How does the one you love feel about you? | A Cabinet for the Curious

Consult ‘The Lady’s Oracle’, a fortune-telling parlor game book from 1855.
Parlor games were often a means of covert flirtation and books like these would have been used in social situations, with the reader choosing a question and asking another person to choose a number from one to fifty in order to determine the answer. The answer corresponded to a bit of poetry and would be read aloud, likely to much amusement from the group.

Are you a Gentleman or a Lady?
What are the sentiments of the one you love towards you?
What are the sentiments of your lady-love towards you?
My ravished fancy, in amaze,
Still wanders o’er thy charms;
Delusive dreams ten thousand ways
Present thee to my arms.
Ramsay.
I am no pilot; yet wert thou as far
As that vast shore washed with the farthest sea,
I would adventure for such merchandise.
Shakespeare.
Get thee to a nunnery!
Shakespeare.
Never yet did mariner
Put up to patron saint such prayers for prosperous
And pleasant breezes as I call upon you.
Byron
There is a fair behaviour in thee.
And though that nature with a beauteous wall
Doth oft close in pollution, yet of thee
I will believe thou hast a mind that suits
With this thy fair and outward character.
Shakespeare.
Though livest in my heart, through distance—time,
Midst fickle friendships and fantastic joys,
Alone a truth:—like Love, which is sublime,
Thy sweet smile elevates, and never cloys.
Barry Cornwall.
Bonnie Mary Hay, I will lo’e thee yet;
For thy eye is the slae, and thy hair is the jet,
The snaw is thy skin, and the rose is thy cheek;
Oh! bonnie Mary Hay, I will lo’e thee yet.
Crawford.
But if fond love thy heart can gain,
I never broke a vow;
Nae maiden lays her skaith to me;
I never loved but you.
Graham.
Oh, sweet grow the lime and the orange,
And the apple on the pine;
But a’ the charms o’ the Indies
Can never equal thine.
Burns.
I’ll have thy beauty scratched with briers
And made more homely than thy state.
Shakespeare.
A little word in kindness spoken,
A motion or a tear,
Has often healed the heart that’s broken,
And made a friend sincere.
Bridell.
Affection is lowly and deep;
All groundless suspicion above,
It knows but to trust or to weep.
Mrs. Ellis.
How divinely sweet
Is the pure joy when kindred spirits meet.
Moore.
Like as the ivy round the elm doth wreathe,
So friendship twines, nor quits its hold till death.
Friend.
As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
Sae deep in love am I;
And I will love thee still, my dear,
Till a’ the seas gang dry.
Burns.
A gaudy dress and gentle air
May slightly touch the heart,
But it’s innocence and modesty
That polishes the dart.
Burns.
O how much more doth beauty beauteous seem
By that sweet ornament which truth doth give;
The rose looks fair, but fairer we it deem
For that sweet odour which doth in it live.
Shakespeare.
There’s nane to me wi’ her can vie,
I’ll love her till I dee,
For she’s sae sweet, and bonnie, aye,
And kind as kind can be.
Cameron.
The tender glance, the reddening cheek,
O’erspread with rising blushes,
A thousand various ways they speak
A thousand various wishes.
Hamilton.
What I most prize in woman
Is her affections, not her intellect !
The intellect is finite, but the affections
Are infinite, and cannot be exhausted.
Compare me with the great men of the earth:
What am I? Why, a pigmy among giants!
But if thou lovest—mark me! I say lovest!
The greatest of thy sex excels thee not!
Longfellow.
Oh, woman, oft misconstrued! the pure pearls
Lie all too deep in thy heart’s secret well,
For the unpausing and impatient hand
To win them forth.
Sigourney.
My soul is ravished with delight
     When you I think upon;
All griefs and sorrows take their flight,
     And hastily are gone:
The fair resemblance of your face
     So fills this breast of mine,
No fate nor force can it displace,
     For old long syne.
Old Song.
Oh, how can beautie master the most strong!
Spenser.
I’ve wandered east, I’ve wandered west,
I’ve borne a weary lot;
But in my wanderings, far or near,
Ye never were forgot.
Motherwell.
May health, life’s greatest blessing,
Beam on thy cheek and brow;
Be thine love’s fond caressing
Wi’ ane whase heart is true.
Charles Gray.
