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On the banks of the Anniek beneath Osliebrae,
Wbaur the auM water lade skirts
the tail o* the brae;
Here stood a Lint Mill that made claith
o' that name—
The spot is still marked by a
wee cairn o' static—
There they made claith that
bleached white as the snaw,
Hut like rural industries, it faded a\va'.
An auld brig stood by it, a guid Uoiuan airch,
Whaur time and the elements for its weak pairts did sairch ;
At last they succeeded, a [x>rlion did fa',
And, like the Lint Mill, the airch is awa'.
"1'is noo substituted by concrete and steel;
'Tis lackin' in beauty, though servin' as \vccl.
In this lonely seclusion no highway is near.
In the lung simmer day 'lis surrounded by cheer;
The hame o' the skylark and wild Nature's choir,
A' lovers o' Nature this 5]>ot would admire;
Tae watch the bit troot mak' rings in the stream,
Whaur the Swincey and Annick unite in their dream.
In the- woodlands near by the rabbits hap oot,
The tishcrs are busy there wilin1 the troot;
Tile hares skelp awa' ower Hie uneven grun,
An' flee for their life at the soond o' a gun;
The kye in the meadows, they peacefully gra/,e,
An' the lambs baud their sports on the brcist o' the braes.
The white clouds float ower this spot in daylicht, The stars, sparklin'
diamonds,
shine on it at nicht; Tlio' the scenes o' the valley the ages may
change.
The overhead elements are ever the same;
Yet still in the folks that leeve in the glen,
Tlic auld Caledonian still lingers in them.
Lang may the track o' the wee lade remain,
And the road ower the brig, tho' it's no noo the same,
Remain there tac tell o' the things o' the past,
That time and commerce ha'e destroyed \vi' their blast.
lieneath the auld vva's may the hens shelter still,
Whaur yince stood a busy and yisfu' Lint Will.
The Lindsays and Gillieses ha'e necbors been lang; Lang may they be us their
life-given span; And in their bit gairdens and rose-covered bowers, Mujoy lang
the sicht o' the God-given flowers; Lang may their friendship like flower
colours blend, Lang may they leeve in the auld Lint Mill Olen.
Composed by WILLIAM WATT,
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