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With blood his visage was distain’d,
Ensanguin’d were his frightful eyes,
Each sign of former life remain’d,
Save that all motionless he lies.
The corpse of Herman they contrive
To the same sepulchre to take,
And thro’ both carcases they drive,
Deep in the earth, a sharpen’d stake!
By this was finish’d their career,
Thro’ this no longer they can roam;
From them their friends have nought to fear,
Both quiet keep the slumb’ring tomb.
Auld Lang Seyne
Whilst some the soldier’s deeds emblaze,
An’ talk of sieges and campaigns;
Or some the wily statesman praise
Whea hauds of government the reins;
Or others range the rhymer’s verse,
An’ ca’ the jinglin’ sentence feyne;
Be meyne the bus’ness to rehearse
The parlish turns of auld lang seyne.
Threyce-happy days of past delight,
That sliving teyme whurls fast away,
When pleasure smeyl’d on ev’ry night,
An’ spworts beguil’d the leeve-lang day:
’Twas then, ’or worldly fash I knew,
Or love or loss had gar’d me peyne,
That oft, weel pleas’d, I wad review
The gladsome page of auld lang seyne.
Yence, on a clashy winter neet;
Queyte maiz’d wi’ lounging i’th’ nuik,
I palmer’d out as chance wad hev’t,
An’ till a neybor’s house I tuik;
The man was gaily up i’ years,
An’ wearin’ fast to life’s decleyne,
An’ monie a famish teale could tell
O’ upturns duin i’ auld lang seyne.
“When vile moss-troopers, bworder bred,
To rive and pillage flock’d to arms,
By waur than that-a-donnet led,
Bouz’d into Cumberland i’ swarms:
Our kye, our owsen, off they druive;
Our gear, our graith, our naigs, our sweyne;
An’ monie a lass, her luckless luive,
Was left to wail for auld lang seyne.
Yence on a time a hangrell gang
Com’ with a bensil owre the sea,
Wheyle flocks an’ herds they gar’d them spang,
An’ put o’t country in a bree;
Up a dark lonnin’ fast they rode,
Thinking to shelter their deseyne,
Hoping their fit-hauld to meak guid,
As monie a teyme they’d duin lang seyne.
Kemp Dobbie, as they canterin’ com,
First spy’t-them”; but quo’ he, “Ne’er ak,
Divent be flait o’ them, lad Tom,
But let’s cower down i’ this deyke-back”.
Sae said, an’ humly cowering sat,
Up brouc’d the taistrels in a leyne
Till reet fornenst them, up they gat
An’ rwoar’d, “Now, lads, for auld land seyne”.
Back, helter-skelter, panic-struck,
T’wards heame they kevvel’d, yen and a’,
Nor ventur’d yen an a ewards luik
For fear he’d in the gilders fa’.
Thus single twea abuin a scwore,
Druive sleely frae their coarse deseyne;
An’ yet, tho’ disbelief may glowre,
This really com’ to pass lang seyne.
Thus, thro’ the langsome winter neets,
O’ curious teales sec rowth he’d tell,
O’ Brownies, ghosts, and flaysome sects,
Enough to flay the auld-yen’s sell:
As how when witches here were reyfe,
Reet sonsy fwok they gar’t to peyne;
An’ Michael Scot’s strange fearfu’ leyfe,
He telt, reet gleesomely, lang seyne.
Scot yence gat Criffell on his back,
Some pedder-leyke, as stwories tell;
But whow! his girtins gev a crack,
An’ down his boozy burden fell.
Auld Nick and Scot yence kempt, they say,
Whea best a reape frae sand could tweyne,
Clouts begg’d some caff; quo’ Michael, "Nay."
Sae bang’d the de’il at that lang seyne.
Wi’ clish-ma-clatter, cracks, and jwokes,
My friend and me the evenings pass’d,
Unenvying finger-fed fine fwoks,
Unmindfu’ o’ the whustlin’ blast:
Wi’ sweet content, what needit mair?
For nought need we our gizzerns tweyne;
The auld man’s common simple prayer
Was ay, “God be wi’ auld lang seyne”.
Someteymes he’d talk in wondrous rheymes
About t’ Rebellion, and how the Scots
Com’ owre, and what sec parlish teymes
They hed to hide their butter-pots;
A’ maks o’ gear i’ sacks they hid;
To th’ fells they drove beath beasts and sweyne.
Man! it wad chill thy varra bluid
To hear o’th’ warks o’ auld lang seyne.
Yet tho’ sec brulliments galwore
Oft snaip’d the quiet of our days,
Yet, God be thank’d, this awfu’ stowre
Suin ceas’d, wi’ a’ its feary phraise.
Then smilin’ peace yence mair restwor’d
Content or joy to every meynde,
An’ rowth an’ plenty crown’d each bwoard;
Nae mair we fret for auld lang seyne.
Oh, weels me! on those happy teymes
When a’ was freedom, friendship, joys,
’Or paughty preyde or neameless creymes
Were kent our comforts to destroy;
Nae thoughts of rank engag’d the soul,
But equals seem’d the squire and heynd;
The laird and dar’ker, cheek-by-chowle,
Wad sit and crack of auld lang seyne.
‘Twas then, that nin, however great,
Abuin his neybor thought his-sell,
But lads and lasses wont to meet
Wi’ merry changs their teales to tell;
Frae house to house the rock-gairds went
I’th’ winter neets when t’ moon did shine,
When lovesome sangs and blythe content
Beguil’d the hours of auld lang seyne.
Lang streek’d out