The Two Ill-Favoured Ones

by Richard Watson

THE TWO ILL-FAVOURED ONES

Returning yam frae wark yan neet,
Plodding alang wi' weary feet,
While the full mune's pale borrowed leet
   M'yad objects near,
As if t'been day, luke ti my seet
   Distinct and clear.

Aw at the village had ti wait,
Which put ma on my journey late;
It's nae strang drink was i' my pate
   To lead ma wrang,
Though tir'd eneugh, at nae slaw rate
   Aw jogged alang.

By the roadside aw chanced to see
Two tramps, ensonc'd beneath a tree,
Ill-luiking as they weel could be;—
   This was my thought,
They luik nae good, their luik shows me
   They'll stick at nought.

Yan was a chap, loose, lang and lean,
Wi' shrivell'd face, and hollow een,
Yan hungier luiking aw'd ne'er seen,
   Or mair distressed,
Clad in thin rags, not ower clean,
   Sae he was dressed.

The other was amaist as bad,
An' luik'd as if he'd been half-mad;
His countenance was grim an' sad,
   An' quite care-worn,
As if he nivver had been glad
   Sen he was born.

To them wi' little fear aw went,
Thought aw, if they'd been on robbing bent,
Their time wi' me'll be ill-spent,
   A useless job,
Because aw'd not a cent,
   For them to rob.

Said they, "We hae but little care
Whar we may lodge, or how we may fare,
In fact we're dreaded ivverywhere,
   By heigh an' low;
Depend on't we're nae welcome pair,
   Reet weel we know.

"That we're ill company we grant,
Whar vice abounds we maistly haunt,
And whar we gan we misery plant,
   An' bring men low,
You've heard of us—my name is Want,
   And this is Woe!

"Dunna be in a stew," said they,
"But seldom we a visit pay
To sober working men, though they
   Be not weel set,
Who hae to toil ivvery day,
   Their bread to get.

"It tries a poor man's utmost skill
To find grist for the household mill,
When he's got mony mouths to fill,
   And claes find, too;
But, if careful be, he will
   Get foughten through.

"Wi' them et frae their duty shrink,
And of the future nivver think,
But waste their means on madd'ning drink,
   We often dwell,
An' push them onward to the brink
   O' death an' hell.

"An' sec as them et wander wide
Frae Christian truth, without a guide,
An' set religion quite aside,
   An' live in sin,
To them we soon become allied,
   An' enter in.

"Dunnot think the rich are free, although
Of me they do not but little know,
Whar evil is, my brother Woe
   Is on the track:
Not all the money they can show
   Can keep him back.

"If mankind would act as they should,
And work for yan another's good,
United in brotherhood,
   This fact is clear,
From their domestic hearths we would,
   Soon disappear.

"But we'll be moving, time rolls by,
Our avocations we mun ply;
Our presence will cause mony a sigh
   Ere morning leet."
"An' aw'll be gannen, too," said I,
   "Good neet, good neet."