HOW CAN I BE BLYTHE AND GLAD?

Tune-"The bonnie Lad that's far awa."

I.

O How can I be blythe and glad,
Or how can I gang brisk and braw,
When the bonnie lad that I lo'e best
Is o'er the hills and far awa?

When the bonnie lad that I lo'e best
Is o'er the hills and far awa?

II.

It's no the frosty winter wind,

It's no the driving drift and snaw;

But ay the tear comes in my e'e,
To think on him that's far awa.
ay the tear comes in my e'e,
To think on him that's far awa.

But

III.

My father pat me frae his door,

My friends they hae disown'd me a',

But I hae ane will tak' my part,

The bonnie lad that's far awa.
But I hae ane will tak' my part,
The bonnie lad that's far awa.

IV.

A pair o' gloves he gae to me,

And silken snoods he gae me twa;
And I will wear them for his sake,
The bonnie lad that's far awa.
And I will wear them for his sake,
The bonnie lad that's far awa.

"This little lamentation of a desolate damsel," says Jeffrey, "is tender and pretty." It was written, it is said, in allusion to the treatment of Jean Armour by her father, when he heard that she had not dismissed the Poet from her heart, but still kept up a correspondence. Herd's collection supplied him with strains which he has beautified greatly. The old song begins thus :

"How can I be blythe or glad,

Or in my mind contented be?"

The air was unknown to our collections before the days of Burns: he is said to have caught it up from the singing of his mother.

I DO CONFESS THOU ART SAE FAIR.

Tune-"I do confess thou art sae fair."

I.

I DO confess thou art sae fair,

I wad been o'er the lugs in love,

Had I na found the slightest prayer

That lips could speak thy heart could move.

I do confess thee sweet, but find

Thou art sae thriftless o' thy sweets,

Thy favours are the silly wind,

That kisses ilka thing it meets.

II.

See yonder rose-bud, rich in dew,

Amang its native briers sae coy;
How sune it tines its scent and hue
When pou'd and worn a common toy!
Sic fate, ere lang, shall thee betide,
Tho' thou may gaily bloom awhile;
Yet sune thou shalt be thrown aside
Like ony common weed and vile.

Sir Robert Aytoun, secretary to Mary and Anne, queens of Scotland, wrote the exquisite song of which these verses of Burns are a modified version.-"I do think," said he, " that I have improved the simplicity of the sentiments by giving them a Scots dress." This is almost the only song which he failed to improve it could not well be altered to advantage

"I do confess thou'rt sweet; yet find

Thee such an unthrift of thy sweets,
Thy favours are but like the wind,
That kisseth every thing it meets ;
And since thou canst with more than one,
Thou'rt worthy to be kissed by none.
"The morning rose that untouched stands,

Arm'd with her briars, how sweetly smells!
But plucked and strained through ruder hands,
Her scent no longer with her dwells,
But scent and beauty both are gone,
And leaves fall from her one by one.
"Such fate, ere long, wilt thee betide,

When thou hast handled been awhile;
Like sun-flowers to be thrown aside,

And I shall sigh while some will smile,
To see thy love for more than one,

Has brought thee to be loved by none."

:

A monument to Aytoun, surmounted by a very handsome bust, stands in Westminster Abbey.

SENSIBILITY HOW CHARMING.

Tune-" Cornwallis's Lument for Colonel Muirhead."

I.

SENSIBILITY how charming,

Dearest Nancy! thou can'st tell,
But distress with horrors arming,
Thou hast also known too well.

Fairest flower, behold the lily,
Blooming in the sunny ray—
Let the blast sweep o'er the valley,
See it prostrate on the clay.

II.

Hear the woodlark charm the forest,
Telling o'er his little joys:

Hapless bird! a prey the surest
To each pirate of the skies.
Dearly bought the hidden treasure,
Finer feelings can bestow :
Chords that vibrate sweetest pleasure,
Thrill the deepest notes of woe.

In our lyrical legends, the heroine of this song is said to be the fair Clarinda; the similarity of name, perhaps, has aided in this belief. The song was written for the Museum, and printed in the name of Burns.