Through Crockston Castle's lanely wa's The wintry wind howls wild and dreary; Though mirk the cheerless e'ening fa's, Yet I hae vow'd to meet my Mary. Yes, Mary, though the winds should rave Wi' jealous spite to keep me frae thee, The darkest stormy night I 'd brave, For ae sweet secret moment wi' thee. Loud o'er Cardonald's rocky steep, Rude Cartha pours in boundless measure; But I will ford the whirling deep, That roars between me and my treasure. Yes, Mary, though the torrent rave, Wi' jealous spite, to keep me frae thee, Its deepest flood I 'd bauldly brave, For ae sweet secret moment wi' thee. The watch-dog's howling loads the blast, And makes the nightly wand'rer eerie; But when the lonesome way is past, I 'll to this bosom clasp my Mary! Yes, Mary, though stern winter rave, With a' his storms, to keep me frae thee, The wildest dreary night I 'd brave, For ae sweet secret moment wi' thee. [82] The ruin of Crockston Castle is situated on the brow of a gentle eminence, about three miles south-east of Paisley. The Castle, in the twelfth century, was possessed by a Norman family, of the name of Croc; it passed, in the following century, by the marriage of the heiress, into a younger branch of the House of Stewart, who were afterwards ennobled as Earls of Lennox. According to tradition, Queen Mary and Lord Darnley occasionally resided in the castle; and it is reported that the unfortunate princess witnessed from its walls the fall of her fortunes at the battle of Langside. Crockston Castle is now the possession of Sir John Maxwell, Bart., of Pollock. THE BRAES O' BALQUHITHER.[83] AIR--_"The Three Carls o' Buchanan."_ Let us go, lassie, go To the braes o' Balquhither, Where the blaeberries grow 'Mang the bonnie Highland heather; Where the deer and the rae, Lightly bounding together, Sport the lang summer day On the braes o' Balquhither. I will twine thee a bower By the clear siller fountain, And I 'll cover it o'er Wi' the flowers o' the mountain; I will range through the wilds, And the deep glens sae dreary, And return wi' their spoils To the bower o' my dearie. When the rude wintry win' Idly raves round our dwelling, And the roar of the linn On the night breeze is swelling; So merrily we 'll sing, As the storm rattles o'er us, Till the dear sheiling ring Wi' the light lilting chorus. Now the summer is in prime, Wi' the flow'rs richly blooming, And the wild mountain thyme A' the moorlands perfuming; To our dear native scenes Let us journey together, Where glad innocence reigns, 'Mang the braes o' Balquhither.