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Title: Which Ane
Author: James Whitcomb Riley [
More Titles by Riley]
Which ane, an' which ane,
An' which ane for thee?--
Here thou hast thy vera choice,
An' which sall it be?--
Ye hae the Holy Brither,
An' ye hae the Scholarly;
An', last, ye hae the butt o' baith--
Which sall it be?
Ane's oot o' Edinborough,
Wi' the Beuk an' Gown;
An' ane's cam frae Cambridge;
An' ane frae scaur an' down:
An' Deil tak the hindmaist!
Sae the test gaes roun':
An' here ye hae the lairdly twa,
An' ane frae scaur an' down.
Yon's Melancholy--
An' the pipes a-skirlin'--
Gangs limp an' droopet,
Like a coof at hirlin',--
Droopet aye his lang skirts
I' the wins unfurlin';
Yon's Melancholy--
An' the pipes a-skirlin'!
Which ane, an' which ane,
An' which ane for thee?--
Here thou hast thy vera choice,
An' which sall it be?
Ye hae the Holy Brither,
An' ye hae the Scholarly;
An', last, ye hae the butt o' baith--
Which sall it be?
Elbuck ye'r bag, mon!
An' pipe as ye'd burst!
Can ye gie's a waur, mon
E'en than the first?--
Be it Meister Wisemon,
I' the classics versed,
An' a slawer gait yet
E'en than the first?
Then gie us Merriment:
Loose him like a linnet
Teeterin' on a bloomin' spray--
We ken him i' the minute,--
Twinklin' is ane ee asklent,
Wi' auld Clootie in it--
Auld Sawney Lintwhite,
We ken him i' the minute!
An' which ane, an' which ane,
An' which ane for thee?--
For thou shalt hae thy vera choice,
An' which sall it be?--
Ye hae the Holy Brither,
An' ye hae the Scholarly;
A' last, ye hae the butt o' baith--
Which sall it be?
[The end]
James Whitcomb Riley's poem: Which Ane
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