Dark visions rolled off with the mists of the morning;
High o'er the green larches white smoke-wreaths had curled; And the tender sun beaming from out the clear ether,
Was the hopefuller sun of an opening world. And over wide ocean a warbler came winging,
Who sang, as he dropped a heathbell by our door, "The shadows are flitting, the day-dawn is breaking,
The long night of sorrow will darken no more."
LOCH KATRINE.
Loch Katrine's bonnie banks an' braes,
Though lang I've left them a', laddie, 'Thochts o' them, an' ither days
Maist break my heart in twa, laddie. Fu' thretty years o' storm an' shine
Sin' first we crossed the ocean's brine,
Yet closely roond oor hearts entwine
The mem'ries o' lang syne, laddie.
Oh! mind ye o' the leafy bowers
Within the sylvan shade, laddie, Where aft we pu'd the wild-wood flowers,
As warblers stirred the glade, laddie? Wi' step sae buoyant, firm an' free
I hurried tae the trystin' tree;—
Sae sacred then tae Love an' thee;
To love, an' thee, an' me, laddie.
In school, at sport, in whirlin' dance,
Thy rival was nae seen, laddie, Nae ither suitor won a glance
Frae me, the village queen, laddie. Then ebon was my glossy hair,
Thy crown o' curls was gowden fair;
Now time—wha rich nor puir will spare—
Has bleached oor locks to sna, laddie.
Nae mair upon auld Scotia's shore
Wi' willing feet we'll stray, laddie, Nor greet the freens we loved o' yore,
The yore sae far away, laddie. Nae mair we'll see the sunbeams rest
Upon Ben Ledi's haughty crest,
As, reddening a' the distant west,
Sol sinks aneath the wave, laddie.
Nae mair we'll watch the rushin' tide
Sweep ower the yellow sands, laddie, But far ayont the ither side
We'll clasp the lang missed hands, laddie. Yes! far ayont the mist an' rain,
An' days of toil, an' nichts o' pain,
Wide scattered flocks will meet again
Nae mair to part for aye, laddie.
As frost dispels 'fore kindly thaw
When Spring's saft breezes blow, laddie, So gently may we slip awa'
To joys nae mortals know, laddie. For as the sun clears aff the dew,
Our withered lives will bloom anew,
When this fause world shall fade frae view
In fairer worlds abune, laddie.