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XVII.
Auld cocks ha'f tipsy, now incline
Around the bowl or stoup to join,
And crack o' feats they did langsyne,
To mem'ry dear,
While youth and love rush on their min',
And draw a tear.
XVIII.
E'en totterin' age, lyart and bal',
Maun hae his youthfu' story taul',
How he gaed souple, strang and baul'
Through dib and mire:
Life's glimmerin' lamp blinks thro' his saul,
A spunk o' fire.
XIX.
Night o'er the land does darkness pu',
And troth she has a bonnie view;
Some are dead-drunk, some roaring fu'
Wi' mighty splutter;
And ither some gaun out to spew
Faun' i' the gutter.
XX.
Now sober folks their doors are steeking,
Ilk wife her drunken husband seeking,
Thro' monie a change-house she gaes keeking,
Right cauld I trow,
While he at some bien fire sits beeking
And roaring fu'.
XXI.
Yet hame he winna come ava,
But at ilk cronny's door maun ca';
At his coat-tail his wife will draw,
And do her best,
And monie a canker'd name she'll ca
Her waefu' pest.
