Page:Highways and Byways in Lincolnshire.djvu/531

 Gin ower ye're thairms I jink the bow, Bright notions bizz intae ma pow, For worl'y cares ye them can cow, An' a' gangs richt, When ower I stump 'Nathaniel Gow,' Or 'Grey daylicht.'

Wi' reek an' rozet noo ye're black An scarted sair aboot the back, But what tho' tawdry ye're ne'er slack Tae lilt a spring Wi' ony far fecht fancy crack They e'er will bring.

In silk-lined cases ower the seas Scrawled oot an' in wi' foreign lees Aboot their S's, scrolls, an' C's,      An' eke a name Wad tak' a child that's ta'en degrees Tae read that same.

An' nocht but bum-clocks at the best Wi' shinin' coats o' amber drest; Och! what o' that? their tones but test! Sic dandie dummies! Lyin' in braw boxes at their rest, Row'd up like mummies.

For a' the sprees ye hae been at, Haech! nae sic guide-ship e'er ye gat, But took your chance tho' it was wat, Ay, e'en wat snaw I've seen or noo a denty brat Oot ower ye a'.

I never kent ye tak' the gee, But aye sang sweet at ilka spree, Tho' I played wild at times a wee Gin I gat fou. The fau't lay wi' the wee drap bree, An' no' wi' you.

Sae noo I trust gin I'm nae mair, Some fiddlin' frien' will tak' guid care, And see that ye're nae dauded sair, When frail an' auld; For Hardies noo are unco rare Sae that I'm tauld.

Lanely Bield. A. F.