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TO MY BIRDIE.

Sir Ralph the Rover tore his hair;
He cursed himself in his despair;
The waves rush in on every side,
The ship is sinking beneath the tide.

HERE'S only you an' me, Birdie! here's only you

an' me!

An' there you sit, you humdrum fowl!
Sae mute an' mopish as an owl,
Sour companie!

Sing me a little song, Birdie! lift up a little lay!
When folks are here, fu' fain are ye
To stun them with your minstrelsie,
The lee lang day;

An' now we're only twa, Birdie! an' now we 're only twa;

'T were sure but kind and cozie, Birdie !
To charm wi' yere wee hurdie-gurdie

Dull care awa'.

Ye ken when folks are paired, Birdie! ye ken when folks are paired,

Life's fair, an' foul, and freakish weather,

An' light an' lumbring loads, thegither

Maun a' be shared;

An' shared wi' looin' hearts, Birdie! wi' looin hearts and free,

Fu' fashious loads may weel be borne ;
An' roughest roads to velvet turn,
Trod cheerfully.

We've all our cares and crosses, Birdie! we've a' our cares an' crosses;

But then to sulk an' sit so glum,

Hout! tout! what guid o' that can come

To mend one's losses?

Ye're clipt in wiry fence, Birdie! ye 're clipt in wiry fence,

An' aiblins I, gin I mote gang
Upo' a wish, wad be or lang

Wi' friends far hence;

But what's a wish, ye ken, Birdie! but what's a wish, ye ken,

Nae cantrip nag, like hers of Fife,
Who darnit wi' the auld weird wife,
Flood, fell, an' fen.

"T is true ye 're furnished fair, Birdie! 't is true furnished fair,

Wi' a braw pair of bonnie wings

Wad lift ye whar yon lav'rock sings
High up i' th' air;

An' I myself, sae seemin' free,
Nae wings have I to waften me

But then that wire 's sae strang, Birdie! but then that wire 's sae strang!

ye 're

Whar fain I'd gang.

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An' sae we'd baith our wills, Birdie! we'd each our wilfu' way;

THE GRASSHOPPER.

Whar lav'rocks hover, falcons fly;
An' snares an' pitfa's often lie
Whar wishes stray.

An' ae thing weel I wot, Birdie! an' ae thing weel I wot,

There's ane abune the highest sphere
Wha cares for a' his creatures here,
Marks every lot;

Wha guards the crowned king, Birdie! wha guards the crownéd king,

An' taketh heed for sic as me,

Sae little worth, an' e'en for thee,
Puir witless thing!

Sae now, let's baith cheer up, Birdie! an' sin' we 're only twa

Aff han'- let's ilk ane do our best,
To ding that crabbit, cankered pest,
Dull care awa'!

HAPPY insect! what can be
In happiness compared to thee?
Fed with nourishment divine,
The dewy morning's gentle wine
Nature waits upon thee still,
And thy verdant cup doth fill;

"T is filled wherever thou dost tread,
Nature's self 's thy Ganymede.
Thou dost drink, and dance, and sing;
Happier than the happiest king!
All the fields which thou dost see,
All the plants, belong to thee;
All that summer-hours produce,
Fertile made with early juice.
Man for thee does sow and plough:
Farmer he, and landlord thou!
Thou dost innocently joy,
Nor does thy luxury destroy;
The shepherd gladly heareth thee,
More harmonious than he.

Thee country hinds with gladness hear,
Prophet of the ripened year!
Thee Phoebus loves, and does inspire;
Phoebus is himself thy sire.
To thee, of all things upon earth,
Life is no longer than thy mirth.
Happy insect! happy thou
Dost neither age nor winter know;
But, when thou 'st drunk, and danced, and sung
Thy fill, the flowery leaves among,

Sated with thy summer feast,
Thou retir'st to endless rest.

THE CASTLE BY THE SEA.

FROM THE GERMAN OF UHLAND.
FELLOW.

TRANSLATED BY LONG

"HAST thou seen that lordly castle,
That castle by the sea?
Golden and red above it

The clouds float gorgeously.

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THE CASTLE BY THE SEA.

"And fain it would stoop downward
To the mirrored wave below;
And fain it would soar upward

In the evening's crimson glow."

"Well have I seen that castle,

That castle by the sea,
And the moon above it standing,
And the mist rise solemnly."

"The winds and the waves of ocean,
Had they a merry chime?

Didst thou hear, from those lofty chambers,
The harp and the minstrel's rhyme ?"

"The winds and the waves of ocean,
They rested quietly;

But I heard on the gale a sound of wail,
And tears came to mine eye."

"And sawest thou on the turrets
The king and his royal bride?
And the wave of their crimson mantles?
And the golden crown of pride?

"Led they not forth, in rapture,
A beauteous maiden there,
Resplendent as the morning sun,
Beaming with golden hair ?”

"Well saw I the ancient parents,
Without the crown of pride;

They were moving slow, in weeds of woe ;
No maiden was by their side !"