Allan Ramsay. [A biography.] - National Library of Scotland

134
FAMOUS SCOTS
in the delicious bliss of hearing her lover's vows
anew
—
'Sooner a mother shall her fondness drap,
And wrang the bairn sits smiling in her lap ;
The sun shall change, the moon to change shall cease
The gaits to climb, the sheep to yield the fleece ',
Ere aught by me be either said or done
Shall do thee wrang;— I swear by all aboon.'
In no scene does Ramsay exhibit his wonderful know-
ledge of the human heart to such advantage as in the
one before us. Peggy and Patie then sing a duet, taking
alternate verses, into which are introduced many of the
old Scots songs,— 'The Broom o' Cowdenknowes,'
'Milking the Ewes,' 'Jenny Nettles,' 'Thro' the
Wood, Laddie,' 'The Boatman,' 'Maggie Lauder,'
'The Lass o' Patie's Mill,' and the curtain falls over
one of the most delightful scenes illustrative of pure
affection, in modern drama.
The Third Act sees the return of Sir William Worthy,
who, in the disguise of a wizard, introduces himself into
the company, merry-making at Symon's. Here he tells
Patie's fortune, and the surprising discovery is ere long
made that the youth is Sir William's only son, placed
under Symon's care when the knight had to go into
exile on the execution of Charles L The description of
the little festivity at Symon's is well wrought out. The
third scene contains the love-making of Jenny and
Roger, where the faithful swain's happiness is rendered
complete. With great gusto Ramsay paints this episode,
as well as with consummate fidelity to nature, —a fact
becoming increasingly apparent when one notes the
marked difference between the love - scene wherein
;