That dreary hour he mounts his beaft in
And fic a night he taks the road in;
As ne'er poor finner was abroad in.
The wind blew as 'twad blawn its last;
The rattling fhowers rofe on the blait ;
The speedy gleams the darkness swallow'd;
Loud, deep, and lang, the thunder bellow'd
That night, a child might understand,
The Deil had bufinefs on his hand.
Weel mounted on his grey mare, Meg,
A better never lifted leg,
Tam fkelpit on thro' dub and mire,
Defpifing wind, and rain, and fire ;
Whiles holding faft his gude blue bonnet;
Whiles crooning o'er fome auld Scots fonnet
Whiles glowring round wi' prudent cares,
Left bogles catch him unawares :
Kirk-Alloway was drawing nigh,
Where ghaifts and houlets nightly cry.-
By this time he was crofs the ford, Whare in the fnaw, the chapman fmoor'd; And past the birks and meikle ftane, Whare drunken Charlie brak's neck-bane; And thro' the whins, and by the cairn, Whare hunters fand the murder'd bairn; And near the thorn, aboon the well, Whare Mungo's mither hang'd herfel,Before him Doon pours all his floods; The doubling ftorm roars thro' the woods
The lightenings flash from pole to pole; Near and more near the thunders roll: When, glimmering thro' the groaning trees, Kirk-Alloway feemed in a bleeze;
Thro' ilka bore the beams were glancing ; And loud refounded mirth and dancing.—
Infpiring bold John Barleycorn!
What dangers thon canft make us fcorn!
Wi' tippenny, we fear nae evil;
Wi ufquabae, we'll face the devil!
The fwats fae ream'd in Tammie's noddie,
Fair play, he card na deils a boddle.
But 'Maggie food right fair astonished,
Till, by the heel and hand admonish'd
She ventur d forward on the light;
And, vow! Tam faw an unco fight!
Warlocks and witches in a dance;
Nae cotillion brent new frae France,
But hornpipes, jigs, ftrathfpeys, and reels,
Put life and mettle in their heels.
A winnock-bunker in the eaft,
There fat auld Nick, in fhape o' beaft;
A towzie tyke, black, grim, and large,
To gie them mufic was his charge:
He fcrew'd the pipes and gart them skirl,
Till roof and rafters a' did dirl.-
Coffins flood round, like open preffes,
That shaw'd the dead in their last dreffes ;
And by fome devilish cantraip flight
Each in his cauld hand held a light.-
By which heroic Tam was able
To note upon the haly table,
A murderer's banes in gibbet airns;
Twa fpan-lang, wee, unchriften'd bairns;
A thief, new-cutted frae a rape,
Wi' his last gasp his gab did gape ;
Five tomahawks, wi' blude red-rufted;
Five fcymitars, wi' murder crufted;
A garter, which a babe had ftrangled ;
A knife, a father's throat had mangled,
Whom his ain fon o' life bereft,
The grey hairs yet ftack to the heft;
Wi' mair o' horrible and awefu',
Which even to name wad be unlawfu'.
As Tammie glowr'd, amaz'd, and curious, The mirth and fun grew fast and furious: The piper loud and louder blew ;
The dancers quick and quicker flew;
They reel'd, they fet, they crofs'd, they cleekit,
Till ilka carlin fwat and reekit,
And cooft her duddies to the wark,
And linket at it in her fark!
Now, Tam, O Tam! had thae been queans, A' flump and frapping in their teens, Their farks, inftead o' creefhie flannen, Been fnaw-white feventeen hunder linnen!
Thir breeks o' mine, my only pair,
That ance were plush, o' gude blue hair,
I wad hae gi en them off my hurdies,
For ae blink o' the bonie burdies!
But wither'd beldams, auld and droll,
Rigwoodie hags wad fpean a foal,
Lowping and flinging on a crummock,
I wonder didna turn thy ftomach.
But Tam kend what was what fu' brawlie,
There was ae winfome wench and wawlie,
That night enlifted in the core,
(Lang after kend on Carrick shore;
For mony a beaft to dead she shot,
And perifh'd mony a bony boat,
And hook baith meikle corn and bear,
And kept the country-fide in fear.)
Her cutty fark, o' Paisley yarn,
That while a laffie fhe hae worn,
In longitude tho' forely fcanty,
It was her beft, and she was vauntie.-
Ah! little kend thy reverend grannie,
That fark fhe coft for her wee Nannie,
Wi' twa pund Scots, ('twas a' her riches),
Wad ever graced a dance of witches!
But here my mufe her wing maun cour;
Sic flights are far beyond her power;
To fing how Nannie lap and flang,
* (A souple jade she was and strang),
And how Tam ftood, like ane bewitch'd,
And thought his very een enrich'd;
Even Satan glowr'd, and fidg'd fu' fain,
And hotch'd and blew wi might and main :
Till firft ae caper, fyne anither,
Tam tint his reafon a' thegither,
And roars out, "Weel done, Cutty fark!
And in an inftant all was dark:
And scarcely had he Maggie rallied,
When out the hellish legion fallied.
As bees bizz out wi' angry fyke,
When plundering herds affail their byke;
As open puffie's mortal foes,
When, pop! fhe ftarts before their nose;
As eager runs the market-crowd,
When "Catch the thief!" refounds aloud;
So Maggie runs, the witches follow,
Wi' mony an eldritch skreech and hollow.
Ah, Tam! Ah, Tam! thou'll get thy fairin!
In hell they'll roaft thee like a herrin !
In vain thy Kate awaits thy comin!
Kate foon will be a woefu' woman!
Now, do thy fpeedy utmoft Meg,
And win the key-ftane of the brig;
*It is a well known fact that witches, or any evil fpirits, have no power to follow a poor wight any farther than the middle of the next running ftream.It may be proper likewife to mention to the benighted traveller, that when he falls in with bogles, whatever danger may be in his going forward, there is much more hazard in turning back.
|