The Free-Mason's Garland/Maggie's Courtship
MAGGIE's COURTSHIP.
O mither, mither, tell to methe way to get a man;I long for to be married now,for troth I'm thinkin' lang:For when to bed I gang for rest,'tis sleep I can get nane.For weary thoughts rin in my head,I canna lie my lane.
Beside I'm wearin' up in years,I'm twenty now and twa;And if I get na ane ere lang,I'll ne'er, get ane ava.These rosy cheeks, sae bonny now,will soon grow pale and wan;What signifies a' warld's gear,when I canna get a man?
There's sunty Kate, she liv'd a maid,ye ken as weel as me,The unhappy state that she was in,for lang ere she did die!Crack-brain'd and crazy, a' the night,she tumbl'd up and down,Wi' never ane to pity her,or listen to her moan.
This is the lot, I am afraid,that's just laid out for me;Ere I would live to be like her,O sooner let me die!And what to do I dinna ken,I like my Johnny weel;But modesty is bids me stay,and a' my love conceal.
Hard is the fate of woman-kind,to love and feel-fie pain!For tho' the like a laddie weel,they darena tell the same.Young Johnny stood behind the door,altho' nae-body kent.Cries, Happy hour that brought me here,to near my lover's 'plaint!
In-raptures then he seiz'd the prize,and clasp'd her to his breast!The strong emotions o' his heartdeclar'd he lov'd her best! But Maggie dear, O is it true ye're sae in love wi' me?I ha'e a flame within my breast, that burns as fierce for thee!
But still afraid to mention it, I've but my penny fee,While ye hae gowd and siller balth, and brawer far than me.Quoth Maggie, siller's very gude to answer its ain part;But ye are dearer far to me, the darling o' my heart!
O happy pair! young Johnny cries, we soon shall buckl'd be:So Maggy, sweetest, fairest dearest, come alang wi' me.We'll join our hands in wedlock's bands, and there united be;In love sincere we'll spend our days, frae care and trouble free.
FINIS.
Falkirk—T. Johnston, Printer.