I doubtna, lass, but ye may think, But sorrow take him that's sae mean, Although his pouch o' coin were clean, Wha follows ony saucy quean That looks sae proud and high, Although a lad were e'er sae smart, But if he hae the name o' gear, But, Tibbie, lass, take my advice; Your daddy's gear makes you sae nice : The deil a ane wad spier your price Were ye as poor as I. There lives a lass in yonder park, “Tibbie, I hae seen the day," is the earliest of all the lyric compositions of Burns. It has none of those felicitous touches and happy and vigorous thoughts, for which he became afterwards so much distinguished; yet it is lively and clever, and well worthy of a place. Who the saucy maiden was we may now perhaps inquire in vain. Happy is the lady on whom the sun of his fancy shone, for she will live long in light. I wish he had been more fastidious in his heroines. O, WAT YE WHA'S IN YON TOWN? O, wat ye wha's in yon town Now haply down yon gay green shaw How blest ye birds that round her sing, And doubly welcome be the spring, The sun blinks blithe on yon town, And on yon bonnie braes of Ayr ; But my delight in yon town, And dearest bliss, is Lucy fair. Without my love, not a' the charms And welcome Lapland's dreary sky. My cave wad be a lover's bower, And she a lovely little flower That I wad tent and shelter there. O sweet is she in yon town Yon sinking sun's gaun down A fairer than's in yon town If upon; His setting beam ne'er shone upon. angry fate is sworn my foe, For while life's dearest blood is warm, And she-as fairest is her form, She has the truest, kindest heart. It seems unlikely that Burns dedicated these fine verses to the honour of more than one lady; yet tradition is so perversely blind as to impute them to the influence of Mrs. Burns, while at the same time the name of the heroine, and authority of a far less dubious nature than any thing traditional, assign them to the charms of Lucy Johnstone, the accomplished lady of Mr. Oswald of Auchencruive. Like many of the poet's songs, it commences by imitating an ancient lyric; but the Muse only uses the old verse as a kind of vantage ground from which she may ascend into the region of original song with greater readiness: no one who reads it will imagine that it owes any of its beauty to I'll gang nae mair to yon town, O never a' my life again. Some copies omit the name of Lucy, and substitute Jeanie, and the fourth verse presents the following variation : The sun blinks blithe on yon town, And dearest pleasure, is my Jean. LANGSYNE, BESIDE THE WOODLAND BURN. Langsyne, beside the woodland burn, Amang the broom sae yellow, I lean'd me 'neath the milk-white thorn, A' round my seat the flow'rs were strew'd, I twin'd the woodbine round the rose, Green sprigs of fragrant birk I chose, I should have wove the willow. My bonnie lad was forc'd afar, Yet ay I hope for his return, As round our wonted haunts I mourn; And often by the woodland burn I pu' the weeping willow. |