THE POEMS OF BURNS.
47
Wee Jenny to her Graunie says,
'Will ye go wi' me, Graunie?
I'll eat the apple[1] at the glass,
'I gat frae uncle Johnie:'
She fuff't her pipe wi' sic a lunt,
In wrath she was sae vap'rin,
She notic't na, an aizle brunt,
Her braw new worset apron
Out thro' that night.
'Will ye go wi' me, Graunie?
I'll eat the apple[1] at the glass,
'I gat frae uncle Johnie:'
She fuff't her pipe wi' sic a lunt,
In wrath she was sae vap'rin,
She notic't na, an aizle brunt,
Her braw new worset apron
Out thro' that night.
'Ye little Skelpie-limmer's face!
'I daur you try sic sportin,
'As seek the foul Thief ony place,
'For him to spae your fortune?
'Nae doubt but ye may get a sight!
'Great cause ye hae to fear it;
'For monie a ane has gotten a fright,
'An liv'd an' di'd deleeret,
On sic a night.
'I daur you try sic sportin,
'As seek the foul Thief ony place,
'For him to spae your fortune?
'Nae doubt but ye may get a sight!
'Great cause ye hae to fear it;
'For monie a ane has gotten a fright,
'An liv'd an' di'd deleeret,
On sic a night.
'Ae Hairst afore the Sherra-moor,
'I mind't as weel's yestreen,
'I was a gilpey then, I'm sure
'I was na past fyfteen:
'The simmer had been cauld and wat,
'An' stuff was unco' green;
'An' ay a rantin kirn we gat,
'An' just on Halloween
'It fell that night.
'I mind't as weel's yestreen,
'I was a gilpey then, I'm sure
'I was na past fyfteen:
'The simmer had been cauld and wat,
'An' stuff was unco' green;
'An' ay a rantin kirn we gat,
'An' just on Halloween
'It fell that night.
'Our stibble-rig was Rab M'Graen,
'A clever, sturdy fallow;
'His sin gat Eppie Sim wi' wean,
'That liv'd in Achmacalla;
'He gat hemp-seed,[2] I mind it weel,
'An' he made unco light o't;
'But monie a day was by himsel,
'He was sae sairly frighted
'That vera night.'
'A clever, sturdy fallow;
'His sin gat Eppie Sim wi' wean,
'That liv'd in Achmacalla;
'He gat hemp-seed,[2] I mind it weel,
'An' he made unco light o't;
'But monie a day was by himsel,
'He was sae sairly frighted
'That vera night.'
Then up gat fechtin Jamie Fleck,
An' he swoor by his conscience,
That he could saw hemp-seed a peck;
For it was a' but nonsense:
The auld guidman raught down the pock,
An' out a handfu' gied him;
Syne bad him slip frae 'mang the folk,
Sometime when nae ane see'd him,
An' try't that night.
An' he swoor by his conscience,
That he could saw hemp-seed a peck;
For it was a' but nonsense:
The auld guidman raught down the pock,
An' out a handfu' gied him;
Syne bad him slip frae 'mang the folk,
Sometime when nae ane see'd him,
An' try't that night.
He marches thro' amang the stacks,
Tho' he was something sturtin;
The graip he for a harrow taks,
An' haurls at his curpin:
An' ev'ry now an' then, he says,
'Hemp-seed, I saw thee,
'An' her that is to be my lass,
'Come after me an' draw thee
As fast this night.'
Tho' he was something sturtin;
The graip he for a harrow taks,
An' haurls at his curpin:
An' ev'ry now an' then, he says,
'Hemp-seed, I saw thee,
'An' her that is to be my lass,
'Come after me an' draw thee
As fast this night.'
He whistl'd up Lord Lenox' march,
To keep his courage cheary;
Altho' his hair began to arch,
He was sae fley'd an' eerie:
Till presently he hears a squeak,
An' then a grane an' gruntle;
He by his shouther gae a keek,
An' tumbl'd wi' a wintle
Out-owre that night.
To keep his courage cheary;
Altho' his hair began to arch,
He was sae fley'd an' eerie:
Till presently he hears a squeak,
An' then a grane an' gruntle;
He by his shouther gae a keek,
An' tumbl'd wi' a wintle
Out-owre that night.
He roar'd a horrid murder shout,
In dreadfu' desperation!
An' young an' auld come rinnin out,
An' hear the sad narration:
He swoor 'twas hilchin Jean M'Craw,
Or crouchie Merran Humphie,
Till stop! she trotted thro' them a';
An' wha was it but Grumphie
Asteer that night!
In dreadfu' desperation!
An' young an' auld come rinnin out,
An' hear the sad narration:
He swoor 'twas hilchin Jean M'Craw,
Or crouchie Merran Humphie,
Till stop! she trotted thro' them a';
An' wha was it but Grumphie
Asteer that night!
- ↑ Take a candle, and go alone to a looking-glass; eat an apple before it, and some traditions say, you should comb your hair all the time; the face of your conjugal companion, to be, will be seen in the glass, as if peeping over your shoulder. R. B.
- ↑ Steal out unperceived, and sow a handful of hemp-seed: harrowing it with any thing you can conveniently draw after you. Repeat now and then, 'Hemp-seed, I saw thee, hemp-seed, I saw thee; and him (or her) that is to be my true-love, come after me and pou thee.' Look over your left shoulder, and you will see the appearance of the person invoked, in the attitude of pulling hemp. Some traditions say, 'come after me, and shaw thee,' that is, show thyself: in which case it simply appears. Others omit the harrowing, and say, 'come after me, and harrow thee.' R. B.
