THE COTTAR'S FAREWELL TO HIS AULD HOUSE.

Otago Witness, Issue 1973, 12 September 1889, Page 29

THE COTTAR'S FAREWELL TO HIS AULD HOUSE.

Fareweel my auld cot, my cantie wee bourock, Where mony a sweet, happy day I ha'e seen ; Tho' yere roof be the thatch and yere riggin' the sourock, To leave you the saut tears are blindin' my een. I hVe lived 'neath your roof sin' I was a wee callan', When the bloßSoras o' hope are entwined round the heart ; My simmer o' life I ha'e spent round your hallan, And when autumn is come I am forced to depart. 'Twas to you, my sweet cot (for weel I remember), I first led my Peggie, a blithe, blushin' bride ; And around our bit ingle the storms o' December Were sunshine to me as Bhe sat by my side. And ilk year fleeted on and increased our affection, And our weans prattled round us and filled us wi' glee;— Dear, dearer than a' is the sweet recollection Of our heaven o* bliss while we sojourned in thee. Oh ! how closely I oling to my ance happy dwellin' (But it's vain to express what nae ither caa feel), Nane can banish the grief in my bosom that's swellin', The wounds o' fche heart nae mortal can heal. Ye ha'e seen the tall tree the fair landscape adornin', Uprooted and torn by the rude winter's blast ; And the flow'ret that smiled in the dew o' the mornin', Ere e'enin' lie withered like a dream o' the past. 'Tis c'en sac wi' me as I leave my auld dwellin', And wander an outcast to landß far away ; A' the bright gladesome dream o' the future dispellia', That ha'e fled like the mist at the breakin' o7o 7 day. I thocht to ha'e spent my last days 'neath your riggin', Aud breathe my last sigh arnaug frien's that are dear; Alake I for the castles that folk aye are biggin', '1 here's naething but changes as lang as we're here. Fareweel, my wee cot, my cantie bit bourook, Where mony a sweet gladsome day I ha'e seen ; Tho' your roof be the thatch and your riggin' the sourock, To leave you the eaut tears are blindin' my een. —John G. Smith,

Invercsrgill, September 2.