Hae ye been in the North, bonnie lassie, Whaur Glaizert rins pure frae the fell, Whaur the straight stately beech staun's sae gaucy, An' luve lilts his tale through the dell? O! then ye maun ken o' my Jessie, Sae blythesome, sae bonnie an' braw; The lassies hae doubts about Jessie, Her charms steal their luvers awa'. I can see ye 're fu' handsome an' winnin', Your cleedin 's fu' costly an' clean, Your wooers are aften complainin' O' wounds frae your bonnie blue e'en. I could lean me wi' pleasure beside thee, Ae kiss o' thy mou' is a feast; May luve wi' his blessins abide thee, For Jessie 's the queen o' my breast. I maun gang an' get hame, my sweet Jessie, For fear some young laird o' degree May come roun' on his fine sleekit bawsy, An' ding a' my prospects agee. There 's naething like gowd to the miser, There 's naething like light to the e'e, But they canna gie me ony pleasure, If Jessie prove faithless to me. Let us meet on the border, my Jessie, Whaur Kelvin links bonnily bye, Though my words may be scant to address ye, My heart will be loupin' wi' joy. If ance I were wedded to Jessie, An' that may be ere it be lang, I 'll can brag o' the bonniest lassie That ere was the theme o' a sang. WILLIAM LAIDLAW. As the confidential friend, factor, and amanuensis of Sir Walter Scott, William Laidlaw has a claim to remembrance; the authorship of "Lucy's Flittin'" entitles him to rank among the minstrels of his country. His ancestors on the father's side were, for a course of centuries, substantial farmers in Tweedside, and his father, James Laidlaw, with his wife, Catherine Ballantyne, rented from the Earl of Traquair the pastoral farm of Blackhouse, in Yarrow. William, the eldest of a family of three sons, was born in November 1780. His education was latterly conducted at the Grammar School of Peebles. James Hogg kept sheep on his father's farm, and a strong inclination for ballad-poetry led young Laidlaw to cultivate his society. They became inseparable friends--the Shepherd guiding the fancy of the youth, who, on the other hand, encouraged the Shepherd to persevere in ballad-making and poetry.