\ Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/poemsOOdoug POEMS SARAH PARKER DOUGLAS, M THE IRISH GIRL.” ©ijirB ©JJttion. AYR: PRINTED FOR THE AUTHORESS AT THE AYRSHIRE EXPRESS OFFICE. 1861. %'3 .DM5? 'rigH' |2ui! TO MRS. BAIRD, OF CAMBUSDOON, AS A SLIGHT RECOGNITION OP KINDNESSES RECEIVED, THIS VOLUME IS GRATEFULLY INSCRIBED BY ftp authoress NOTE TO THIRD EDITION. Five years have now elapsed since the second edition of the “ Poems ” appeared, and for a con- siderable time the entire issue has been out of print. To meet the demands of a circle of admirers which, I am proud to say, has been gradually widening, I have committed the present volume to the press, weeded of such of my earlier effusions as were either defective in construction or too ephemeral in interest to merit republication. This is therefore the coin- pletest collection of my verses yet given to the world ; and should it win as much popular favour as that with which its predecessors were honoured, I shall have good reason to congratulate myself upon my third appeal to my patrons — the warm-hearted people of Ayrshire, — whose uniform kindness to “the Irish Girl” for many years I highly appreciate, and shall ever most gratefully cherish. Ayr, November, 1S6I. . // . { CONTENTS. PAGE. Life’s Ke verses— P art First,..,... . 9 Do,, Part Second, 18 Do., Part Third, 27 The Seasons — N o. I. Spring: Childhood, 43 Do., No. II. Summer: Youth, 46 Do., No. III. Autumn,. 49 Do., No. IV. Winter: Old Age, 52 Wee Allan — P art First, 57 Do., Part Second, 60 Effiie Ha’, 65 The Seaside Village, 72 The Souvenir, 76 The Smile and Frown, 80 The Widow of Nain, 82 Time, 85 The Emigrant Child to his Parent, 87 Doleful Breezes, 89 The Memorial Pebbles, 92 The Heart’s Moonshine, 95 Stanzas on the Marriage of Miss Helen Douglas to David Reid, Esq., 96 To the Primrose, 99 Stanzas on the Demise of Robert Burns, Esq., Dumfries, eldest son of Scotland’s Bard, 101 The One Dark Thought, 106 The Broken Lily, 109 The Postman’s Knock, # 112 The Suicide’s Farewell, 115 The Deserter, 117 Vlll CONTENTS. PAGE. The Gipsy Girl, . 120 To the Memory of my Mother, 124 The Condemns! 126 The Blighted Heart, 133 The Betrayed, 135 The Warrior, , 138 Farewell, 141 The Fisherman’s Bride,. 143 We Know our Frieuds, 145 Stanzas, 147 The Sylph and the Flowers, 148 The Vacant Chair, 151 The Dying Boy,. 155 Speak Gently of the Dead, 157 Childhood’s Pleasures, 159 Shade and Sunshine, 161 A New-Year Wish, 163 My own Dear Home, 166 Song, 168 Alma, 170 The Dying Minstrel to his Lyre, 172 The Cabin Boy, 174 On seeing a Dead Child, 176 The Auld Aik Tree, 177 Stanzas, 179 The Stream of Life, 181 Ere Young Leaves Spring again, 184 Home Longings, 185 The Unforgotten One, 187 Keminiscences, 189 The Poet’s Wreath, 19.1 Lines to the Memory of Bev. Chas. Campbell, D.D., 196 Envy not the Poet’s Lot, 197 In Memoriam, 199 LIFE’S REVERSES. fart an’ free they micht use it themsel’s day by day, But their fellows they maunna let faint by the way. Noo, supposin’ these stewards, when on a bit gane, Began to claim a’ in their charge as their ain, Let the lave bear the burden an’ heat o’ the day, Ne’er fashin’ their head wi’ their weal or their wae ; Allowin’ them oft times wi' hunger to dee, Whilst they pampered ilk lust o’ their ain heart an’ ee; E’en tryin’ their mission a’ ways to disclaim, Till the summons that ca’d them to reckonin’ came. They maun gang — an’ oh ! fearfu’, that hoarded up gear, Whilst the king’s subjects perish — but striken’ wi’ fear They snatch up the buke ("done themselves wi’ the gowd), On its last page a wheen o’ donations they croud ; I doubt if an earth king tae sic would exclaim, ‘Weel done guid an’ faithfu’, you’ve served without blame.’ Our office, my bairns, we maun truly fulfil, We rejoice in the means an’ are blest wi’ the will ; An’ hae felt what the gentry ne’er ken’d a’ their days, Nor half can imagine o’ poverty’s waes.” Sae they made it a rule aye to gang to their bed Wi’ the thocht that joy rays through some heart they had shed ; Into puir bodies houses they didna intrude, Speerin’ after affairs wi’ a sympathy rude. life’s reverses. 31 Yet their favours they did not confine to that class O’ stout, sturdy beggars whose visage is brass ; Yor yet on ilk list wi’ a flourish put down The guid they dispensed till the press it went roun’ ; But they took aye the kindly an’ delicate way Ilka gift, no’ ’neath charity’s name, to convey ; Their bounty fell plenteous, as dews o’ the e’en’, Befreshin’ a’ round, yet descendin’ no seen. Philanthropists truly in heart an’ in fame, Frae the mither to Maggie, were a’ in that hame. Unco bonnie an’ braw this bricht morn lookit Jess, Sae neatly busked up in a licht snawy dress, An’ mid the dark hair saftly shadin’ her broo’, Glowed a moss rose still glittrin’ wi’ morn’s pearly dew; Some pleasant excitement mak’s brichter her een, Whilst the blush on her cheek is aye varyin’ seen. At length comes the sound that her flushin’ explains, A carriage rows swift ower the wee pebble stanes, An presently steppet familiarly ben The squire, wha aye gies them a day noo an’ then ; O’ a son an’ a brither he acts aye the part, But a feelin’ mair deep has ta’en captive his heart. In Jessie he sees a’ that beauty o’ mind — Chaste, womanly, tender — a’ graces combined : That their hearts had companionship each only knew, For virtue to virtue instinctively drew, Till love, honest, ardent as e’er was confessed, Based on highest esteem, rose brimfu’ in ilk breast. Sae the eve o’ the mornin’ on which they noo meet Saw the squire tell his love-tale, tho’ no at her feet, 32 LITE’S REVERSES. But wi’ een sparklin’ tenderness, earnest and bland, As he held in his ain her saft, willin’ wee hand ; He asked her to brighten his heart an’ his ha’, To let him say wifie — name dearest o’ a’ ; On life’s journey to draw her close, close to his side, To be her companion, protector, an’ guide. An’ when wi’ a blush that the rose micht weel shame, She modestly owned to an equal love flame, An’ candidly said, wi’ her een fu’ o’ tears, ITnscruplin’ she’d trust him the lave o’ life’s years, He pressed on her honest an love -lighted brow A kiss, fervent seal o’ her bliss-givin’ vow. * % * * * * Words canna reveal a’ the joys o’ the day That beheld Jessie Lee in her bridal array ; Throughout a’ the district, in cot far an’ near, The inmates partook o’ a liberal cheer ; An’ wi’ bosoms warm swellin’ wi’ thanks, an’ wi’ pride. Boosed and toasted the squire an’ his beautifu’ bride. An’ how high in her husband’s mind rose the fair Jess, Clad in simple, an’ snaw white, but jewelless dress, For only her lord’s weddin’ gift did she wear — A string o’ pure pearls on a bosom as fair. “ My heart wouldna’ gie me,” she smilingly said, “ On baubles to spend what would gie bodies bread ; Kind nature supplies me wi’ a’ I desire, This dewy fresh bouquet, an’ fragrant rose Bar.” An’ truly the flowers wreathed amid her dark hair Looked mair sweet on her broo’ than would gems hae done there. life’s reverses. 