There was Maggie* by the banks o' Nith, A dame wi' pride enough; And Marjorie + o' the monie Loch, And blinkin Bess o' Annandale, That dwells near Solway side, And whisky Jean § that took her gill In Galloway so wide. And auld black Joan || frae Creighton peel, The south kintra within. To send a lad to Lon'on town They met upon a day, And monie a Knight and monie a Laird, O! monie a Knight and monie a Laird, But nae ane could their fancy please, The first ane was a belted Knight, An' he wad gae to Lon'on town, *Dumfries. § Kirkcudbright. + Lochmaben. || Sanquhar. + Annan. And he wad do their errands weel, And meikle he wad say, And ilka ane at Lon'on court Then neist came in a sodger youth, He wad na hecht them courtly gift, Now whom to choose and whom refuse; Then out spak mim-mou'd Meg o' Nith, An' she spak out wi' pride, For the auld guidman o' Lon'on court She did not care a pin, But she wad send the sodger youth To greet his eldest son. Then up sprang Bess o' Annandale : A deadly aith she's ta'en, That she wad vote the border Knight, For far off fowls hae feathers fair, An' fools o' change are fain : But I hae tried the border Knight, I'll try him yet again. Says auld black Joan frae Creighton peel, A Carlin stout and grim, The auld guidman or young guidman, For fools may prate o' right and wrang, Then whisky Jean spak o'er her drink, Ye weel ken kimmers a' The auld guidman o' Lon'on court, And monie a friend that kiss'd his caup, Then slow raise Marjorie o' the Lochs, Her ancient weed was russet gray, There's some great folks set light by me, I set as light by them; But I will send to Lon'on town, Wha I lo'e best at hame. So how this weighty plea will end, God grant the King and ilka man THE DEUK'S DANG O'ER MY DADDIE. THE bairns gat out wi' an unco shout, An' he paidles late and early, O; This seven lang years I hae lien by his side, An' he is but a fusionless carlie, O. O haud your tongue, my feirie auld wife, I've seen the day, and sae hae ye, Ye wadna been sae donsie, 0: I've seen the day ye butter'd my brose, But downa do's come o'er me now, THE LASS THAT MADE THE BED TO ME. WHEN Januar' wind was blawing cauld, By my good luck a maid I met, To walk into a chamber fair. I bow'd fu' low unto this maid, I bow'd fu' low unto this maid, And bade her mak a bed to me. She made the bed baith large and wide, She put And drank, Young man, now sleep ye soun.' This ballad, which occurs in Johnson's Museum with Burns' name, was, he says, "composed on an amour of Charles II. when skulking in the north, about Aberdeen, in the time of the usurpation. He formed some petite affaire with a daughter of the house of Port Letham, who was thelass that made the bed to him.' The Poet then gives two of the old verses, which are greatly inferior to this improved version of the story." |