-new frae France,
But hornpipes, jigs, strathspeys, and
reels

Put life and mettle in their heels:
A winnock bunkers in the east,
There sat Auld Nick in shape o' beast; 120
A towsie tyke, 10 black, grim, and large,
To gie them music was his charge;

He screwed the pipes and gart11 them skirl,12

Till roof and rafters a' did dirl.13.
Coffins stood round like open presses, 125
That shawed the dead in their last
dresses;

130

And by some devilish cantraip14 sleight
Each in its cauld hand held a light,
By which heroic Tam was able
To note upon the haly table
A murderer's banes in gibbet airns;15
Twa span-lang, wee, unchristened bairns;
A thief, new-cutted frae a rape16.
Wi' his last gasp his gab17 did gape;
Five tomahawks, wi' bluid red-rusted; 135
Five scymitars, wi' murder crusted;
A garter, which a babe had strangled;
A knife, a father's throat had mangled,
Whom his ain son o' life bereft-
The grey hairs yet stack to the heft;
Wi' mair o' horrible and awfu’,
Which even to name wad be unlawfu'.

140

Thir30 breeks o' mine, my only pair, That ance were plush, o' guid blue hair, I wad hae gien them aff my hurdies,31 For ae blink o' the bonie burdies!

But Tam kend what was what fu' brawlie;32

37

There was ae winsome wench and wawlie,33
That night enlisted in the core34
165
Lang after kend on Carrick shore
(For monie a beast to dead she shot,
An' perished monie a bonie boat,
And shook baith meikle corn and bear,35
And kept the country-side in fear). 170
Her cutty sark36 o' Paisley harn,3
That while a lassie she had worn,
In longitude tho' sorely scanty,
It was her best, and she was vauntie.38
Ah! little kend thy reverend grannie, 175
That sark she coft39 for her wee Nannie,
Wi' twa pund Scots ('twas a' her riches),
Wad ever graced a dance o' witches!

But here my Muse her wing maun cour,
Sic flights are far beyond her power; 180
To sing how Nannie lap and flang,
(A souple jad40 she was and strang,)
And how Tam stood like ane bewitched,
And thought his very een11 enriched; 184
Even Satan glowered and fidged42 fu' fain,
And hotched 13 and blew wi' might and
main:

41

Till first ae caper, syne44 anither,

curious,

205

210

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 of the brig:6
There at them thou thy tail may toss,
A running stream they dare na cross.
But ere the key-stane she could make,
The fient a tail she had to shake!
For Nannie, far before the rest,
Hard upon noble Maggie prest,
And flew at Tam wi' furious ettle;8
But little wist she Maggie's mettle—
Ae spring brought aff her master hale, 215
But left behind her ain grey tail:
The carlin claught her by the rump,
And left poor Maggie scarce a stump.

Now, wha this tale o' truth shall read,
Ilk man and mother's son, take heed, 220
Whene'er to drink you are inclined,
Or cutty-sarks run in your mind,
Think, ye may buy the joys o'er dear,
Remember Tam o' Shanter's Mare.

Wha for Scotland's king and law Freedom's sword will strongly draw, Freeman stand or freeman fa',

Let him follow me!

By oppression's woes and pains! By your sons in servile chains! We will drain our dearest veins,

But they shall be free! Lay the proud usurpers low! Tyrants fall in every foe! Liberty's in every blow!— Let us do or die!

SONGS

MARY MORISON

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Yestreen when to the trembling string The dance gaed thro' the lighted ha', 10 To thee my fancy took its wing,

I sat, but neither heard nor saw:
Tho' this was fair, and that was braw,11
And yon the toast of a' the town,
I sighed, and said among them a',
"Ye are na Mary Morison."

O Mary, canst thou wreck his peace,
Wha for thy sake wad gladly die?
Or canst thou break that heart of his,
Whase only faut is loving thee?
If love for love thou wilt na gie
At least be pity to me shown:
A thought ungentle canna be
The thought o' Mary Morison.

GREEN GROW THE RASHES

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