I’ve seen the smiling Of fortune beguiling; I’ve felt all her favours, and found her decay: Sweet is her blessing, And kind her caressing; But now it is fled, it is fled far away. I’ve seen the forest Adorned the foremost, With flowers of the fairest both pleasant and gay: Sae bonny was their blooming, Their scent the air perfuming; But now they are withered, and all gone away. I’ve seen the morning, With gold the hills adorning, And loud tempests storming before mid-day: I’ve seen Tweed’s silver streams Shining i’ the sunny beams, Grow drumly and dark as it roll’d on the way. O fickle fortune! Why this cruel sporting? Why this perplexing poor sons of a day? Thy frowns cannot fear me, Nor smiles cannot chear me, Since the Flowers of the Forest are a’ wed away. VERSES _ON JAMES THE IVth, OF SCOTLAND_. Who fell at the Battle of Flodden. Among the various antiquities preserved in the Heralds College, London, there are the Sword, Dagger, and Turquois Ring, of James the IVth, of Scotland, slain at the battle of Flodden. ’Twas he that rul’d his Country’s heart With more than Royal sway-- But Scotland saw her James depart, And sadden’d at his stay. She heard his fate--she wept her grief-- That James, her own, her darling Chief, Was gone for evermore. But this she learnt, that e’er he fell, (Oh, Men! Oh, Patriots! mark it well) His Fellow Soldiers round his fall, Enclos’d him like a living wall, Mixing their friendly gore. Nor was the day of Flodden done, ’Till they were slaughter’d, one by one, And this may serve to shew-- When Kings are Patriots none will fly: When such a King was doom’d to die, Oh, who would Death forego? THE BATTLE OF REID SQUAIR. (Fought July 7th, 1576.) On July seventh, the suthe to say, At the Reid Squair the tryst was set. Our wardens they affixt the day, And as they promist, sae they met: Allace! that day I’ll neir forzet, Was sure sae feir’d, and then sae fain, They cam thair justice for to get, Will nevir grein to cum again. CARMICHAEL was our warden then, He causit the countrey to convene, And the laird WATT, that worthy man, Brocht in his surname weil be sene: The ARMSTRANGS that ay haif bene A hardy house, but not a hail; The ELLIOTTS honours to mentain, Brought in the laif of LIDDISDALE. Then TWIDAIL came to with speid, The Scheriff brocht the DOUGLAS doun, With CRANSTANE, GLADSTANE, gude at neid, Baith Rewls-water and Hawick Town. BEANGEDDERT bauldly maid him boun, With all the TRUMBLES strang and stout; The RUTHIRFUIRDS, with grit renoun, Convoyit the town of Jedbruch out.