Horace in Homespun by Hugh Haliburton [i.e. J. L. Robertson] A New Edition with Illustrations by A. S. Boyd |
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 | Horace in Homespun by Hugh Haliburton [i.e. J. L. Robertson] |  |
203
Hughie's Song in Praise of the Simple Joys of Boyhood.
“Puræ rivus aquæ.”
—Car. iii. 16.
—Car. iii. 16.
O when I was a laddie, noo a lang time back,
I hadna mony pennies, but for joys I didna lack:
Gie me a Simmer Saturday, my wishes were complete
Wi' a lang day before me an' Devon at my feet.
I hadna mony pennies, but for joys I didna lack:
Gie me a Simmer Saturday, my wishes were complete
Wi' a lang day before me an' Devon at my feet.
I never was an angler, exceppin' in a sense;
To be a son of Izaak's I couldna mak' pretence;
But I had a fishin'-gad, and was very happy wi't,
Wi' a lang day before me an' Devon at my feet.
To be a son of Izaak's I couldna mak' pretence;
But I had a fishin'-gad, and was very happy wi't,
Wi' a lang day before me an' Devon at my feet.
I never killed a saumon: the utmost o' my tak'
Was half-a-dizzen spatties in the basket on my back;
But ance I raised a noble fish—and was content to see't
Wi' a lang day before me an' Devon at my feet.
Was half-a-dizzen spatties in the basket on my back;
But ance I raised a noble fish—and was content to see't
Wi' a lang day before me an' Devon at my feet.
204
O what cared I for catchin' fish for greed or yet for game?
To mak' a bag or mak' a brag was never yet my aim:
The fishin' was a mere pretence to win the larger treat
O' a lang day before me an' Devon at my feet.
To mak' a bag or mak' a brag was never yet my aim:
The fishin' was a mere pretence to win the larger treat
O' a lang day before me an' Devon at my feet.
There was a sense o' freedom then, that siller canna buy;
There was a joy o' living, wi' the sun high in the sky;
A day was immortality! an' livin' was sae sweet
Wi' a lang day before ye an' Devon at your feet.
There was a joy o' living, wi' the sun high in the sky;
A day was immortality! an' livin' was sae sweet
Wi' a lang day before ye an' Devon at your feet.
O we may toil for riper joys an' mair substantial gain,
But the simple joys o' laddiehood were easy to attain;
Noo for the laddie's simple joys the man amaist could greet—
For the lang day that's gane for aye, an' Devon at his feet!
But the simple joys o' laddiehood were easy to attain;
Noo for the laddie's simple joys the man amaist could greet—
For the lang day that's gane for aye, an' Devon at his feet!
| Horace in Homespun by Hugh Haliburton [i.e. J. L. Robertson] | |