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I hae a wish I canna tine,

'Mang a' the cares that grieve me-o;

I wish thou wert for ever mine,

And never mair to leave me-o:
Then I wad daut thee night and day,
Nor ither warldly care wad hae,
Till life's warm stream forgot to play,
My only jo and dearie-o.

I remember when this song was exceedingly popular : its sweetness and ease rather than its originality and vigour might be the cause of its success. The third verse contains a very beautiful picture of early attachment—a sunny bank and some sweet soft school-girl, will appear to many a fancy when these lines are sung. It was written by Richard Gall.

AE FOND KISS.

Ae fond kiss, and then we sever;
Ae farewell, alas, for ever!

Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee.
Who shall say that fortune grieves him
While the star of hope she leaves him?
Me, nae cheerfu' twinkle lights me ;-
Dark despair around benights me.

I'll ne'er blame my partial fancy,
Naething could resist my Nancy:
But to see her, was to love her;
Love but her, and love for ever.
Had we never lov'd sae kindly,
Had we never lov'd sae blindly,
Never met or never parted,
We had ne'er been broken-hearted!

Fare thee well, thou first and fairest!
Fare thee well, thou best and dearest !
Thine be ilka joy and treasure,
Peace, enjoyment, love, and pleasure!
Ae fond kiss, and then we sever;
Ae farewell, alas! for ever!

Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee.

Burns wrote this moving song about the year 1790Like Thomson he laments the cruelty of fortune: but there is more passion in his complaint; and he seems to have drunk deeply of joy before he parted with the cup. Of the heroine I cannot speak with certainty; but the poet I believe has named her right-the song is more creditable to her charms than to her good name.

AGAIN REJOICING NATURE SEES.

Again rejoicing Nature sees

Her robe assume its vernal hues,
Her leafy locks wave in the breeze,
All freshly steep'd in morning dews.

In vain to me the cowslips blaw,
In vain to me the vi'lets spring;

In vain to me, in glen or shaw,

The mavis and the lintwhite sing.

The merry ploughboy cheers his team,
Wi' joy the tentie seedman stauks,
But life to me's a weary dream,

A dream of ane that never wauks.

The wanton coot the water skims,
Amang the reeds the ducklings cry,
The stately swan majestic swims,
And every thing is blest but I.

The sheep-herd steeks his faulding slap,
And owre the moorland whistles shill,
Wi' wild, unequal, wand'ring step,

I meet him on the dewy hill.

And when the lark, 'tween light and dark,
Blithe waukens by the daisy's side,
And mounts and sings on flittering wings,
A woe-worn ghaist, I hameward glide.

Come, Winter, with thine angry howl,
And raging bend the naked tree;
Thy gloom will soothe my cheerless soul,

When nature all is sad like me!

I have removed from this fine song the idle encumbrance of an adopted chorus; it interrupted the flow of the narrative, and was at open war with the sentiment of each verse. The chorus was joyous and the song mournful. It is one of the earliest printed lyrics of

Burns.

O WERE I ON PARNASSUS' HILL.

O were I on Parnassus' hill!
Or had of Helicon my fill;
That I might catch poetic skill,

To sing how dear I love thee.
But Nith maun be my muse's well,
My muse maun be thy bonnie sel' ;
On Corsincon I'll glow'r and spell,
And write how dear I love thee.

Then come, sweet Muse, inspire my lay,
For a' the lee-lang simmer's day

I cou'dna sing, I cou❜dna say

How much, how dear I love thee.

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I see thee dancing o'er the green,

Thy waist sae jimp, thy limbs sae clean,
Thy tempting lips, thy roguish een—

By heaven and earth I love thee!

By night, by day, a-field, at hame,
The thoughts o' thee my breast inflame;
And
aye I muse and sing thy name;

I only live to love thee.

Tho' I were doom'd to wander on

Beyond the sea, beyond the sun,

Till my last weary

sand was run,

Till then-and then I'll love thee.

Burns wrote this song when he first became a dweller on the banks of the Nith; and he wrote it in honour of Mrs. Burns. I have heard the introduction of the heathen hill and fount of poetic inspiration censured as pedantic; but they are mentioned only in a half-serious and half-comic way, that the poet may give preference to the stream of Nith and the hill of Corsincon. The second verse contains one of those happy strokes for which the poet is unrivalled-he gazes on the image of life and loveliness which his fancy presents till he can contain himself no longer, and exclaims, after making an inventory of various perfections, " By heaven and earth I love thee!"

VOL. IV.

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