[21] The size of Angus farms is expressed by the number of horses required to work them.
[22] Jibes.
INVERQUHARITY
Aside the Quharity burn
I ken na what I’m seein’
Wi’ the licht near deein’
An’ the lang year at the turn;
But the dog that gangs wi’ me
Creeps whingein’ at my knee,
And we baith haud thegither
Like a lad an’ his brither
At the water o’ Quharity.
Alang the Quharity glen
I mind on warlock’s faces,
I’ the still, dark places
Whaur the trees hae airms like men;
And I ken the beast can see
Yon een that’s watchin’ me,
Whaur the arn-boughs darken
An’ I’m owre fear’d to harken
I’ the glen o’ Quharity.
By Quharity Castle wa’s
The toor is like a prison,
Or a deid man risen
Amang the birken shaws;
And the sweit upon my bree
Is drappin’ cauld frae me
Till the ill spell’s broken
By the Haly Word spoken
At the wa’s o’ Quharity.
Alang the Valley o’ Deith
There’ll be mony a warlock wait’n
Wi’ the thrangin’ hosts o’ Sat’n
Till I tak’ my hin’maist breith;
An’ I’m fear’d there winna be
The dog to gang wi’ me
An’ I doot the way is wearier
An’ the movin’ shadows eerier
Than the jaws o’ Quharity.
But I’ll whisper the Haly Name
For thae list’nin’ lugs to hear me,
An’ the herds o’ Hell’ll fear me
An’ tak’ the road they came;
For the wild dark wings’ll flee
Frae their bield in branch an’ tree—
Nae mair the black airms thrawin’!
Nae mair the ill sough blawin’!
For my day o’ days is dawin’
Owre the Castle o’ Quharity!
FAUR-YE-WEEL
As ye come through the Sea-Gate ye’ll find a hoose we ken
Whaur, when a man is drouthy, his drouth an’ he gang ben,
And whiles o’ nichts there’s dancin’ and aye there’s drink by day
And a fiddler-carle sits yonder an’ gars his fiddle play:
“Oh come, ye ancient mariners,
Nae maitter soond or lame,
For tho’ ye gae on hirplin’[23] tae
Ye’ll syne gang dancin’ hame;
The years are slippin’ past ye
Like water past the bows,
Roond half the warld ye’ve toss’d yer dram but sune ye’ll hae to lowse.”[24]
The toon is like a picture, the sea is bonnie blue,
The fiddle’s cryin’ aff the shore to captain, mate, an’ crew,
An’ them that’s had for music the swirl o’ gannet’s wings,
The winds that drive frae Denmark, they dootna what it sings:
“Oh come, ye dandy Baltic lads
That sail to Elsinore,
Ye’re newly in, ye’ll surely win
To hae a spree ashore;
Lairn frae the sea, yer maister,
When fortune’s i’ ye’re debt,
The cauld waves washin’ past the bar tak’ a’ that they can get!”
And when the quays are lichtit an’ dark the ocean lies,
The daft mune, like a feckless fule, keeks doon to mock the wise;
Awa’ in quiet closes the fiddle’s voice is heard
Whaur some that should be sleepin’ are listenin’ for its word:
“Sae haste ye noo, ye rovin’ queyns,
An’ gie yer dads the slip,
Tho’ dour auld men sit girnin’ ben
There’s young anes aff the ship,
Come, tak’ yer fill o’ dancin’,
Yer he’rts at hame maun bide,
For the lad that tak’s a he’rt to sea will drap it owre the side!”
And aye the fiddle’s playin’, the auld bow wauks the string,
The auld carle, stampin’ wi’ his fit, gies aye the time a swing;
Gang East, gang West, ye’ll hear it, it lifts ye like a reel:
It’s niver dumb, an’ the tune sings “Come,” but its name is Faur-ye-weel!
FOOTNOTES:
[23] Limping.
[24] To give up, to leave off.
POEMS IN ENGLISH