Last speech of the farmer's colly/The farmer's lament

THE FARMER'S LAMENT.

POOR Trusty was the best of dogs,
And ⟨faithful⟩ still was he
But now he's gone and hanged 'tis true
Upon a ⟨fatal tree⟩:

O woful day that him I lost,
And woful will it be.
For all my sheep will wander off,
And stolen will they be.

My curse ⟨attend⟩ them every one,
⟨They'll⟩ have ⟨it⟩ you will see
For I ⟨have lost⟩ my best of dogs,
His ⟨like⟩ I ne er did see.

He kept my ⟨cattle⟩ from the corn,
⟨and⟩ rats would all retire,
How happy I ⟨could⟩ sit end sing,
⟨Before⟩ my pleasing fire.

But now alas! from me he's gone,
They have forced him away,
Which ⟨makes⟩ me grieve and very sad,
Oh! woful was that day,

My ⟨neighbours⟩ all I pray attend,
And listen to what I say,
Your trusty Curs you now must par(illegible text),
Or else for them must pay,

The hare may bound then throʻ the woods,
Or in a cave retire.
For Behu sleeps in ⟨shades⟩ of death,
He on a ⟨tree⟩ expir'd

All thro' the means of knavish tricks;
Play'd by a pamper d crew,
Of Dogs more wicked in their kind,
Than any e'er I knew.

O Lord what will become of me,
⟨And⟩ other Husbandmen,
When they have ⟨taken⟩ our best guard,
And hanged our trusty friend,

Sure we no rest nor peace can have,
For all is darkned o'er,
Since Trust and Watch from us is gone,
We now must loose our store,

O take me to some peaceful shore,
Where that I may enjoy,
A life of Peace and sweet content,
That never e'er will ⟨cloy⟩,

And where my best and trusty friend,
May in my house remain,
Secure from all ⟨such⟩ hellish Dogs,
As cause me to complain.