The Last Wooin
"O lat me in, my bonny lass!It's a lang road ower the hill,And the flauchterin snaw begud to fa'On the brig ayont the mill!"
"Here's nae change-hoose, John Munro!""I'll ken that to my costGien ye gar me tak the hill the nicht,Wi' snaw o' the back o' frost!
But tell me, lass, what's my offence.""Weel ken ye! At the fairYe lichtlied me! Ay, twasna ance!--Ye needna come nae mair!"
"I lichtlied ye?"--"Ay, ower the glass!""Foul-fa' the ill-faured mou'At made the leein word to passBy rowin 't i' the true!
The trouth is this: I dochtna bideTo hear yer bonnie nameWhaur lawless mous war openit wideWi' ill-tongued scoff and blame;
And what I said was: 'Hoot, lat sit!She's but a bairn, the lass!'It turnt the spait o' words a bit,And loot yer fair name pass."
"Thank ye for naething, John Munro!My name it needna hide;It's no a drucken sough wud garMe turn my heid aside!"
"O Elsie, lassie, be yersel!The snaw-stour's driftin thrang!O tak me in, the win' 's sae snell,And in an hour I'll gang."
"I downa pay ye guid for ill,Ye heedna fause and true!Gang back to Katie at the mill--She loos sic like as you!"
He turnt his fit; she heardna mair.The lift was like to fa';And Elsie's hert grew grit and sairAt sicht o' the drivin snaw.
She laid her doon, but no to sleep,Her verra hert was cauld;And the sheets war like a frozen heapO' drift aboot her faul'd.
She rase fu' air; the warl lay fairAnd still in its windin-sheet;At door-cheek, or at winnock-lug,Was never a mark o' feet!
She crap for days aboot the hoose,Dull-futtit and hert-sair,Aye keekin oot like a hungert moose--But Johnnie was na there!
Lang or the spring begoud to thowThe waesome, sick-faced snaw,Her hert was saft a' throu and throu,Her pride had ta'en a fa'.
And whan the wreaths war halflins gane,And the sun was blinkin bonnie,Oot ower the hill she wud gang her laneTo speir aboot her Johnnie.
Half ower, she cam intil a lairO' snaw and slush and weet:The Lord hae mercy! what's that there?It was Johnnie at her feet.
Aneth the snaw his heid was smorit,But his breist was maistly bare,And twixt his richt ban' and his hertLay a lock o' gouden hair.
The warm win' blew, the blackcock flew,The lerrick muntit the skies;The burnie ran, and a baein began,But Johnnie wudna rise.
The sun was clear, the lift was blue,The winter was awa;Up cam the green gerse plentifu,The better for the snaw;
And warm it happit Johnnie's graveWhaur the ae lock gouden lay;But on Elsie's hingin heid the laveWas afore the barley gray.
Words in this poem 21
- bonny a.
- Handsome; beautiful; pretty; attractively lively and graceful. [OE. boni, prob. fr. F. bon, fem. bonne, good, fr. L. bonus good. See Bounty, and cf. Bonus, Boon.]
- lass n.
- A youth woman; a girl; a sweetheart. [OE. lasse; prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W. llodes girl, fem. of llawd lad. (Lad a youth.]
- offence n.
- The act of offending in any sense; esp., a crime or a sin, an affront or an injury. [F., fr. L. offensa. See Offend.]
- weel
- A kind of trap or snare for fish, made of twigs. Carew. [Prov. E. weel, weal, a wicker basket to catch eels; prob. akin to willow, and so called as made of willow twigs.]
- bide v. i.
- To dwell; to inhabit; to abide; to stay. [OE. biden, AS. bidan; akin to OHG. bitan, Goth. beidan, Icel. bi; perh. orig., to wait with trust, and akin to bid. See Bid, v. t., and cf. Abide.]
- loot n.
- The act of plundering. [Hind. l, Skr. l, l, booty, lup to break, spoil; prob. akin to E. rob.]
- thank n.
- A expression of gratitude; an acknowledgment expressive of a sense of favor or kindness received; obligation, claim, or desert, or gratitude; -- now generally used in the plural. [AS. Þanc, Þonc, thanks, favor, thought; akin to OS. thank favor, pleasure, thanks, D. & G. dank thanks, Icel. Þ\'94kk, Dan. tak, Sw. tack, Goth. Þagks thanks; -]
- sough n.
- A small drain; an adit. W. M. Buchanan. [Etymol. uncertain.]
- lassie n.
- A young girl; a lass.
- snell a.
- Active; brisk; nimble; quick; sharp. [Archaic or Prov. Eng. & Scot.] [AS. snell; akin to D. snel, G. schnell, OHG. snel, Icel. snjallr valiant.]
- loos n.
- Praise; fame; reputation. [OE. los, fr. OF. los, laus.]
- rase v. t.
- To rub along the surface of; to graze. [F. raser, LL. rasare to scrape often, v. freq. fr. L. radere, rasum, to scrape, shave; cf. Skr. rad to scratch, gnaw, L. rodere to gnaw. Cf. Raze, Razee, Razor,]
- crap n.
- In the game of craps, a first throw of the dice in which the total is two, three, or twelve, in which case the caster loses.
- gane v. i.
- To yawn; to gape. [See Yawn.]
- speir v. i.
- To ask. See Spere.
- lair n.
- A place in which to lie or rest; especially, the bed or couch of a wild beast. [OE. leir, AS. leger; akin to D. leger, G. lager couch, lair, OHG. laga, Goth. ligrs, and to E. lie. See Lie to be prostrate, and cf. Layer, Leaguer.]
- weet v. i.
- To know; to wit. Tyndale. [See Wit to know.]
- blackcock n.
- The male of the European black grouse (Tetrao tetrix, Linn.); - - so called by sportsmen. The female is called gray hen. See Heath grouse.
- burnie n.
- A small brook. Burns. [See 4th Burn.]
- lave v. t.
- To lade, dip, or pour out. [OE. laven. See Lavish.]
- afore prep.
- Before (in all its senses).
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Last Wooin is in the public domain. This text is taken from The poetical works of George MacDonald in two volumes — Volume 2, Project Gutenberg ebook #9984; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: George MacDonald, The Last Wooin, in A Microcosm in Terza Rima, and Other Poems (1893), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9984, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/macdonald-poems/the-last-wooin.html, id L22543.
Form and metre
The Last Wooin is 80 lines in 20 stanzas of 4 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABAB, in 9 of the 20 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
See other poems in common measure.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 -A-A lass · hillA · fa · millA
- 2 -A-A munro · costA · nicht · frostA
- 3 -A-A offence · fairA · ance · mairA
- 4 ABAB glassA · mouB · passA · trueB
- 5 ABAB bideA · nameB · wideA · blameB
- 6 ABAB sitA · lassB · bitA · passB
- 7 -A-A munro · hideA · gar · asideA
- 8 -A-A yersel · thrangA · snell · gangA
- 9 ABAB illA · trueB · millA · youB
- 10 A-A- mairA · fa · sairA · snaw
- 11 ABAB sleepA · cauldB · heapA · faul'dB
- 12 -A-A fair · sheetA · lug · feetA
- 13 ABAB hooseA · sairB · mooseA · thereB
- 15 ABAB ganeA · bonnieB · laneA · johnnieB
- 16 ABAB lairA · weetB · thereA · feetB
- 17 -A-A smorit · bareA · hert · hairA
- 18 -A-A flew · skiesA · began · riseA
- 19 A-A- blueA · awa · plentifuA · snaw
- 20 ABAB graveA · layB · laveA · grayB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| "O lat me in, my bonny lass! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| It's a lang road ower the hill, | 8 | ········ |
| And the flauchterin snaw begud to fa' | 10 | ·········· |
| On the brig ayont the mill!" | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| "Here's nae change-hoose, John Munro!" | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| "I'll ken that to my cost | 6 | ······ |
| Gien ye gar me tak the hill the nicht, | 9 | ········· |
| Wi' snaw o' the back o' frost! | 7 | ······· |
| But tell me, lass, what's my offence." | 8 | ······˘/ |
| "Weel ken ye! At the fair | 6 | ······ |
| Ye lichtlied me! Ay, twasna ance!-- | 7 | ······· |
| Ye needna come nae mair!" | 6 | ······ |
| "I lichtlied ye?"--"Ay, ower the glass!" | 8 | ········ |
