epitaph for james smith

    lament him, mauchline husbands a',

    he aften did assist ye;

    for had ye staid hale weeks awa,

    your wives they ne'er had miss'd ye.

    ye mauchline bairns, as on ye press

    to school in bands thegither,

    o tread ye lightly on his grass,—

    perhaps he was your father!