O come to my arms, lassie, charming an’ fair,
Awa’ wild alarms, lassie dear;
This fond heart an’ thine like ivy shall twine,
I’ll lo’e thee, dear, till the day that I dee.
Jaap.
Nocht’s to be gained at woman’s hand,
Unless ye gi’e her a’ the plea;
Then I’ll leave aff where I began,
And tak’ my auld cloak about me.
Ramsay.
But though thy fair and faithless air
Hath wrung the bosom-sigh frae me;
A changing mind and heart unkind
May chill a breast as dear to thee.
Ivan.
Witless hizzie, e’ens ye like,
The ne’er a doit I’m carin’;
But men maun be the first to speak,
An’ wanters maun be speirin’.
A.L.
I prize your smile as husbandman
The summer’s opening bloom;
And, could you frown, I dread it mair
Than he the autumn’s gloom.
Ferguson.
To see thee in anither’s arms,
In love to lie and languish,
‘Twad be my dead, that will be seen,
My heart wad burst wi’ anguish.
Burns.
Ye’re my ain, love, ye’re my ain!
Forms sae fair, I ne’er see mony;
Hearts sae fond, sae true, love, nane!
Ye’re my ain! my dear! my bonny!
Knowles.
Fondly wooing, fondly sueing,
Let me love, nor love in vain;
Fate shall never fond hearts sever,
Hearts still bound by true love’s chain.
Allan.
Lassie, I maun leave you too,
Though I lo’e you best o’ ony;
Ye ha’e wooers mony ane,
Ye winna ken the want o’ Johnny!
Laing.
A boon may I venture to beg frae thee, Heaven?
Amid a’ my care, an’ my toil, an’ my fear,
Be the heart-warmin’ impulse o’ frien’ship me given,
To live in her smile, or be worthy her tear.
Scotch Song.
Go fetch to me a pint o’ wine,
And fill it in a silver tassie;
That I may drink before I go,
A service to my bonnie lassie.
Burns.
For while I gaze my bosom glows,
My blood in tides impetuous flows;
Hope, fear, and joy, alternate roll,
And floods of transport ‘whelm my soul.
Smollett.
There’s nane can tell what’s yet to come,
But round my heart I will entwine
The hope that time will bring the day
When I can ca’ yon lassie mine.
Stede.
When I see you, I love you; when hearing, adore;
I wonder, and think you a woman no more;
Till, mad wi’ admiring, I canna contain,
And, kissing your lips, you turn woman again.
Webster.
A bonnie lass, I will confess,
Is pleasant to the e’e,
But without some better qualities,
She’s no a lass for me.
Burns.
Ah! could you look into my heart,
And watch your image there,
You would own the sunny loveliness
Affection makes it wear.
Mrs. Osgood.
Oh! no, my heart can never be
Again in lightest hopes the same;
The love that lingers there for thee
Hath more of ashes than of flame!
Miss Landon.
Your life is like the living sun,
     That gi’es life to the plain;
Though clouds awhile may dim his smile,
     He’ll brighter beam again.
I wouldna be the cloud that comes
     Atween your love an’ ye;
Your life’s sweet light the light o’ lo’e,
     Lo’e glentin’ frae the e’e.
Bennoch.
Bonnie wee thing, cannie wee thing,
Lovely wee thing, wert thou mine,
I wad wear thee in my bosom,
Lest my jewel I should tine.
Sums.
How sweet to view that face so meek,
That dark expressive eye;
To kiss that lovely blushing cheek,
Those lips of coral dye.
Rodger.
Dear child, how could I wrong thy name?
Thy form so fair and faultless stands,
That could ill tongues abuse thy fame,
Thy beauty would make large amends!
Hamilton.
Thy voice trembles through me
     Like the breeze,
That ruffles, in gladness,
     The leafy trees;
‘Tis a wafted tone
From heaven’s high throne,
Making hearts thine own,
     My Mary dhu.
Moir.
And yet I love thee with a love
That cannot fade or pass away;
And time alone such love can prove,
As orient sunshine proves the day.
Nevay.
Must Robin always Nannie woo?
And Nannie still on Robin frown?
Alas, poor wretch! what shall I do,
If Nannie does not love me soon?
If no relief to me she’ll bring,
I’ll hang me in her apron string.
Hamilton.
I’m jealous o’ what blesses her,
The very breeze that kisses her,
The flowery beds
On which she treads,
Though wae for ane that misses her.