| "Foul-fa' the ill-faured mou | 6 | ······ |
| 'At made the leein word to pass | 7 | ······· |
| By rowin 't i' the true! | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| The trouth is this: I dochtna bide | 8 | ········ |
| To hear yer bonnie name | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Whaur lawless mous war openit wide | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Wi' ill-tongued scoff and blame; | 6 | ······ |
| And what I said was: 'Hoot, lat sit! | 8 | ········ |
| She's but a bairn, the lass!' | 6 | ······ |
| It turnt the spait o' words a bit, | 8 | ········ |
| And loot yer fair name pass." | 6 | ······ |
| "Thank ye for naething, John Munro! | 8 | ······˘/ |
| My name it needna hide; | 6 | ······ |
| It's no a drucken sough wud gar | 8 | ········ |
| Me turn my heid aside!" | 6 | ····˘/ |
| "O Elsie, lassie, be yersel! | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| The snaw-stour's driftin thrang! | 6 | ······ |
| O tak me in, the win' 's sae snell, | 9 | ········· |
| And in an hour I'll gang." | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| "I downa pay ye guid for ill, | 8 | ········ |
| Ye heedna fause and true! | 6 | ······ |
| Gang back to Katie at the mill-- | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| She loos sic like as you!" | 6 | ······ |
| He turnt his fit; she heardna mair. | 8 | ········ |
| The lift was like to fa'; | 6 | ······ |
| And Elsie's hert grew grit and sair | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| At sicht o' the drivin snaw. | 7 | ······· |
| She laid her doon, but no to sleep, | 8 | ········ |
| Her verra hert was cauld; | 6 | ······ |
| And the sheets war like a frozen heap | 9 | ······/˘· |
| O' drift aboot her faul'd. | 6 | ······ |
| She rase fu' air; the warl lay fair | 8 | ········ |
| And still in its windin-sheet; | 7 | ······· |
| At door-cheek, or at winnock-lug, | 8 | ········ |
| Was never a mark o' feet! | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| She crap for days aboot the hoose, | 8 | ········ |
| Dull-futtit and hert-sair, | 6 | ······ |
| Aye keekin oot like a hungert moose-- | 9 | ········· |
| But Johnnie was na there! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Lang or the spring begoud to thow | 8 | ········ |
| The waesome, sick-faced snaw, | 6 | ······ |
| Her hert was saft a' throu and throu, | 8 | ········ |
| Her pride had ta'en a fa'. | 6 | ······ |
| And whan the wreaths war halflins gane, | 8 | ········ |
| And the sun was blinkin bonnie, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Oot ower the hill she wud gang her lane | 10 | ·········· |
| To speir aboot her Johnnie. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Half ower, she cam intil a lair | 9 | ········· |
| O' snaw and slush and weet: | 6 | ······ |
| The Lord hae mercy! what's that there? | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| It was Johnnie at her feet. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Aneth the snaw his heid was smorit, | 9 | ········· |
| But his breist was maistly bare, | 7 | ······· |
| And twixt his richt ban' and his hert | 8 | ········ |
| Lay a lock o' gouden hair. | 7 | ······· |
| The warm win' blew, the blackcock flew, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The lerrick muntit the skies; | 7 | ······· |
| The burnie ran, and a baein began, | 9 | ·/˘····˘/ |
| But Johnnie wudna rise. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The sun was clear, the lift was blue, | 8 | ········ |
| The winter was awa; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Up cam the green gerse plentifu, | 8 | ········ |
| The better for the snaw; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And warm it happit Johnnie's grave | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Whaur the ae lock gouden lay; | 7 | ······· |
| But on Elsie's hingin heid the lave | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Was afore the barley gray. | 7 | ·˘/·/˘· |
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