Page:Underwoods, Stevenson, 1887.djvu/155

This page has been validated.
MY CONSCIENCE!
131

A' day wi' various ends in view
The hairsts o' time I had to pu',
An' made a hash wad staw a soo,
Let be a man!—
My conscience! whan my han's were fu',
Whaur were ye than?


An' there were a' the lures o' life,
There pleesure skirlin' on the fife,
There anger, wi' the hotchin' knife
Ground shairp in Hell—
My conscience!—you that's like a wife!—
Whaur was yoursel'?


I ken it fine: just waitin' here,
To gar the evil waur appear,
To clart the guid, confüse the clear,
Mis-ca' the great,
My conscience! an' to raise a steer
Whan a's ower late.