The Wife of Auchtermuchty an ancient Scottish poem. With a translation into Latin rhyme [by William Meston] |
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THE WIFE OF AUCHTERMUCHTY. |
 | The Wife of Auchtermuchty |  |
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THE WIFE OF AUCHTERMUCHTY.
I
In Auchtermuchty dwelt a man,An husband, as I heard it tald,
Quha weil could tipple out a can,
And nowther luvit hunger nor cauld;
Till anes it fell upon a day
He zokit his pleuch upon the plain;
But schort the storm wald let him stay,
Sair blew the day with wind and rain.
II
He lows'd the plewch at the land's end,And drave his owsen hame at ene;
Quhen he came in he blinkit ben,
And saw his wife baith dry and clene,
Set beikand by a fire full bauld,
Suppand fat soup as I heard say:
The man being weary, wet, and cauld,
Betwein thir twa it was nae play.
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III
Quod he, “Quhair is my horses corn?“My owsen has nae hay nor strae;
“Dame, ze maun to the plewch the morn,
“I sall be hussy gif I may.
“This seid-time it proves cauld and bad,
“And ze sit warm, nae troubles se;
“The morn ze sall gae wi' the lad,
“And syne zeil ken what drinkers drie.”
IV
“Gudeman,” quod scho, “content am I,“To tak the plewch my day about,
“Sae ze rule weil the kaves and ky,
“And all the house baith in and out:
“And now sen ze haif made the law,
“Then gyde all richt, and do not break;
“They sicker raid that neir did faw;
“Therefore let naething be neglect.
V
“But sen ye will hussyskep ken,“First ze maun sift and syne sall kned;
“And ay as ye gang butt and ben,
“Luke that the bairns dryt not the bed:
“And lay a saft wysp to the kiln,
“We haif a dear farm on our heid:
“And ay as ze gang forth and in,
“Keip weil the gaislings frae the gled.”
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VI
The Wyfe was up richt late at ene,I pray luke gif her ill to fare,
Scho kirn'd the kirn, and skumt it clene,
Left the Gudeman but bladoch bare:
Then in the morning up scho gat,
And on hir heart laid hir disjune,
And pat as meikle in hir lap,
As micht haif serd them baith at nune.
VII
Says, Jok, be thou maister of wark,And thou sall had, and I sall ka;
Ile promise thee a gude new sark,
Either of round claith or of sma.
Scho lowst the owsen aught or nyne,
And hynt a gad-staff in her hand:
Up the Gudeman raise aftir syne,
And saw the Wyfe had done command.
VIII
He draif the gaislings forth to feid;Thair was but sevensum of them aw,
And by thair comes the greidy gled,
And lickt up five, left him but twa;
Then out he ran in all his mane,
How sune he hard the gaislings cry;
But than ere he came in again,
The kaves brak louse and suckt the ky.
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IX
The kaves and ky met in the loan,The man ran with a rung to red,
Than by came an ill-willy roan,
And brodit his buttocks till they bled.
Syne up he tuke a rok of tow,
And he sat down to sey the spinning;
He loutit down our neir the low,
Quod he, “This wark has ill beginning.”
X
The leam up throu the lum did flow,The sute tuke fyre, it fleyd him than;
Sum lumps did fall and burn his pow;
I wat he was a dirty man:
Zit he gat water in a pan,
Quhairwith he sloken'd out the fyre:
To soup the house he syne began;
To had all richt was his desyre.
XI
Hynd to the kirn then did he stoure,And jumblit at it till he swat,
Quhen he had rumblit a full lang hour,
The sorrow crap of butter he gat;
Albeit nae butter he could get,
Zit he was cummert with the kirn,
And syne he het the milk sae het,
That ill a spark of it wad zyrne.
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XII
Then ben thair cam a greedy sow,I trow he cund hir little thank:
For n scho shot hir meikle mow,
And ay scho winkit, and scho drank.
He tuke the kirnstaff be the schank,
And hocht to reik the sow a rout,
The twa left gaislings gat a clank,
That straik dang baith thair harnis out.
XIII
Then he bure kendling to the kiln,But scho start all up in a low;
Quhateir he heard, quhateir he saw,
That day he had nae will to ---.
Then he zied to tak up the bairns,
Thocht to have fund them fair and clene,
The first that he gat in his arms,
Was a bedirten to the een.
XIV
The first it smellt sae sappylie,To touch the lave he did not grein:
“The deil cut aff thair hands,” quoth he,
“That cramd zour kytes sae straite zestrein.”
He traild the foul sheits down the gate,
Thocht to have wush them on a stane;
The burn was risen grit of spait,
Awa frae him the sheits has tane.
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XV
Then up he gat on a know heid,On hir to cry, on hir to schout:
Scho hard him, and scho hard him not,
But stoutly steird the stots about.
Scho draif the day unto the nicht,
Scho lowst the plewch, and syne cam hame;
Scho fand all wrang that sould bene richt;
I trow the man thocht meikle schame.
XVI
Quod he, “My office I forsake,“For all the hale days of my lyfe;
“For I wald put a house to wraik,
“Had I been twenty days Gudewyfe.”
Quod scho, “Weil mot ze bruke your place,
“For truly I sall neir accept it;”
Quod he, “Feynd fa the lyar's face,
“Bat zit ze may be blyth to get it.”
XVII
Then up scho gat a meikle rung;And the Gudeman made to the door,
Quod he, “Dame, I sall hald my tung,
“For an we fecht I'll get the war:”
Quod he, “When I forsuke my plewch,
“I trow I but forsuke my skill:
“Then I will to my plewch again;
“For I and this house will nevir do weil.”
| The Wife of Auchtermuchty | |