I

And paft the birks and meikle ftane,*
Whare drunken Charlie brak's 3 neck-bane ; *
And thro' the whins, and by the cairn,5

6

Whare hunters fand the murder'd bairn; 7
And near the thorn, aboon 8 the well,

9

Whare Mungo's mither hang'd hersel.—
Before him Doon pours all his floods;
The doubling ftorm roars thro' the woods;
The lightnings flash from pole to pole;
Near and more near the thunders roll:
When, glimmering thro' the groaning trees,
Kirk-Alloway feem'd in a bleeze; 10

Thro' ilka bore the beams were glancing;
And loud refounded mirth and dancing.-

Infpiring bold John Barleycorn! 12
What dangers thou canst make us fcorn!
Wi' tippeny, we fear nae evil;

x3

Wi' ufquabae we'll face the devil !—

The fwats 14 fae ream'd in Tammie's noddle,15
Fair play, he car'd na 16 deils a boddle '7

Birks, birch trees. 3 Brak's, broke his. 5 Cairn, a heap of ftones.

7 Bairn, a child.

9 Mither, mother.

11 Bore, crevice.

14 Swats, fumes. 15 Noddle, head.

17 Boddle, a farthing.

2 Meikle flane, a large stone.

• Neck-bane, neck bone.
Fand, found.

Aboon, above.

10 Bleeze, blaze.

12 and 13 John Barleycorn, and Tippeny, terms for malt liquor. 10 Car'd na, minded not.

But

24

But Maggie ftood right fair aftonish'd,
Till, by the heel and hand admonish'd,
She ventured forward on the light;
And, vow! Tam faw an unco fight!
Warlocks and witches in a dance;
Nae cotillion brent 3 new frae France,
But hornpipes, jigs, ftrathspeys, and reels,
Put life and meettle in their heels.
A winnock-bunker 4 in the east,
There fat auld Nick, in shape o' beast;
A towzie-tyke, black, grim, and large,
To gie them mufic was his charge:

6

He fcrew'd the pipes and gart 7 them skirl,
Till roof and rafters a' did dirl."

Coffins ftood round, like open preffes,10

That fhaw'd ", the dead in their laft dreffes;

12

And by fome devilish cantrip 1 flight,

Each in its cauld 13 hand held a light.-
By which heroic Tam was able

To note upon the haly 14 table,

A murderer's banes 15 in gibbet airns; 16
Twa fpan-lang,' wee, 18 unchriften'd bairns ;

* Sair, fore.

Brent, brought.

5 Towzie-tyke, a shaggy dog.

Skirl, to cry out.

2 Unco, ftrange.

A Winnock-bunker, a window.

10 Preffes, closets for linen, a fort of cupboards. " Shaw'd, fhewed.

12 Cantrip, a charm or fpell.

14 Haly table, holy table.

• To gie, give.

7 Gart, made.

9 Dirl, rattle, shake.

Twa pan-lang, two fpans in length.

A thief,

2

A thief, new-cutted frae a rape,'
Wi' his laft gafp his gab did gape;
Five tomahawks, wi blude 3 red-rusted,
Five scymitars, wi' murder crufted;
A garter, which a babe had strangled,
A knife, a father's throat had mangled,
Whom his ain 4 fon o' life bereft,

6

The hairs
grey yet ftack 5 to the heft; "
Wi' mair 7 o' hrrible and awefu',
Which ev'n 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 8 fwat 9 and reekit,10

And cooft her duddies

to the wark,'

12

And linket 13 at it in her fark! 14

Now Tam, O Tam! had thae15 been queans,'
A' plump and ftrapping in their teens,

1 New cutted frae a rape, new cut from a rope.

3 Blude, blood.

6

Heft, haft.

• Ain, own.

7 Mair, more.

8 Cariin, a tout old woman. 9 Swat, fweated.

Cocft her duddies, caft off her clothes.

13 Linkit, danced.

14 Sark, a fhift.

16

2 Gab, mouth.

5 Stack, tuck.

10 Reckit, fmoked. 12 Wark, work. 45 Thae, thefe.

Their farks, instead o' creefhie flannen,*
Been fnaw-white feventeen hunder linnen!
Thir breeks 'o' mine, my only pair,
3
That ance were plush, o' gude blue hair,
I wad hae gi'en them off my hurdies,
For ae blink 5 o' the bonnie burdies!

But wither'd beldams, auld and droll,
Rigwoodie hags wad fpean 7 a foal,
Lowping an' flinging on a crummock,
I wonder didna 1o turn thy stomach.

But Tam kend

what was what fu' brawlie,

There was ae winfome 13 wench and wawlie,14

That night enlifted in the core, 15

(Lang after kend on Carrick fhore;

For mony a beaft to dead 16 fhe fhot,

And perifh'd mony a bonnie boat,

And shook baith 17 meikle corn and bear, 18

And kept the country-side in fear),

Her cutty fark,' o' Paifley harn,
That while a laffie 3 fhe had worn,
In longitude tho' forely scanty,

It was her beft, and she was vauntie.4→→
Ah! little kend thy reverend grannie,5
That fark she coft for her wee Nannie,
Wi' twa pund Scots,7 ('twas a' her riches),
Wad ever grace a dance of witches!

But here my Muse her wing maun cour;
Sic flights are far beyond her pow'r;
To fing how Nannie lap and flang,9

10

(A fouple 1° jade she was and strang ")
And how Tam ftood, like ane 12 bewitch'd,
And thought his very een 13 enrich'd;
Even Satan glowr'd, and fidg'd fu' fain,4
And hotch'd and blew wi' might and main :
Till first ae caper, fyne anither,15
Tam tint 26 his reason a' thegither,17

And roars out, "Weel done, Cutty-sark !”
And in an inftant all was dark: