RAMBLE NEAR GLASGOW.

Otago Witness, Issue 2817, 4 March 1908, Page 82

RAMBLE NEAR GLASGOW.

A MEDLEY.

[Some years ago a successful pastoralisfc of Wai ganm had a trip to Scotland, the land of his nativity. Meeting many of his olcJ mates m Glasgow, they held a dinner at which frozen lamb was -the principal dish. That day was founded the Wanganui Ramf Club, and annually there has been «• dinner, at which the lamb from the Wanganui gentleman has been partaken of in Glasgow. The club also makes periodical rambles around Glasgow and to places of note. (The writer has in hi? possession a. photograph of the club at Hamilton Palace.) The club cosist3 of some literary men. one of whom h'v* celebrated a day's outing In rhyme.] A PLEASANT DAY WITH NEW ZEALAND FRIENDS. "Otakeo a-nd Taranaki And Wellington. I'll gladly tek' ye To scenes on which the memory dwells— The rugged steeps o Canrpsie Fells." September's sun was rising high, And fleecy clouds bedecked the sky; A tempering wind straucht frae the west Found a' oor tempers o' the best. And fuVo' spirits (keep it dark, Some '^bottled" kind frae Possilpark), We left auld Glesca— ne'er deride it— To pass some pleasant hours ootside it. The names o' a' I'll set them doon: Four L.'s, twa C 's. and three ca.'d Brooru And ere three miles we had traversed In history we were a* immersed. For Bishopbriggs nine centuries since Was Bi&hop's Riggs. and mair than anc» Gied Glasgow's priory sustenance. And in the north the sky line telle We're nearing bonme Campsie Fells; But ere we reach them, let us stand— - Historic scenes are at our hand. If we pulsate wi' Scottish blood, It rites like a "spring-tide flood," For right across these fertile plains Trace of the Roman Wall remains. Here the poor Scot, ill-armed, proud tno* rude, The deadliest onslaughts of the- "Eagle 1 * stood ; And though attacked by nations after Borneo Unconquered still's our glorious Scottish home. Now to the Torrance. where the Sabbath bella Send their sweet cadence to the lisfnintr fells; And ambling on past wooded glade and height Through Milton, till the hills burst on our sight, We come to Lennoxtown. and in its "Arms." "Wash out" the world's "dust" and it»alarms. Yes, it is true, even in a place like this A Lennox inn's a perfect oasis. Refreshed and happy, hear the driver lauchin' ; His stamping horses fidgin' for the clachan.. So off we go. our pulses all athrill, Crow road to right, to left the Lennox Hill, Until the clachan's reached and Glazert'a singing "Purls" in our ears to memory ever clinging. Into the gleu, where shimmering sun endl shade, Where ferns and rowans clothe the peaceful glade ; The waterfalls, with cool, refreshing splash. Churn themselves whit© as o'er the rocks they dash Small tho' they are. O do not hurt theii 1 pride ; They go to swell the waters of the Clyde. Farewell! sweet bosky glen, bird, hush, and bracken ; We stretch oor shanks, the road we must) be takin'. Tho "Warden Head" is speeled and notice ta'en 0' whaur the fishers at the "Creelman'B Stane" Used to lie dobn. the sky their thatch, And dream m glory o' the morning's "catch "| And now Crow read is reached; a wee bit' spell Brings us soon up to Jamie Wright's wee well. Weel done ' dear Jamie ; would that I could! Slllß Your praise for the sweet and cooling spring; From pnuce and pedlar's mouth you've been the talk— We thank you for the waiei from the rock. But. Jaime, were ye there and were ye heedin' When someone brought his "spirits" into Eden, When each ar.e took a "drap" (sac it is tauld)] Because the water was sac awful cauld! We pau=e again; our steps we must retrace:', We view once moie the glories of the place.. Far dooii the bracken-covered hill We hear the splashin' of the rill ; Aloft we hear the curlew's cry, The lark's sweat carol in the sky. Farewell, ye hills! Farewell, ye streams! Our dreams of thee are pleasant dretams: We sing thy praise with feeble pen, And fain would see thee once again ; But back to Lennox we must hie; And now we leave thee with a sigh! Back to thy arms, sweet Lennoxtown. Some tea, and then we're homeward boun'. Strathblane is reached, our legs are stretched (Ne'er fash wi' what the waitei fetched). Then turning south wi' spirits high, We made for classic Auld Mulgay; Past Mugdock., where Loch Katrine's beads Are "bottled up" for Glasgow's needs. Anither hour o' pleasure rare. And then we whisper "Haine ance mair.' Now. just before our muse gets jaded, And all these pleasant scenes have faded, Let's sing a sung, we here a' met, And let that sang be "Scotland yet." The Korean never cuts his hair or, beard. To do so is considered a mark of dishonour to hie parente, whom he> strongly re\erences. Any hairs that mayhappen to come out, and even the paringa of his fijigor-nails, are carefully saved andf put into the coffin with him, in order that lie may go back to mother earth intact.