Another wanderer made us acquainted with the
humorous old ballad of "Our gude man cam hame at e'en." He
applied for supper and lodging, and the next morning was set
at work splitting stones in the pasture. While thus engaged the
village doctor came riding along the highway on his fine,
spirited horse, and stopped to talk with my father. The fellow
eyed the animal attentively, as if familiar with all his good
points, and hummed over a stanza of the old poem:--
"Our gude man cam hame at e'en,
And hame cam he;
And there he saw a saddle horse
Where nae horse should be.
'How cam this horse here?
How can it be?
How cam this horse here
Without the leave of me?'
'A horse?' quo she.
'Ay, a horse,' quo he.
'Ye auld fool, ye blind fool,--
And blinder might ye be,--
'T is naething but a milking cow
My mamma sent to me.'
'A milch cow?' quo he.
'Ay, a milch cow,' quo she.
'Weel, far hae I ridden,
And muckle hae I seen;
But milking cows wi' saddles on
Saw I never nane.'"(3)
(1) From the first line of *The Gaberlunzie Man,* attributed
to King James V. of Scotland,--
"The pawky auld carle came o'er the lee."
The original like Whittier's was a sly old fellow, as an English
phrase would translate the Scottish. *The Gaberlunzie Man* is
given in Percy's *Reliques of Ancient Poetry* and in Child's
*English and Scottish Ballads,* viii.
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