The mountain bard ballads and songs Author:James Hogg Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: O'er the rank-scented fen the bittern was warping, High on the black muir the foxes did howl, All on the lone hearth the cricket sat harping, An' far on the ... more »air cam the notes o' the owl. When the lady o' Thirlestane rose in her sleep, An' she shrieked sae loud that her maid ran to see ; Her e'en they war set, an' her voice it was deep, An' she shook like the leaf o' the aspin tree. M O where is the pedlar I drave frae the ha', That pled sae sair to tarry wi' me i" " He's gane to the mill, for the miller sells ale, An' the pedlar's as weel as a man can be." " I wish he had staid, he sae earnestly prayed, And he hight a braw pearling in present to gie; But I was sae hard, that I would na regard, Tho' I saw the saut tear trickle down frae his ee. " But O what a terrible dream I ha'e seen, The pedlar a' mangled—most shocking to see ! An' he gapit, an' waggit, an' stared wi' his een, An' he seemed to lay a' the blame upo' me ! " I fear that alive he will never be seen, An' the vera suspicion o't terrifies me: I wadna hae sickan a vision again for a' the guid kye upon Thirlestane lee. ' Yet wha wad presume the poor pedlar to kill ? O, Grizzy, my girl, will ye gang and see f If the pedlar is safe, an' alive at the mill, A merk o' guid money I'll gie unto thee." f O lady, 'tis dark, and I heard the dead bell! And I darna gae yonder for goud nor fee: But the miller has lodgings might serve yoursel, An' the pedlar's as weel as a pedlar can be." She sat till day, and she sent wi' fear,— The miller said there he never had been ; She went to the kirk, and speered for him there, But the pedlar in life was never mair seen. Frae aisle to aisle she lookit wi' care ; Frae pew to pew she hurried her een ; An' a' to see i...« less