Lost nae time, for weel we knew,

In our sleeves fu' weel we knew, When the gloaming came that night, Duck nor drake, nor hen nor cock, Would be found by candlelight.

When our chaffering a' was done,
All was paid for, sold and done,
We drew a glove on ilka hand,
We sweetly curtsied each to each,
And deftly danced a saraband.

The market lasses looked and laughed, Left their gear and looked and laughed; They made as they would join the game, But soon their mithers, wild and wud, Wi' whack and screech they stopped the

same.

Sae loud the tongues o' raudies grew,
The flitin' and the skirliu' grew,
At a' the windows i' the place,
Wi' spoons and knives, wi' needle or awl,
Was thrust out ilka hand and face.

And down each stair they thronged anon;

Gentle, simple, thronged anon; Souter and tailor, frowzy Nan, The ancient widow young again Simpering behind her fan.

Without choice, against their will,

Doited, dazed against their will, The market lassie and her mither, The farmer and his husbandman, Hand in hand danced a' thegether.

Slow at first, but faster soon,

Still increasin' wild and fast, Hoods and mantles, hats and hose, Blindly doffed, and frae them cast, Left them naked, heads and toes.

They would hae torn us limb frae limb,
Dainty limb frae dainty limb;
But never ane o' them could win
Across the line that I had drawn
Wi' bleeding thumb a-witherskin.

There was Jeff the provost's son, Jeff the provost's only son; There was Father Auld himsel', The Lombard frae the hostelrie, And the lawyer Peter Fell.

All goodly men we singled out, Waled them well and singled out,

And drew them by the left hand in, -
Mysie the priest, and Elspie won
The Lombard, Nort the lawyer curle,
And I my mysel' the provost's son.

Then wi' cantrip kisses seven,

Three times round wi' kisses seven,
Warped and woven there spun we,
Arms and legs and flaming hair,
Like a whirlwind on the sea.

Like the wind that sucks the sea,
Over and in and on the sea,
And ilka man o' all the four
Good sooth, it was a mad delight:
Shut his eyes and laughed outright,
Laughed as long as they had breath,

Laughed while they had sense or breath;
And close about us coiled a mist
Of gnats and midges, wasps and flies;
Like the whirlwind shaft it rist.

Drawn up was I right off my feet,

Into the mist and off my feet;
And, dancing on each chimney-top,
I saw a thousand darling imps
Keeping time wi' skip and hop.

We'll gang ance mair to yon town,
Wi' better luck to yon town:
We'll walk in silk and cramoisie,
And I shall wed the prevost's son;
My lady o' the town I'll be!

For I was born a crowned king's child,
Born and nursed a king's child,
King o' a land ayont the sea,
Where the Blackamoor kissed me first
And taught me art and glamourie.
The Lombard shall be Elspie's man,

Elspie's gowden husbandman;
Nort shall take the lawyer's hand;
The priest shall swear another vow.
We'll dance again the saraband!

JOSEPH BRENNAN.

COME TO ME, DEAREST.

COME to me, dearest, I'm lonely with. out thee,

Day-time and night-time, I'm thinking about thee;

behold thee;

love,

A moral motive in the golden books Of wisdom by the sacred ancestors,

He played upon the Kin the curious Ïute

Invented by Fou-Hi in days of old; Fou-Hi of the bull's head and dragon's form,

The Lord of Learning who upraised mankind

From being silent brutes to singing men.

In vain Confucius played upon the lute; He found that music would not be to

Now I will travel to the land of Kin, And know this sage of music, great

he said:

"Not yet, my master, I would seize the

To which the master answered: "It is well.

Take five days more!" And when the time was passed

Unto Siang thus spoke Confucius: "I do begin to see, - yet what I see Is very dim. I am as one who looks And nothing sees except a luminous cloud:

Give me but five more days, and at the end

If I have not attained the great idea
Hidden of old within the melody,
I will leave music as beyond my power."
"Do as thou wilt, O pupil!" cried Siang
In deepest admiration; "never yet
Had I a scholar who was like to thee."

And on the fifteenth day Confucius rose And stood before Siang, and cried aloud: "The mist which shadowed me is blown away,

I am as one who stands upon a cliff
And gazes far and wide upon the world,
For I have mastered every secret thought,
Yea, every shadow of a feeling dim
Which flitted through the spirit of Wen
Wang

When he composed that air. I speak to him,

I hear him clearly answer me again;
And more than that, I see his very form:
A man of middle stature, with a hue
Half blended with the dark and with the
fair;

His features long, and large sweet eyes which beam

With great benevolence, -a noble face!
His voice is deep and full, and all his air
Inspires a sense of virtue and of love.
I know that I behold the very man,
The sage of ancient days, Wen Wang the
just."

Then good Siang lay down upon the dust, And said: "Thou art my master. Even thus

The ancient legend, known to none but

me,

Describes our first great sire. And thou hast seen

for years,

Striving with all my soul to penetrate Its mystery unto the master's form, Whilst thou hast reached it at a single bound:

Henceforth the gods alone can teach thee

tune.

MINE OWN.

AND O, the longing, burning eyes!
And O, the gleaming hair

Which waves around me, night and day,
O'er chamber, hall, and stair!

And O, the step, half dreamt, half heard!
And O, the laughter low!
And memories of merriment
Which faded long ago!

O, art thou Sylph, or truly Self, -
Or either at thy choice?
O, speak in breeze or beating heart,

But let me hear thy voice!

"O, some do call me Laughter, love; And some do call me Sin" :"And they may call thee what they will, So I thy love may win.

"And some do call me Wantonness, And some do call me Play" :— "O, they might call thee what they would If thou wert mine alway!"

"And some do call me Sorrow, love,

And some do call me Tears, And some there be who name me Hope, And some that name me Fears.

"And some do call me Gentle Heart, And some Forgetfulness" :"And if thou com'st as one or all,

Thou comest but to bless !"

"And some do call me Life, sweetheart,
And some do call me Death;
And he to whom the two are one
Has won my heart and faith."

She twined her white arms round his neck:

The tears fell down like rain. "And if I live or if I die,

We'll never part again."

A moral motive in the golden books
Of wisdom by the sacred ancestors,

He played upon the Kin- the curious
Jute

Invented by Fou-Hi in days of old; Fou-Hi of the bull's head and dragon's form,

The Lord of Learning who upraised

Now I will travel to the land of Kin, And know this sage of music, great

Thus spoke Siang unto Confucius:
"Of all the arts, great Music is the art
To raise the soul above all earthly storms;
For in it lies that purest harmony
Which lifts us over self and up to
God.

Thou who hast studied deeply the KouaThe eight great symbols of created things

Knowest the sacred power of the line Which when unbroken flies to all the worlds

As light unending, - but in broken forms Falls short as sky and earth, clouds, winds, and fire,

The deep blue ocean and the mountain high,

And the red lightning hissing in the wave. The mighty law which formed what thou canst see,

As clearly lives in all that thou canst hear,

And more than this, in all that thou canst feel.

Here, take thy lute in hand. I teach the air

Made by the sage Wen Wang of ancient days."

Confucius took the lute and played the air

Till all his soul seemed passing into

song;

Then he fell deep into the solemn chords As though his body and the lute were

one,

And every chord a wave which bore him

on

Through the great sea of ecstasy. His hands

Then ceased to play, but in his raptured look

They saw him following out the harmony.

Five days went by, and still Confucius Played all day long the ancient simple air;