4
Luckless was the hour whan Willie,
Hame returning frae the fair,
O'ertook Tam, a neebour billie,
Sax miles frae their hame and mair
Simmer's heat had lost its fury;
Calmly smiled the sober e'en,
Lasses on the bleachfield hurry,
Skelping barefit owre the green:
Labour rang wi' laugh and clatter,
Canty hairst was just begun,
And on mountain, tree, and water,
Glinted saft the setting sun.
Will and Tam, wi' hearts a' louping,
Mark't the hale, but could nae bide;
Far frae lame, nae time for stopping.--
Baith wished for their ain fire side.
On they travelled, warm and drouthy,
Cracking owre the news in town;
The mair they crack't, the mair ilk youth aye
Prayed for drink to wash news down.
Fortune, wha but seldom listens
To poor Merit's modest prayer,
And on fools pours needless blessings,
Hearkened to our drouthy pair.
In a howm, wha's bonny burnie
Whimpering rowed its crystal flood,
Near the road whar travellers turn aye,
Neat and bield a cot-house stood:
