Page:Poems Douglas.djvu/17

"I canna think, Jessie, o' lettin' ye gang,
The snaw fa's sae thick, an' the journey's sae lang."
"But I can gang wi' her," said Tam, "for I ken
A' the short cuts that bring ye fu' soon through the glen;
Sae dinna be frichted, but keep the fire bricht,
An' ye'll see the gude supper we'll a' hae the nicht."
A big tear rose up frae the widow's fond heart
As she saw in the tempest her twa bairns depart,
Jessie's face looked sae white 'neath her thick raven hair—
Puir thing! spite o' hardships, sae peerlessly fair.
A prayer trembled forth frae her heart's deep recess,
For strength to bear up 'neath ilk eroundin' distress.
"Qh, Michty!" she cried, "but Thy dealings are strange,
Wha e'er would hae dreamed o' this pitifu' change—
Fae comfort an' plenty clashed down to the dust,
Nor a frien' in the wide world to gie us a crust!"
Through her thin tremblin' fingers tears trickled like rain,
As she bowed down her pale face an' grat like a wean;
But that gush through wae's flood-gates her fu' heart relieved,
An' broucht a sad calm to the sairly bereaved.
Tears trickled nae mair, but she raised na her een,
Life's hale panorama passed scene after scene:—
Noo, slowly an' brichtly, a hame meets her sicht,
Nae cloud o' adversity darkens its licht;