83 The guests were a worthy an’ weel chosen band, True genteels, though boastin’ nae bluid o’ the grand ; To virtue and nobleness closely allied, Esteemin’ ilk ither, an’ lovin’ the bride. Round that breakfast board glistened little brocade, Nor was there a store o’ bricht jewels displayed, But diamond e’en glinted pure rays from the heart, An’ simple robes faulded o’er breasts void o’ art, An’ a’ went as merry as merry could be, Wi’ wishin’, an’ toastin’, an’ jokin’, an’ glee, Until the squire’s carriage, wi’ proud, prancin’ steeds, Impatiently tossin’ their gay tasselled heads At the ha’ door appearin’, put mirth to a stan’, An’ told the young couple the hour was at han’. Then was fond embracin’, smiles, weepin’ an’ a’, An’ the squire an’ his bonnie bride galloped awa ; The fond mother dryin’ affection’s proud tear, Resumed the glad hostess, wha’s wish was to cheer. * % * * * * Muckle music an’ mirth there is noo in the glen, That mansion’s a scene far too bricht for our pen, Ilk room’s filled wi’ leddies a’ busked wi’ lace, On their feet satin slippers, gay smiles on their face, Sae fanned an’ sae feathered, you’d think if wind stirred Their plumes an’ their gauzes, they’d flee like a bird. But Miss Clara outrivals them a’ in array, She’s spangles an’ clouds frae the head to the tae, She’s a bride, an’ her lord boasts o’ bluid in his veins As heich as the mountains, an’ auld as the stanes ; 34 LIFE’S REVERSES. Though braggart an’ sporter were stamped on his name, A rakish repute was mair glory than shame. Sae thoucht the young leddy wha’s nuptials tak’ place, Wha had lang thrown the hypocrite’s mask frae her face, Sae soon as had vanished a’ chance o’ the squire, An’ the gay rake her charms had professed to admire, The kirk for the opera quick she forsook, Was marked “ donor” nae mair in ilk charity book ; But in ba’ route an’ race-course displayed ilka grace, Till the scion was caught o’ short purse, but lang race. We needna gang hame wi’ the wedded, I ween, The squire’s bonnie leddy’s by nature a queen ; O’ her weel-deserved happiness easy, we guess, Still see in her gran ha’s our ain simple Jess. An’ enough o’ Miss Clara, the heartless an’ proud, We ken, not to feel that her future’s a cloud. Sae wi’ Tam at the college pursuing his lear, And Maggie at hame free, guid-natured, an’ fair, Mrs Lee, in her feelin’ an’ mitherly way, Pourin’ balm on some wounded heart day after day, — We lea’ them, an’ let some lang years intervene, Before we again meet ilk face and ilk scene. * * # * * The grun’ wears a snaw shroud, and sae does the trees, Snaw darkens an’ loadens the cauld piercin’ breeze, Tis a nicht for a roof ’twixt ane’s head an’ the sky, For the gale to a tempest is risin’ fu’ high ; ’Tis just sic a nicht as when Tammy and Jess Returned frae the ha’ in sic nameless distress, LIFE’S REVERSES, 35 An’, havin’ outbraved the rude pitiless storm, At hame found nae ingle nook cozie an’ warm. Sae fresh in ilk bosom that nicht aye appears, At sicht o’ anither’s misfortune or tears ; Yet poverty then gave its last kick an’ blow, For the morn broucht them sunshine and plenty, we trow. We left them contented, an’ wealthy, an’ weel, Yet time’s kenned sae aften strange changes to deal, That wild as the nicht is we’ll gie them a ca’, An’, as our way’s past it, peep first at the ha’, Though the proud Lady Clara’s scarce worthy the toil O’ wadin’ through snaw to her gran’ domicile. Hech ! this is a gala night, ane might declare, The great muckle windows throw out sic a glare, An’ the sounds, that aboon the hail’s pelting we hear, Like the laughter o’ bairnies come glad to our ear. ’Tis Christmas they haud : in this room what a din ! Wi’ your leave, little bodies, we’ll take a peep in ; — Why, here’s a half-dozen o’ bairnies an’ mair, Wi’ nurses wha feign in their mirth to tak share. Hae ye emptied the toy shops, ye favour’d wee band ? Sic tiny toy wonders fill carpet an’ hand ; Noucht ye ken