The Modern Scottish Minstrel Volume I Part 4

II.

Without glebe or manse settled on him by law, No stipend to sue for, nor vic'rage to draw; In discharge of his office he holds him content, With a croft and a garden, for which he pays rent.

Derry down, &c.

III.

With a neat little cottage and furniture plain, And a spare room to welcome a friend now and then; With a good-humour'd wife in his fortune to share, And ease him at all times of family care.

Derry down, &c.

IV.

With a few of the Fathers, the oldest and best, And some modern extracts pick'd out from the rest; With a Bible in Latin, and Hebrew, and Greek, To afford him instruction each day of the week.

Derry down, &c.

V.

What children he has, if any are given, He thankfully trusts to the kindness of Heaven; To religion and virtue he trains them while young, And with such a provision he does them no wrong.

Derry down, &c.

VI.

With labour below, and with help from above, He cares for his flock, and is bless'd with their love: Though his living, perhaps, in the main may be scant, He is sure, while they have, that he 'll ne'er be in want.

Derry down, &c.

VII.

With no worldly projects nor hurries perplex'd, He sits in his closet and studies his text; And while he converses with Moses or Paul, He envies not bishop, nor dean in his stall.

Derry down, &c.

VIII.

Not proud to the poor, nor a slave to the great, Neither factious in church, nor pragmatic in state, He keeps himself quiet within his own sphere, And finds work sufficient in preaching and prayer.

Derry down, &c.

IX.

In what little dealings he 's forced to transact, He determines with plainness and candour to act; And the great point on which his ambition is set, Is to leave at the last neither riches nor debt.

Derry down, &c.

X.

Thus calmly he steps through the valley of life, Unenc.u.mber'd with wealth, and a stranger to strife; On the bustlings around him unmoved he can look, And at home always pleased with his wife and his book.

Derry down, &c.

XI.

And when, in old age, he drops into the grave, This humble remembrance he wishes to have: "By good men respected, by the evil oft tried, Contented he lived, and lamented he died!"

Derry down, &c.

THE MAN OF ROSS.

TUNE--_"Miss Ross's Reel."_

I.

When fops and fools together prate, O'er punch or tea, of this or that, What silly poor unmeaning chat Does all their talk engross!

A n.o.bler theme employs my lays, And thus my honest voice I raise In well-deserved strains to praise The worthy Man of Ross.

II.

His lofty soul (would it were mine!) Scorns every selfish, low design, And ne'er was known to repine, At any earthly loss: But still contented, frank, and free, In every state, whate'er it be, Serene and staid we always see The worthy Man of Ross.

III.

Let misers hug their worldly store, And gripe and pinch to make it more; Their gold and silver's s.h.i.+ning ore He counts it all but dross: 'Tis better treasure he desires; A surer stock his pa.s.sion fires, And mild benevolence inspires The worthy Man of Ross.

IV.

When want a.s.sails the widow's cot, Or sickness strikes the poor man's hut, When blasting winds or foggy rot Augment the farmer's loss: The sufferer straight knows where to go, With all his wants and all his woe; For glad experience leads him to The worthy Man of Ross.

V.

This Man of Ross I 'll daily sing, With vocal note and lyric string, And duly, when I 've drank the king, He 'll be my second toss.

May Heaven its choicest blessings send On such a man, and such a friend; And still may all that 's good attend The worthy Man of Ross.

VI.

Now, if you ask about his name, And where he lives with such a fame, Indeed, I 'll say you are to blame, For truly, _inter nos_, 'Tis what belongs to you and me, And all of high or low degree, In every sphere to try to be The worthy Man of Ross.