 | Poems and songs |  |
85
RECITATION
ON CELEBRATING NEW YEAR'S DAY IN A CERTAIN BACCHANALIAN CLUB.
'Twas in a walk, ae frosty night,
The lift was blue, the starns were bright,
An' strong the moon's reflected light
Gleamed on the Forth;
Faint waving streamers played in sight,
Far i' the north.
The lift was blue, the starns were bright,
An' strong the moon's reflected light
Gleamed on the Forth;
Faint waving streamers played in sight,
Far i' the north.
I dandared up the C--- hill,
I gazed around, an' thought my fill,
An' much I mused on good an' ill,
In this mixed plan,
Whare a' seemed right an' happy still,
Compared wi' Man.
I gazed around, an' thought my fill,
An' much I mused on good an' ill,
In this mixed plan,
Whare a' seemed right an' happy still,
Compared wi' Man.
86
I thought how Pride an' Vice obscene
Deform the lovely moral scene;
The endless storms that rage within,
Debarring rest;
An' Self binds in eternal chain
The human breast.
Deform the lovely moral scene;
The endless storms that rage within,
Debarring rest;
An' Self binds in eternal chain
The human breast.
A' things conform to Nature's law,
The winds, the storms, the frost, the snaw;
But Man, the head, the chief o' a',
Their beauty stains,
Till Death the rebel hauls awa
To future scenes.
The winds, the storms, the frost, the snaw;
But Man, the head, the chief o' a',
Their beauty stains,
Till Death the rebel hauls awa
To future scenes.
My bosom heaved a boding sigh,
An' turning round, I chanced to spy
Pale Melancholy stalking by,
Wi' solemn pace;
Deep thought was marked in her eye,
An' louring face.
An' turning round, I chanced to spy
Pale Melancholy stalking by,
Wi' solemn pace;
Deep thought was marked in her eye,
An' louring face.
87
“Anither year is gane!” she said,
“But what improvement have ye made
“In mind, in morals, or in trade,
“In this your prime?
“I fear ye're but a thoughtless blade
“Yet, a' this time.”
“But what improvement have ye made
“In mind, in morals, or in trade,
“In this your prime?
“I fear ye're but a thoughtless blade
“Yet, a' this time.”
She bade me ponder o'er the past,
On loss o' months in number vast,
An' count an' reckon, ere my last
Approach too near:
“The fatal hour is coming fast,
“Perhaps this year!”
On loss o' months in number vast,
An' count an' reckon, ere my last
Approach too near:
“The fatal hour is coming fast,
“Perhaps this year!”
My saul remained deep struck wi' awe,
While slow an' sour she stalked awa;
Till soon a sprightly Wanton, braw,
(Mirth was her name,)
Cried, laughing, “Dinna mind it a',
“I'll bear the blame.
While slow an' sour she stalked awa;
Till soon a sprightly Wanton, braw,
(Mirth was her name,)
Cried, laughing, “Dinna mind it a',
“I'll bear the blame.
88
“Stap down to Ned's, fill up a glass,
“An' blythly toast some bonny lass;
“Thus catch the moments as they pass
“On silent wing:
“Hech, lad! ye'll try to get some brass,
“An' learn to sing.
“An' blythly toast some bonny lass;
“Thus catch the moments as they pass
“On silent wing:
“Hech, lad! ye'll try to get some brass,
“An' learn to sing.
“Take my respects, wi' health an' greeting,
“To a' the members o' the meeting;
“May they an' you ne'er miss a weeting
“On New Year's Day.
“Sin' life an' a' its scenes are fleeting,
“Live while ye may.”
[OMITTED]
“To a' the members o' the meeting;
“May they an' you ne'er miss a weeting
“On New Year's Day.
“Sin' life an' a' its scenes are fleeting,
“Live while ye may.”
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