Her cutty fark,' o' Paisley harn,*
That while a laffie 3 she had worn,
In longitude tho' forely fcanty,

It was her beft, and she was vauntie.4-
Ah! little kend thy reverend grannie,
That fark fhe coft for her wee Nannie,

6

Wi' twa pund Scots,7 ('twas a' her riches),
Wad ever grace a dance of witches!

But here my Mufe her wing maun cour;
Sic flights are far beyond her pow'r ;
To fing how Nannie lap and flang,9

(A fouple 10 jade she was and strang **)
And how Tam ftood, like ane bewitch'd,

12

And thought his very een 13 enrich'd;

Even Satan glowr'd, and fidg'd fu' fain,*
And hotch'd and blew wi' might and main :
Till first ae caper, fyne anither,"

15

Tam tint 1 his reason a' thegither,17

And roars out, "Weel done, Cutty-fark !"
And in an inftant all was dark:

And scarcely had he Maggie rallied,
When out the hellish legion fallied.

I

As bees bizz out wi' angry fyke,2
When plundering herds 3 affail their byke ; *
As open puffie's 5 mortal foes,

When pop! fhe starts before their nofe;
As eager runs the market-crowd,

When "Catch the thief!" resounds aloud;
So Maggie runs, the witches follow,

6

Wi' mony an eldritch skreech and hollow.

Ah, Tam! Ah, Tam! thou'll get thy fairin !?
In hell they'll roaft thee like a herrin !
In vain thy Kate awaits thy comin!
Kate foon will be a woefu' woman!
Now, do thy speedy utmost, Meg,
And win the key-ftane* of the brig;
There at them thou thy tail may toss,
A running ftream they dare na cross.

9

3 Herds, fhepherds.

5 Puffie's a hare.

• Eldritch skreech, frightful scream.
8. Comin, coming. ? Brig, bridge.

7 Fairin, a fairing,

a prefent.

*It is a well known fact, that witches, or any evil spirits, have no power to follow a poor wight any farther than the middle of the next running ftream. It may be proper likewise to mention to the benighted traveller, that when he falls in with bogles, whatever danger may be in his going forward, there is much more hazard in turning back.

But

But ere the key-ftane she could make,

I

The fient a tail fhe had to shake!

For Nannie, far before the rest,

Hard upon noble Maggie preft,

And flew at Tam wi' furious ettle; *
But litle wift fhe Maggie's mettle-

Ae fpring 3 brought off her master hale,4
But left behind her ain 5 gray tail :

The carlin claught her by the rump,

And left poor Maggie scarce a stump.

8

Now, wha 7 this tale o' truth fhall read,
Ilk & man and mother's fon, take heed:
Whene'er to drink you are inclin'd,
Or cutty-farks gun in your mind,
Think, ye may buy the joys o'er dear,9
Remember Tam o'Shanter's marę.

The fent a tail, fient is a petty oath, as, "the devil a tail.”

* Ettle, zeal.

• Hale, whole. Wha, who.

3 Ae fpring, one jump.

6 Claught, feized hold on.

5 Ain, own.
• Ilk, each.

9 O'er dear, too dear.

No. XXXIV.

THE WITCHES' SONG.

BEN JONSON.

"From the Mafque of Queens, prefented at Whitehall, Feb. 2d, 1609."

I WITCH.

I HAVE been all day looking after

A raven feeding upon a quarter;

And, foone as fhe turn'd her beak to the fouth,

I fnatch'd this morfell out of her mouth.

2 WITCH.

I have beene gathering wolves haires,
The madd dogges foames, and adders cares;
The fpurging of a deadman's eyes:

And all fince the evening starre did rise.

3 WITCH.

3 WITCH.

I last night lay all alone

On the ground, to heare the mandrake grone;
And pluck'd him up, though he grew full low:
And, as I had done, the cocke did crow.

4 WITCH.

And I ha' beene chufing out this scull,
From charnell houses that were full;
From private grots, and publike pits;
And frighted a fexton out of his wits.

5 WITCH.

Under a cradle I did crepe

By day; and, when the childe was a-sleepe
At night, I fuck'd the breath; and rofe,
And pluck'd the nodding nurse by the nose.

6 WITCH.

I had a dagger: what did I with that?
Killed an infant to have his fat.

A piper it got at a church-ale,

I bade him again blow the wind i' the taile.

7 WITCH.

A murderer, yonder, was hung in chaines;

The funne and the wind had shrunke his veines :

1

I bit