The Works of The Ettrick Shepherd Centenary Edition. With a Memoir of the Author, by the Rev. Thomas Thomson ... Poems and Life. With Many Illustrative Engravings [by James Hogg] |
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The Soldier's Widow.
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 | The Works of The Ettrick Shepherd |  |
The Soldier's Widow.
The flag waved o'er the castle wa',
The hind came lilting o'er the lea,
Loud joy rang through the lighted ha',
An' ilka ane was blithe but me;
For, ah! my heart had tint its glee,
Although the wars had worn away—
The breast, that used my stay to be,
Was lying cauld in foreign clay.
The hind came lilting o'er the lea,
Loud joy rang through the lighted ha',
An' ilka ane was blithe but me;
For, ah! my heart had tint its glee,
Although the wars had worn away—
The breast, that used my stay to be,
Was lying cauld in foreign clay.
I lookit east, I lookit west,
I saw the darksome coming even—
The wild bird had its cozie nest,
The kid was to the hamlet driven:
But house nor hame aneath the heaven,
Except the skeuch of greenwood tree,
To seek a shelter in was given
To my three little bairns and me.
I saw the darksome coming even—
The wild bird had its cozie nest,
The kid was to the hamlet driven:
But house nor hame aneath the heaven,
Except the skeuch of greenwood tree,
To seek a shelter in was given
To my three little bairns and me.
I had a prayer I cou'dna say,
I had a vow I cou'dna breathe—
For aye they led my words astray,
An' aye they were connected baith
Wi' ane wha now was cauld in death:
I lookit round wi' watery e'e—
Hope wasna there, but I was laith
To see my little babies dee.
I had a vow I cou'dna breathe—
For aye they led my words astray,
An' aye they were connected baith
Wi' ane wha now was cauld in death:
I lookit round wi' watery e'e—
Hope wasna there, but I was laith
To see my little babies dee.
Just as the breeze the aspen stirred,
And bore aslant the falling dew,
I thought I heard a bonnie bird
Singing amid the air so blue:
It was a lay that did renew
The hope deep sunk in misery;
It was of ane my woes that knew,
And some kind hearts that cared for me.
And bore aslant the falling dew,
I thought I heard a bonnie bird
Singing amid the air so blue:
408
The hope deep sunk in misery;
It was of ane my woes that knew,
And some kind hearts that cared for me.
Oh, sweet as breaks the rising day,
Or sunbeam through the wavy rain,
Fell on my soul the cheering lay—
Was it an angel poured the strain?—
Wha kens a yearning mother's pain,
Bent o'er the child upon her knee?
Oh, mine will bless, and bless again
The generous hearts that cared for me.
Or sunbeam through the wavy rain,
Fell on my soul the cheering lay—
Was it an angel poured the strain?—
Wha kens a yearning mother's pain,
Bent o'er the child upon her knee?
Oh, mine will bless, and bless again
The generous hearts that cared for me.
A cot was reared by mercy's hand
Amid the Grampian wilderness—
It rose as if by magic wand,
A shelter to forlorn distress.
An' weel I ken that Heaven will bless
The hearts that issued the decree—
The widow and the fatherless
Can never pray an' slighted be.
Amid the Grampian wilderness—
It rose as if by magic wand,
A shelter to forlorn distress.
An' weel I ken that Heaven will bless
The hearts that issued the decree—
The widow and the fatherless
Can never pray an' slighted be.
| The Works of The Ettrick Shepherd | |