Classic Poem

O WASNA he bauld for a tinker loon, —
Sim leant on his rake an' swore —
To fling a' his wallets an' bawd-skins doon,
An' rap at the castle door.

Wi' my Lord awa' at the Corbie's linn
There was man nor dog at hame,
Save a toothless bitch 'at was auld an' blin',
An' the gard'ner auld an' lame.

When my Lady heard she cam' doon the stair,
An' ben thro' the antlered ha',
Whaur, bonnet in hand, stood the gypsy there
As raggit as she was braw.

" O I hinna kettles to clout," she said,
" An' my spoons an' stoups are hale,
But gin ye gang roon' to the kitchen maid
She 'll gie ye a waucht o' ale."

" It 's never the way o' the gentry, na,
When visitin' 'mang their frien's,
To drink wi' the maids in the servants' ha'
Or speak about stoups an' speens.

" An' we are mair sib than ye think," quo' he,
" For his Lordship's father 's mine;
Tho' the second wife was o' high degree,
His first was a gypsy queyn.

" An' the younger son got the lands an' a',
But the gypsies bettered me;
He is only laird o' a fairm or twa,
I 'm king o' the covin-tree.

" Sae I am guid-brither to you, my lass,
An' head o' the auncient name;
An' it wouldna be richt for me to pass
Withoot cryin' in by hame."

O a hantle then did the twasome say,
An' muckle passed them between;
But at last 'twas 'Sister, a fair good day,"
" Guid-brither, a fair good e'en."

" My Lord comes hame fae the huntin' soon,
An' he's big, weel-faured, an' braw,
But he isna a man like the tinker loon,
Wi' wallets an' rags an' a'."

" Gin she were as free as the maids I ken,
Dancin' bar'fit on the green;
As I am the King o' the gypsy men,
This nicht she would be my Queen."

But the bluid ran thin in the gard'ner Sim,
He'd heard o' the cairds afore,
An' the auld romance had nae charms for him,
He lockit the hen-hoose door.