Page:The Book of Scottish Song.djvu/69

Rh I marvel, Jeanie Morrison,

Gin I ha'e been to thee

As closely twined wi' earliest thochts

As ye ha'e been to me?

Oh! tell me gin their music fills

Thine ear as it does mine;

Oh! say gin e'er your heart grows grit

Wi' dreamings o' langsyne?

I've wander'd east, I've wander'd west,

I've borne a weary lot;

But in my wanderings, far or near,

Ye never were forgot.

The fount that first burst frae this heart,

Still travels on its way;

And channels deeper as it rins

The luve o' life's young day.

O dear, dear Jeanie Morrison,

Since we were sinder'd young,

I've never seen your face, nor heard

The music o' your tongue;

But I could hug all wretchedness,

And happy could I die,

Did I but ken your heart still dream'd

O' bygane days and me!

[ by the celebrated Dr. . The subject of these verses is thought to have been Miss Anne Lascelles, whom the author met with in the West Indies, and afterwards made his wife]

[ by, for Johnson's Museum, to the tune of "Such a parcel of rogues in a nation." The song refers to the disgraceful manner in which the union of Scotland with England was effected, by the bribery of many of the Scottish nobles. The beneficial effects of the Union were long in developing themselves—indeed, for nearly the first fifty years, Scotland was positively injured by it; but, apart from this, Burns, like all true-hearted Scotsmen, could never think of the loss of his country's independence without a sigh of regret.]