 | Poems And Songs |  |
87
MAGGIE.
Liltin' owre the moor cam' Maggie
When the plover prest its nest,
Gatherin' flowers for sister Aggie
Frae the hillock's heathery breast.
When the plover prest its nest,
Gatherin' flowers for sister Aggie
Frae the hillock's heathery breast.
Wavy auburn braids had Maggie,
Blithe and kind of heart was she;
And a winsome smile had Maggie,
Worth gaun round the world to see.
Blithe and kind of heart was she;
And a winsome smile had Maggie,
Worth gaun round the world to see.
Orphan bairns were she and Aggie,
Ne'er were souls sae twined as theirs;
But a sister's love in Maggie
Joined wi' a' a mother's cares.
Ne'er were souls sae twined as theirs;
But a sister's love in Maggie
Joined wi' a' a mother's cares.
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For puir Aggie aye was ailin',
Pale and tall and thin she grew,
With a hand and brow too pearly,
And too bright an eye of blue.
Pale and tall and thin she grew,
With a hand and brow too pearly,
And too bright an eye of blue.
Dear was Robin Neil to Maggie:
“Be my ain dear bride,” pled he.
But she thocht on sister Aggie,—
“Robin, na! it canna be.”
“Be my ain dear bride,” pled he.
But she thocht on sister Aggie,—
“Robin, na! it canna be.”
War in Eastern climes was ragin',
Robin heard his country's ca',
And amang her tartaned heroes
To the field he hied awa'.
Robin heard his country's ca',
And amang her tartaned heroes
To the field he hied awa'.
Withering care has breathed on Maggie,
A' the joys o' youth are gane,
And wi' weary heart sweet Maggie
Wanders through the world alane.
A' the joys o' youth are gane,
And wi' weary heart sweet Maggie
Wanders through the world alane.
Green's the sod o'er sister Aggie,
And the lad she lo'ed sae weel
Lies upon the heights of Alma,
Cloven down by foeman's steel.
And the lad she lo'ed sae weel
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Cloven down by foeman's steel.
Oft in dreamy realms roams Maggie,
Where the flowers ne'er leave the hill,
Where she hears her sister Aggie
Singing nearer, nearer still.
Where the flowers ne'er leave the hill,
Where she hears her sister Aggie
Singing nearer, nearer still.
Oft amid her sighful slumbers,
Distance, time, and death ignored,
Robin, from the heights of Alma,
Comes, to life and love restored.
Distance, time, and death ignored,
Robin, from the heights of Alma,
Comes, to life and love restored.
Often on the moorland, Maggie,
When the gloaming calm draws near,
Drops a tear for sister Aggie,
Drops for Robin Neil a tear.
When the gloaming calm draws near,
Drops a tear for sister Aggie,
Drops for Robin Neil a tear.
Oft when, from the azure o'er her,
Evening's gems are sparkling fair,
On the boundless blue she gazes,
Murmuring, “I shall meet them there.”
Evening's gems are sparkling fair,
On the boundless blue she gazes,
Murmuring, “I shall meet them there.”
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