Scotland/Scots > Licht frae the smiddy o' Saunders Dinwuddie

POOR WANDERER.
187
They are continually playin’at ‘ hide and seek.’
Whiles we find them singing comic sangs wi’ a
their birr. At ither times they are droning dole¬
fully a’ kind o’ tunes o’ kirkyard melodies. We
see them occasionally dancin’, reelin’, and whir¬
lin’, like fairies whiskin’ round their fairy ring.
At ither times they dance most merrily the reel o’
Tullochgorum. Now and then they cast out
amang themselves. They rage and rampage as if
they would set the house on fire, and murder ane
anither. Grace be wi’ us. They are a maist un¬
ruly crew, no muckle to be lippened to—they are
sic a core, and just as hard to be keepit as a band
of wild folk in a dafthouse. ‘ He that ruleth his
own spirit is better than he that taketh a city.’
Heaven help us a’ to guide our passions weel, lest
they rin awa’ wi’ us, and plunge us suddenly owre
some dizzy craig o’ destruction. May sleep cover
ye a’ owre the night as wi’ a cloak. Gude nicht,
Sir.”
“Goodnight, my long-headed friend, Saunders
Dinwuddie.”