o’ the sorrows this season imparts, In their fuelless hames, to wee shivering hearts, Nor aught o’ their pangs, little anes, may ye ken ; — But the drawing-room opes, sae we’ll noo venture ben. Sirs the day ! here’s a room would maist dazzle your een, Sae rich in its fittin’s, yet hamely an’ bien, 36 LIFE’S REVERSES. In which a braw party enjoys richt guid cheer, But the gay Lady Clara does nowhere appear. Is’t a dream? or is’t here a’ ourauld friends we see? — There’s the squire an’ his leddie, an’ kind Mrs Lee, There’s Maggie, an’ Tam, an’ a creature sae fair, You’d think a sunray lit ilk curl o’ her hair, Wha seems the proud mansion’s sweet sylph to preside, An’ sae but short syne she became Tammy’s bride. Let us glance at the faces familiar o’ yore : — Mrs Lee’s ance dark locks are noo silvery and hoar, An’ her meek forehead wrinkled, but beauty benign Pervades ilka feature and time furrow’d line ; A fine woman Jess seems, in life’s richest prime, Ilk charm but developed an’ ripen’d by time ; An’ the squire looks fu’ handsome, an’ portly, an’ bland, No a siller hair markin’ a touch o’ Time’s hand ; An’ wee hopefu’ Maggie’s a braw leddie noo, Wi’ a world o’ saft feelin’, like light on her broo, A glad, gentle creature, weel polish’d in mind, To puir, as to rich, ever courteous an’ kind ; An’, sirs, what a change has time made on our Tam ? Like his mither’s, his face is still mild as a lamb, But manhood has now superseded glad youth, An’ its stamp on ilk feature is sparklin’ wi’ truth ; The wife o’ his bosom fit helpmeet would seem, For her een gie’s a warm an’ soul-answerin’ beam To his glance, an’ the bright ones she meets on ilk side, Which regard her fair face wi’ affectionate pride. LIFE’S REVERSES. 37 A happy an’ cheerfu’ assembly are they, Yet at times they grow thouchtfu’ an almaist look wae, For as dashes the hail, an strong boughs writhe an’ crack, The nicht o’ their misery comes vividly back, An’ aye as the tempest’s loud shriek rushes past, A shudderin’ gaze to the window is cast ; Then hopin’ that none were exposed to that snaw, Their seats nigh the glowin’ hearth thankfu’ they draw, An’ recounted their poortith in seasons lang gane, An’ the wearisome tramp to Miss Clara then ta'en. “ Ah ! Tammy,” said Jess, her dark een brimmin’ o’er, “ How little we kenn’d o’ the blessings in store ? Or that you would yet own and dwell in the ha’ Frae whase doors we turn’d shiv’rin’ and weepin’ awa?” Tam’s bonnie wee wifie’s face crimson’d became, An’ she ’maist poured invectives on proud Clara’s name : “ I’ll no ca’ her strumpet or tyrant,” said she, “ But I hope sic a heartless ane never to see.” 46 My children,” exclaimed Mrs Lee wi’ a sigh, “ That nicht was allotted to purge an’ to try ; To gie us experience in hunger an’ grief, That our means micht be used to yield others relief ; An’ as to the leddie, I grieve to hear tell, Sin’ the death o’ her mither, she suffers hersel’. Sae whisper’d the agent when roupin’ the ha’, Wi’ its furnishin’s, braid lands, an’ chattels an’ a’ ; An’ hoo my heart loup’d when Tam owner became ! No wi’ pride that his ain’s this magnificent hame, 38 LITE’S REVERSES. But that it micht oft to his memory restore The mis’ry in which he ance stood at its door.” “ An’ were I,” said Tam, “ to see hundreds o’ years, No ane IT1 let leave its gates sad or in tears.” “ That nicht,” said the squire, “ came wi’ blessin’s to me — It broucht to my ravish’d een sweet Jessie Lee, An’ aye since our weddin’ we set it apart For gi’en o’ alms, an’ rejoicin’ in heart.” “ Please leddies an’ sirs,” said a page steppin’ ben, “ Wi’ your leave I hae entered, to let you a’ ken That a wee sin’ a