[A composite volume : containing The ballads and songs of Ayrshire ...

follower of the muse—Mr Andrew Aitken, a native of Beith. He is a
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self-taught genius—never having entered a school door as a scholar. He
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THE AULD FLECKIT COTT.
White sheep, an' milk cows, o' the hest breeds o' Ayrshire,
For muckle she's made out the auld fleckit cow.
AVe'U no part wi' fleckie for some years to come yet,
A' our lang Ufetime that deed sair we'd rue
For she has na a calf to haud fou' the binnin',
And fill up the place o' the auld fleckit cow.
Sae, O, my guid lassie, remember auld fleckie,
An' feed her, an' milk her as lang's she will do,-
We ha'e aye ben weel ser'd, an' she's noo awn us naething,
But we'll ne'er get a match to the auld fleckit cow.
O leese me on milk, it's the food o' the baby,
O' the strong blooming youth, an' the auld bodie too
Our gentles may sip at their tea and their toddy,
But gi'e me the milk o' the auld fleckit cow.
An' O, my kind lassie, the spring time is coming.
An' the grass it will grow, an' we'll hear the cookoo ;
The laverocks will sing, an' we'll a' tread the gowan.
An' drink the rich milk o' our auld hammilt cow.
O, the dames o' the south boast their flocks o' milk camels,
Their bread-bearing trees, and their huts o' bamboo ;
And the wives o' the north ha'e their seals and their reindeer.
But we ha'e oatmeal and the auld fleckit cow.
An' O, my dear Peggy, we're thankfu' for mullock,
Sad care and distrust ne'er shall darken our brow ;
And I wish a' the house-keeping folk in the nation
Could sup the pure milk o' their ain fleckit cow
The foregoing verses are the composition of a worthy but unpretending >
has written a good deal of poetry ; but his works have not been published >
in a collected form. The " Auld Fleckit Cow" appeared in the Ayr Ob- l
server some years ago. The cow was the property of Mrs Harvey of Bal- I
gray. She had been six years farrow at the time, and continued to give >
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