330 JEAN COWIE'S SlOEY. 



An' wha in a' the Braes had a Kchter step or a merrier heart 

 than my guidman 1 He was nane o' yer skulking men that . 

 dread the blast on the tumlin' waves, and wad let their wives 

 an' their weans gang naked an' hungry. Ay, he's faced the 

 angriest sea that ever was seen, an' he could tak a dram or sing 

 a sang wi' the best ; an' as for dancin', he was the best dancer 

 in the Braes; he was that. An', oh, tae think, mem, o5 ma 

 drooned laddie, ma bonnie laddie wi' his hair like lint an' his 

 cheek like rosy aiples, as braw an' soople a son as ever helpit 

 tae trim a sail or cast a net ; he was ma auldest born, an' the 

 ane I loo'ed aboon them a'. Oh ! weary day that brocht me 

 sae mickle grief ; the Lord only can tell hoo I lived through it a' 

 — a faither, a guidman, an' a son, a' drooned at aince, an' a' 

 jist for sic a creelfu' as Sandy Flucker's boat fush in this morn- 

 in'. It's fine wather the day, say ye ; ay 'tweel is't, an' the sun 

 nae doot gladdens your heart though it vexes mine, It shines 

 bricht an' bonny i' the noo, but wha kens what it may be afore 

 nicht ? for it was jist a day like this that the three gae'd awa 

 as happy an' as Ucht o' heart as the wee waves seem'd that 

 lapp'd and kissed the sides o' oor boat as she rocked at the shore, 

 while I stood wi' Jamie in my airms an' Jenny at my feet, 

 watchin' them set oot, an' wishin' them gude speed. Ah, dinna 

 tell me, for I ken hoo clear the sky was, wi' no a cloud tae be 

 seen on't ava, an' the sea wi' jist a bit ripple on its breist that 

 caa'd the boat frae side tae side ; but then a darkness cam an' 

 covered a' the bonny blue lift, an' the thunder, burstin' ower 

 oor hoose, as I sat mendin' my guidman's claes, sent the needle 

 richt intae my hand an' wakened up Jamie in his creddle wi' 

 a skreich ; an' as the lichtnia' flashed in at the window I thocht 

 on my faither, an' on ma laddie, an' on ma guidman, an' I 

 prayed God help them an' bring them safe hame ; safe hame, 

 ah ! they never were tae be that, for the boat was already 

 strugglin' 'gainst the awfii' waves that dash in at our coast-side, 

 an' tryin' tae mak for the landin' place ; then, wives, an' men, 

 an' bairns ran fast, an' gathered on the shore wi' mony a prayer 

 an' cry for help. Wi' Jamie in my airms, I ran as weel, an', 

 kneelin' on the rough stanes, the wind lashin' the water aboot 

 me, an' wi' my bairn held ticht tae ma breast, I cried on 

 Heaven tae save them ; but, ! my leddy, I saw them whirled 

 roon by the waves, an' drooned afore ma vera een. Then what 

 a fecht has been mine sin' syne ! sic loads tae carry, an' sic 

 weary rpads tae tramp ! but there's. Ane aboon that keeps us a' 



