spectacle is very imposing; the "princes of a day" behave with wonderful decorum; and, save that it is more orderly, it resembles closely a real coronation pageant. The gentle craft of Crispin has furnished matter for much verse, serious as well as sarcastic. If there be truth in song, Satan supplied the tools of Cromwell's soldiers, who instructed the folk of the north, in what Dr. Johnson calls "the art of accommodating men's feet with shoes :".

"There came souters out o' Mar,

And souters twice as far,

And souters out o' Peterhead,
Wi' no a tooth in a' their head,
Wi' rugging and tugging leather;
They came all in a flock together;

And auld King Crispin was there himsel',
And he looked down to hell-

Where he saw some barked leather to sell.
Quo' he may I swing in a hair tether,
But I'll gae down and price that leather.
He gat down, I canna tell ye how,

But when he came up he had a burnt mou'.
He bouked nine pints o' oil and a little wax,
Crooked gullies five or sax,

And a foot-fang to haud them a' fast,

There were inseam awls and outseam awls,

Wi' pegging awls and closing awls;

And when he thought the foul fiends a' gane,
Up came a patie-boy and a sharping-stane."

This singular old rhyme I heard repeated when a boy, by Andrew Graham, a mason, who lived on the border.-ED.]

THE FETE CHAMPETRE.

Tune-"Killicrankie."

I.

O wha will to Saint Stephen's house,
To do our errands there, man?
O wha will to Saint Stephen's house,
O' th' merry lads of Ayr, man?
Or will we send a man-o'-law?
Or will we send a sodger?
Or him wha led o'er Scotland a'
The meikle Ursa-Major?

II.

Come, will ye court a noble lord,
Or buy a score o' lairds, man?
For worth and honour pawn their word,
Their vote shall be Glencaird's, man?
Ane gies them coin, ane gies them wine,
Anither gies them clatter;

Anbank, wha guess'd the ladies' taste,
He gies a Fête Champetre.

III.

When Love and Beauty heard the news,
The gay green-woods amang, man;
Where gathering flowers and busking bowers,
They heard the blackbird's sang, man ;
A vow, they seal'd it with a kiss

Sir Politicks to fetter,

As their's alone, the patent-bliss,
To hold a Fête Champetre.

IV.

Then mounted Mirth, on gleesome wing,
O'er hill and dale she flew, man;
Ilk wimpling burn, ilk crystal spring,
Ilk glen and shaw she knew, man:
She summon'd every social sprite,
That sports by wood or water,
On th' bonny banks of Ayr to meet,
And keep this Fête Champetre.

V.

Cauld Boreas, wi' his boisterous crew,
Were bound to stakes like kye, man;

And Cynthia's car, o' silver fu',

Clamb up the starry sky, man:
Reflected beams dwell in the streams,
Or down the current shatter;

The western breeze steals thro' the trees,
To view this Fête Champetre.

VI.

How many a robe sae gaily floats!
What sparkling jewels glance, man!
To Harmony's enchanting notes,

As moves the mazy dance, man.
The echoing wood, the winding flood,
Like Paradise did glitter,

When angels met, at Adam's yett,
To hold their Fête Champetre.

VII.

When Politics came there, to mix
And make his ether-stane, man!
He circled round the magic ground,
But entrance found he nane, man:
He blushed for shame, he quat his name,
Forswore it, every letter,

Wi' humble prayer to join and share
This festive Fête Champetre.

[The occasion of this ballad was as follows:-when Mr. Cunninghame, of Enterkin, came to his estate, two mansion-houses on it, Enterkin and Anbank, were both in a ruinous state. Wishing to introduce himself with some éclat to the country, he got temporary erections made on the banks of Ayr, tastefully decorated with

shrubs and flowers, for a supper and ball, to which most of the respectable families in the county were invited. It was a novelty in the county, and attracted much notice. A dissolution of parliament was soon expected, and this festivity was thought to be an introduction to a canvass for representing the county. Several other candidates were spoken of, particularly Sir John Whitefoord, then residing at Cloncaird, commonly pronounced Glencaird, and Mr. Boswell, the well-known biographer of Dr. Johnson. The political views of this festive assemblage, which are alluded to in the ballad, if they ever existed, were however laid aside, as Mr. C. did not canvass the county.-GILBERT BURNS.]

HERE'S A HEALTH.

Tune-" Here's a Health to them that's awa."

I.

Here's a health to them that's awa,

Here's a health to them that's awa;

And wha winna wish guid luck to our cause,

May never guid luck be their fa'!

It's guid to be merry and wise,

It's guid to be honest and true,
It's guid to support Caledonia's cause,
And bide by the buff and the blue.