puir shiv’rin’ wife sought the ha’ Wi’ a bairn, baith as frozen an’ white as the snaw ; Her teeth chattered sae no a word could she speak, But aye the big tears trickled down her cauld cheek ; Sae powerless her fingers, my hands took awa’ Frae their shouthers the garments a’ laden wi’ snaw, To the waiting-room fire ; then the tremblers I led, An’ hastened below for hot coffee an’ bread, With which I returned to the chamber fu’ soon, When I found the puir wifie had sunk in a swoon, Whilst the cries o’ the lassie ane’s bluid micht hae chill’d, An’ soon wi’ domestics the chamber was filled, Wha restoratives tried wi’ success in the end, An’ noo the puir weak anes wi’ kindness they tend.” “ We maun tend them oursel’s,” said the squire’s leddy bright ; “ Come, Tam, we best ken o’ being out sic a night.” LIFE’S REVERSES. 39 An’ the kin’ -hearted pair hastened down to the ha’, Wi’ the squire, Tam’s wee leddy, an Maggie an’ a. Saftly enterin’ the chamber, they silently stood ; The stranger’s dull garb spoke of lone widowhood, An’ the look of compassion in Jessie’s dark eyes Was quickly succeeded by that of surprise ; In the pale sickly face of the stranger they met A visage that time couldna mak’ them forget. A glance o’ astonishment passed frae ilk een, Then the servants were kindly dismissed frae the scene. “’Tis really hersel’,” to the squire whispered Jess, “ Lady Clara, reduced to this piteous distress, An’ the bonnie wee miss, Maggie, tak’ her upstair, Whilst I o’ the puir sufferin’ leddy tak’ care.” Then she let the bowed head on her saft arm recline, An’ held to the pale lips the juice o’ the vine, Which soon to the cauld frame imparted a glow, Whilst the tear-bedimmed eyes opened languid an’ slow. A pale glow suffused for a moment her cheek, As her thanks an’ surprise she endeavour’d to speak ; Perchance, too, she felt a wee tingin’ o shame When she saw wha noo owned her ance prided-in hame, An’ was ready to sink ’neath the grun’ at their feet, As she thocht for her measure sic luve was na meet ; But the kin’ anes around her soon garred her feel ease, Using every affectionate effort to please. As a guest they addressed her, expressin delight That her visit should be on that holiday night. 40 LIFE’S REVERSES. The leddy still weak, but recovered an’ cheered, Mid her friends in the drawing-room shortly appear’d. From Mrs Lees’ wardrobe her person arrayed, Whilst her countenance meekness and pleasure dis- played ; Her wee lassie, tae, wi’ braw robes was supplied, An wi’ childish delight her warm silken dress eyed, Joined the bairns in their sports, but would aye noo an’ then, To peep at mamma, to the gran’ room run ben. No questions were asked ; but the leddy hersel’ Proposed to the kind anes her sorrows to tell : — “ My husband,” she said, “ was addicted to sports, Turf an’ gamin’ saloons were his constant resorts ; To be brief, — it so happ’d, in a fortuneless hour, 111 luck on his doomed head fell shower after shower, When, driven to phrenzy, means, reason, a’ fled, Wi’ a desperate courage his ain bluid he shed. Lane, friendless, an’ destitute then was my state, Wi’ a heart rent wi’ anguish I bowed to my fate ; Forsaken by a’ wha ance friendship avowed, How subdued grew my spirit sae haughty an’ proud ! For my innocent babe how I wept an’ I foucht, Wi’ hardships on which I had ance little thoucht, Till Heaven at length did my bosom inspire To see my old home with a yearnin’ desire. I canna account for the purpose sae strong, Which, despite o’ my trembling limbs, bore me along, Wi’ my wee tender lammie maist dead wi’ the cauld — Noo I see mercy drove us pair sheep to the fauld.” life’s reverses. 41