My luve is like the dawn o' day,
She wears a veil o' woven mist;
And hoary cranreuch deftly flower'd,
Lies paling on her maiden breast;
Her kirtle at her jimpy waist,
Has studs o' gowd to clasp it wi'
She decks her hair wi' pearlis rare—
And how culd my luve think o' me?
My cloak is o' the Friesland gray,
My doublet o' the gay Walloon,
I wear the spurs o' siller sheen,
And yet I am a landless loon;
I ride a steed o' Flanders breed,
I beare a sword upon my theigh,
And that is a' my graith and gear—
Sae how culd my luve think o' me?
My luve's rose lips breathe sweet perfume,
Twa pearlie raws pure faire atween,
The happie dimples dent her cheeks,
And diamonds low in her dark e'en;
Her haire is o' the gowden licht,
But dark the fringes o' her bree;
Her smile wuld warm cauld winter's heart—
But how culd my luve think o' me?
My luve is tended like a queen,
She sits among her maidens fair;
There 's ane to send, and ane to sew,
And ane to kame her gowden hair;
The lutestrings luve her fingers sma',
Her lips are steept in melodie;
My heart is fu'—my e'en rin ower—
Oh, how culd my luve think o' me?
My luve she sits her palfrey white,
Mair fair to see than makar's dream
O' faery queen on moonbeam bricht,
Or mermaid on the saut sea faem.
A belted knicht is by her side,
I 'm but a squire o' low degree;
A baron halds her bridle-rein—
And how culd my luve think o' me?
But I will don the pilgrim's weeds,
And boune me till the Holy Land,
A' for the sake o' my dear luve,
To keep unstain'd my heart and hand.
And when this world is gane to wreck,
Wi' a' its pride and vanitie,
Within the blessed bouris o' heaven,
We then may meet—my luve and me.
JAMES MACDONALD.
A respectable writer of lyric poetry, James Macdonald was born in September 1807, in the parish of Fintry, and county of Stirling. His father was employed in the cotton factory of Culcruich. Of unwonted juvenile precocity, he attracted the attention of two paternal uncles, whose circumstances enabled them to provide him with a liberal education. Acquiring the rudiments of learning at Culcruich, he afterwards studied at the grammar school of Stirling, and proceeded, in 1822, to the university of Glasgow. Intended by his relations for the ministry of the Established Church, he attended the Divinity Hall during three sessions. Preferring secular employment, he now abandoned the study of theology, and occupied himself in educational pursuits. After teaching in several boarding establishments, he became corrector of the press in the printing-office of Messrs Blackie of Glasgow. Having suffered on account of bad health, he was induced to accept the appointment of Free Church schoolmaster at Blairgowrie. His health continuing to decline, he removed to the salubrious village of Catrine, in Ayrshire: he died there on the 27th May 1848. Macdonald was a devoted teacher of Sabbath schools; and his only separate publications are two collections of hymns for their use.