Aft hae I roved by bonny Doon,

To see the woodbine twine;
And ilka bird sang o' its love,
And sae did I o' mine.

Wi' lightsome heart I pu'd a rose,
Frae off its thorny tree;

And my fause luver staw1 the rose,
But left the thorn wi' me.

SECOND VERSION.

Tune-"Caledonian Hunt's Delight."

YE banks and braes o' bonny Doon,
How can ye bloom sae fresh and fair
How can ye chant, ye little birds,
And I sae weary, fu' o' care!

;

Thou'll break my heart, thou warbling bird,
That wantons through the flowering thorn:
Thou minds me o' departed joys,

Departed-never to return!

*The English Government having imposed a duty on all teas introduced into America, the passions of the people rose to fever-heat; and when some East India ships landed at Boston with cargoes of tea, the ships were boarded by force, and the tea-chests tossed into the sea.

And did nae less, in full Congress,
Than quite refuse our law, man.

Then through the lakes. Montgomery* takes,
I wat he wasna slaw, man!
Down Lowrie's burnt he took a turn
And Carleton did ca', man:
But yet, what-reck, he, at Quebec,
Montgomery-like‡ did fa', man:
Wi' sword in hand, before his band,
Amang his en'mies a', man.

Poor Tammy Gage, within a cage,
Was kept at Boston ha', man; §
Till Willie Howe took o'er the knowe
For Philadelphia, man;

Wi' sword and gun he thought a sin
Guid Christian bluid to draw, man;
But at New York, wi' knife and fork,
Sir-loin he hacked sma', man.||

Burgoyne gaed up, like spur and whip,
Till Fraser brave did fa', man;
Then lost his way, ae misty day,
In Saratoga shaw,1 man.¶
Cornwallis fought as long's he dought,
And did the buckskins claw, man;
But Clinton's glaive frae rust to save,
He hung it to the wa', man.

Then Montague, and Guildford too,

Began to fear a fa', man;

2

And Sackville doure,3 wha stood the stoure,4

The German chief to thraw,5 man;

For Paddy Burke, like ony Turk,

Nae mercy had at a', man;

And Charlie Fox threw by the box,
And loosed his tinkler jaw," man.

**

Then Rockingham took up the game,
Till death did on him ca', man;

1 Wood.

2 Could.

3 Stubborn.

4 Dust.

5 Thwart.

General Montgomery invaded Canada in 1775, and took Montreal, the British general, Sir Guy Carleton, retiring before him

↑ The St. Lawrence.

A compliment to the Montgomeries of Coilsfield.

§ An allusion to General Gage's being besieged in Boston by General Washington.

Alluding to an inroad made by Howe, when a large number of cattle was destroyed.

An allusion to the surrender of General Burgoyne's army at Saratoga.
Free-spoken tongue. Tinkers are proverbial for their gift of speech.

When Shelburne meek held up his cheek,
Conform to gospel law, man;
Saint Stephen's boys wi' jarring noise,
They did his measures thraw, man,
For North and Fox united stocks,
And bore him to the wa', man.

Then clubs and hearts were Charlie's cartes,

He swept the stakes awa', man,

Till the diamond's ace, of Indian race,

Led him a sair faux pas, man;

*

The Saxon lads, wi' loud placads,1
On Chatham's boy did ca', man;

And Scotland drew her pipe, and blew,
"Up, Willie, waur2 them a', man!"

Behind the throne then Grenville's gone,
A secret word or twa, man ;
While slee Dundas aroused the class
Be-north the Roman wa', man:

And Chatham's wraith,3 in heavenly graith,
(Inspired Bardies saw, man ;)

Wi' kindling eyes cried, "Willie, rise!"
"Would I hae fear'd them a', man?"

But, word and blow, North, Fox, and Co.,
Gowff'd Willie like a ba', man,

Till Suthrons raise, and coost their claes
Behind him in a raw, man;

And Caledon threw by the drone,

And did her whittle draw, man;

And swoor fu' rude, through dirt and bluid,

To make it guid in law, man.

THE BIRKS OF ABERFELDY.

Tune-"The Birks of Aberfeldy."

THESE lines were composed by the poet after visiting the falls of Moness, near Aberfeldy, in Perthshire.

* An allusion to the India Bill, which threw Fox out of office in December

1783.

Now simmer blinks on flowery braes,
And o'er the crystal streamlet plays;
Come, let us spend the lightsome days
In the birks of Aberfeldy.

While o'er their heads the hazels hing,
The little birdies blithely sing,
Or lightly flit on wanton wing
In the birks of Aberfeldy.

The braes ascend, like lofty wa's,
The foaming stream deep-roaring fa's,
O'erhung wi' fragrant spreading shaws,1
The birks of Aberfeldy.

The hoary cliffs are crown'd wi' flowers,
White o'er the linns the burnie pours,
And rising, weets wi' misty showers
The birks of Aberfeldy.

Let Fortune's gifts at random flee,
They ne'er shall draw a wish frae me,
Supremely blest wi' love and thee,
In the birks of Aberfeldy.

THE DONNY LASS OF ALBANY,

Tune-"Mary's Dream."

"THE following song," says Chambers, "is printed from a inanuscript book in Burns's hand-writing, in the possession of Mr. B. Nightingale of London." The heroine was the natural daughter of Prince Charles Edward, by Clementina Walkinshaw, a lady with whom he lived for many years. She was legitimized by an enactment of the parliament of Paris in 1787, under the title of the Duchess of Albany.

My heart is wae, and unco wae,

To think upon the raging sea

That roars between her gardens green

And the bonny Lass of Albany.

This lovely maid's of royal blood
That ruled Albion's kingdoms three,
But oh, alas! for her bonny face,
They've wrang'd the Lass of Albany.

In the rolling tide of spreading Clyde
There sits an isle of high degree,

And a town of fame whose princely name
Should grace the Lass of Albany.

1 Woods.

2 Sad.

But there's a youth, a witless youth,
That fills the place where she should be ;
We'll send him o'er to his native shore,
And bring our ain sweet Albany.

Alas the day, and wo the day,

A false usurper wan the gree

1

Who now commands the towers and lands-
The royal right of Albany.

We'll daily pray, we'll nightly pray,

On bended knees most fervently,

The time may come, with pipe and drum,

We'll welcome hame fair Albany.

LADY ONLIE.

Tune-"Ruffian's Rant."

This is an old song improved by Burns for the Museum.

A' THE lads o' Thorniebank,

When they gae to the shore o' Bucky,2

They'll step in and tak a pint

Wi' Lady Onlie, honest Lucky 13

Lady Onlie, honest Lucky,

Brews guid ale at shore o' Bucky;
I wish her sale for her guid ale,

The best on a' the shore o' Bucky.

5

Her house sae bien, her curch sae clean,
I wat she is a dainty chucky;*

And cheerlie blinks the ingle-gleed 6
Of Lady Onlie, honest Lucky!

Lady Onlie, honest Lucky,

Brews guid ale at shore o' Bucky;
I wish her sale for her guid ale,
The best on a' the shore o' Bucky.

BLITHE WAS SHE.

Tune-"Andrew and his Cutty Gun."

THE poet met the heroine of this song at the house of Sir William Murray of Ochtertyre. She was a Miss Euphemia Murray of Lintrose, known throughout

i Superiority.

2 Buckhaven.

3 Goodwife.

4 Comfortable

5 Kerchief-a Covering for the head.

6 The fireside blaze.

* A term of endearment-literally it means a hen.