Oh! the bonny, bonny dell, whaur I used to lie Wi’ Jeanie aside me, sae sweet and sae shy! Whaur the wee white gowan wi’ reid reid tips, Was as white as her cheek and as reid as her lips. Oh, her ee had a licht cam frae far ‘yont the sun, And her tears cam frae deeper than salt seas run! O’ the sunlicht and munelicht she was the queen, For baith war but middlin’ withoot my Jean. Oh! the bonny, bonny dell, whaur I used to lie Wi’ Jeanie aside me, sae sweet and sae shy! Oh! the bonny, bonny dell, whaur the kirkyard lies, A’ day and a’ nicht, luikin’ up to the skies; Whaur the sheep wauk up i’ the summer nicht, Tak a bite, and lie doon, and await the licht; Whaur the psalms roll ower the grassy heaps, And the wind comes and moans, and the rain comes and weeps! But Jeanie, my Jeanie--she’s no lyin’ there, For she’s up and awa’ up the angels’ stair. Oh! the bonny, bonny dell, whaur the kirkyard lies, And the stars luik doon, and the nicht-wind sighs! [Footnote 1: The Yellow-hammer.] [Footnote 2: Birch-trees.] [Footnote 3: Singing.] [Footnote 4: Nonsense.] [Footnote 5: Slippery.] Elsie’s voice went through every corner of my brain: there was singing in all its chambers. I could not hear the words of the song well enough to understand them quite; but Turkey gave me a copy of them afterwards. They were the schoolmaster’s work. All the winter, Turkey had been going to the evening school, and the master had been greatly pleased with him, and had done his best to get him on in various ways. A friendship sprung up between them; and one night he showed Turkey these verses. Where the air came from, I do not know: Elsie’s brain was full of tunes. I repeated them to my father once, and he was greatly pleased with them. On this first acquaintance, however, they put me to sleep; and little Jamie Duff was sent over to tell my father what had happened. Jamie gave the message to Mrs. Mitchell, and she, full of her own importance, must needs set out to see how much was the matter. I was dreaming an unutterably delicious dream. It was a summer evening. The sun was of a tremendous size, and of a splendid rose-colour. He was resting with his lower edge on the horizon, and dared go no farther, because all the flowers would sing instead of giving out their proper scents, and if he left them, he feared utter anarchy in his kingdom before he got back in the morning. I woke and saw the ugly face of Mrs. Mitchell bending over me. She was pushing me, and calling to me to wake up. The moment I saw her I shut my eyes tight, turned away, and pretended to be fast asleep again, in the hope that she would go away and leave me with my friends. “Do let him have his sleep out, Mrs. Mitchell,” said Turkey’s mother.