elancholy--
An' the pipes a-skirlin'--
Gangs limp an' droopet,
Like a coof at hirlin',--
Droopet aye his lang skirts
I' the wins unfurlin';
Yon's Melancholy--
An' the pipes a-skirlin'!

Which ane, an' which ane,
An' which ane for thee?--
Here thou hast thy vera choice,
An' which sall it be?
Ye hae the Holy Brither,
An' ye hae the Scholarly;
An', last, ye hae the butt o' baith--
Which sall it be?

Elbuck ye'r bag, mon!
An' pipe as ye'd burst!
Can ye gie's a waur, mon
E'en than the first?--
Be it Meister Wisemon,
I' the classics versed,
An' a slawer gait yet
E'en than the first?

Then gie us Merriment:
Loose him like a linnet
Teeterin' on a bloomin' spray--
We ken him i' the minute,--
Twinklin' is ane ee asklent,
Wi' auld Clootie in it--
Auld Sawney Lintwhite,
We ken him i' the minute!

An' which ane, an' which ane,
An' which ane for thee?--
For thou shalt hae thy vera choice,
An' which sall it be?--
Ye hae the Holy Brither,
An' ye hae the Scholarly;
A' last, ye hae the butt o' baith--
Which sall it be?

THE EARTHQUAKE

CHARLESTON, SEPTEMBER 1, 1886

An hour ago the lulling twilight leant
Above us like a gentle nurse who slips
A slow palm o'er our eyes, in soft eclipse
Of feigned slumber of most sweet content.
The fragrant zephyrs of the tropic went
And came across the senses, like to sips
Of lovers' kisses, when upon her lips
Silence sets finger in grave merriment.
Then--sudden--did the earth moan as it slept,
And start as one in evil dreams, and toss
Its peopled arms up, as the horror crept,
And with vast breast upheaved and rent across,
Fling down the storied citadel where wept,
And still shall weep, a world above its loss.

A FALL-CRICK VIEW OF THE EARTHQUAKE

I kin hump my back and take the rain,
And I don't keer how she pours;
I kin keep kind o' ca'm in a thunder-storm,
No matter how loud she roars;
I hain't much skeered o' the lightnin',
Ner I hain't sich awful shakes
Afeard o' _cyclones_--but I don't want none
O' yer dad-burned old earthquakes!

As long as my legs keeps stiddy,
And long as my head keeps plum',
And the buildin' stays in the front