"O wow for day! And dear gin it were day! Gin it were day, and I were away; For I ha'ena lang time to stay!" 70 * * * * * * * "O wow for day! And dear gin it were day! Gin it were day, and ye were away; For ye ha'ena lang time to stay!" "Now Christ assoile me o' my sin," 75 The fause knight he could say; "It's nae for nought that the hawk whistles;[L77] And I wish that I were away! "And O wow for day! And dear gin it were day! 80 Gin it were day, and I were away; For I ha'ena lang time to stay!" "What needs ye lang for day, And wish that ye were away? Is na your hounds in my cellar 85 Eating white meal and gray?" "Yet, O wow for day! And dear gin it were day! Gin it were day, and I were away, For I ha'ena lang time to stay!" 90 "Is na your horse in my stable, Eating good corn and hay? Is na your hawk on my perch tree, Just perching for his prey? And isna yoursel in my arms twa; 95 Then how can ye lang for day?" "Yet, O wow for day! And dear gin it were day! Gin it were day, and I were away, For I ha'ena lang time to stay. 100 "Yet, O wow for day! And dear gin it were day! For he that's in bed wi' anither man's wife, Has never lang time to stay." * * * * * * * Then out Lord Randal drew his brand, 105 And straiked it o'er a strae; And through and through the fause knight's waste He gar'd cald iron gae; And I hope ilk ane sall sae be serv'd, That treats an honest man sae! 110 77, This is a proverbial saying in Scotland. J. GIL MORRICE. "Of the many ancient ballads which have been preserved by tradition among the peasantry of Scotland, none has excited more interest in the world of letters than the beautiful and pathetic tale of _Gil Morice_; and this, no less on account of its own intrinsic merits as a piece of exquisite poetry, than of its having furnished the plot of the justly celebrated tragedy of _Douglas_. It has likewise supplied Mr. Langhorne with the principal materials from which he has woven the fabric of his sweet, though prolix poem of _Owen of Carron_. Perhaps the list could be easily increased of those who have drawn their inspiration from this affecting strain of Olden Minstrelsy.