Sic coarse-spun thoughts as thae want pith to move My settl'd mind; I'm o'er far gane in love. Patie to me is dearer than my breath; But want of him I dread nae other skaith. There's nane of a' the herds that tread the green Has sic a smile, or sic twa glancening een. And then he speaks with sic a taking art, His words they thirle like musick thro' my heart. How blythly can he sport, and gently rave, And jest a feckless fears that fright the lave! Ilk day that he's alane upon the hill, He reads fell books that teach him meikle skill. He is--but what need I say that or this? I'd spend a month to tell you what he is! To the sarcastical picture which Jenny draws of the anxieties and turmoil of a wedded life, Peggy thus warmly replies: Yes, 'tis a heartsome thing to be a wife, When round the ingle-edge young sprouts are rife. Gif I'm sae happy, I shall have delight To hear their little plaints, and keep them right. Wow! Jenny, can there greater pleasure be, Than see sic wee tots toolying at your knee; When a' they ettle at--their greatest wish, Is to be made of, and obtain a kiss? Can there be toil in tenting day and night, The like of them, when love makes care delight?[43] [Footnote 43: When the sentiments are drawn from nature, it is not surprising that, where the subject is similar, there should be a concurrence of thought between two genuine poets, who never saw each other's works. How similar is the following passage of the 10th satire of Boileau to the imagery of this beautiful family picture! Quelle joie en effet, quelle douceur extreme De se voir caresser d'une epouse qu'on aime;-- De voir autour de soi croitre dans la maison, Sous les paisibles loix d'une agréable mere De petits citoyens dont on croit être pere! Quel charme au moindre mal qui nous vient menacer De la voir aussitot accourir, s'empresser, &c.] JENNY. But poortith, Peggy, is the warst of a', Gif o'er your heads ill chance shou'd beggary draw: Your nowt may die--the spate may bear away Frae aff the howms your dainty rucks of hay.-- The thick blawn wreaths of snaw, or blashy thows, May smoor your wathers, and may rot your ews. &c, PEGGY.