James Hogg.
O whistle, and I’ll come to you, my lad;
O, whistle, and I’ll come to you, my lad;
Tho’ father, and mother, and a’ should gae mad,
O, whistle and I’ll come to you, my lad.
Bruce.
O, Sandy is a braw lad,
An’ Sandy is a fine,
An’ Sandy is a bonnie lad,
An’ best of a’, he’s mine!
Hetherington.
Gae, get you gone, you cauldrife wooer,
Ye sour-looking, cauldrife wooer!
Herd.
I ha’e a wooer o’ my ain,
They ca’ him souple Sandy,
And weel I wat his bonnie mou’
Is sweet like sugar-candy.
Old Scotch Song.
For all the gold and all the gear,
And all the lands, both far and near,
That ever valour lost or won,
I will not wed the Earlie’s son.
Scott.
Amazed was the laird when the lady said, Na,
And wi’ a laigh curtsie she turned awa’.
Miss Ferrier.
I read thy letters sent from far,
And aft I kiss thy name,
And ask my Maker, frae the war
If ever thou’lt come hame, Willie.
Wilson.
Sae licht’s he jumped up the stair,
And tirled at the pin;
And wha sae ready as hersel’
To let the laddie in!
Old Jacobite Song.
For the sake of somebody,
For the sake of somebody,
I could wake a winter nicht,
For the sake of somebody.
Ramsay.
But blythely will I bide
Whate’er may yet betide,
When ane is by my side.
Smibert.
Maggie cuist her head fu’ heich,
Looked asklant, and unco skeigh,
While puir Duncan stood abeigh—
Ha, ha, the wooing o’t.
Burns.
But old Rob Morris I never will ha’e,
His back is so stiff, and his beard is grown gray;
I had rather die than live wi’ him a year;
Sae mair o’ Rob Morris I never will hear.
Ramsay.
The maiden blushed and bing’d fu’ law,
She hadna will to say him na,
But to her daddy she left it a’,
As they twa cou’d agree.
Ramsay.
My minnie does constantly warn me,
And bids me beware o’ young men;
They flatter, she says, to deceive me—
But wha can think sae o’ Tam Glen?
Burns.
Hout awa’! I winna ha’e him!
Na, forsooth, I winna ha’e him!
For a’ his beard new-shaven,
Ne’er a bit o’ me will ha’e him.
Ramsay.
When day, expiring in the west,
The curtain draws o’ Nature’s rest,
I’ll flee to his arms I lo’e best,
And that’s my dainty Davie.
And though ye vowed ye wad be mine,
The tear o’ grief aye dims my e’e,
For, O! I’m feared that I may tyne
The love that ye ha’e promis’d me!
Tannahill.
My father has baith gowd and gear,
     For by a bonnie mailen free:
My mither spins wi’ eident care,
     An’ dochtors they ha’e nane but me.
But what care I for gowd and gear,
     Or what care I for mailens free?
I wadna gi’e a bonnie lad
     For a’ the gowd in Chrisendie.
W. Paul.
O come, my love, the branches link
     Above our bed of blossoms new,
The stars behind their curtains wink,
     To spare thine eyes so soft and blue.
No human eye nor heavenly gem,
     With envious smile, our bliss shall see;
The mountain ash his diadem
     Shall spread to shield the dews from thee.
James Hogg.
O, how can I be blithe and glad,
Or how can I gang brisk and braw,
When the bonnie lad that I lo’e best
Is o’er the hills and far awa’?
Burns.
His words sae sweet gaed to my heart,
And fain I wad ha’e gi’en my ban’.
Hamilton.
Were I young for thee, as I ha’e been,
We should ha’e been gallopin’ down on yon green,
And linkin’ it on yon lilie-white lea;
And wow! gin I were but young for thee!
Home.
He’s on the seas to meet his foe!
Let me wander, let me rove,
Still my heart is with my love;
Nightly dreams and thoughts by day
Are with him that’s far away.
Burns.
My head is like to rend, Willie,
My heart is like to break
I’m wearin’ aff my feet, Willie,
I’m dyin’ for your sake!
Motherwell.
But, gin you really do insist
That I should suffer to be kiss’d,
Gae, get a license frae the priest,
And mak’ me yours before folk.
Rodger.
Ye’ve heard o’ my tocher in gear an’ good brass,
An’ ye ken that ilk pound gi’es a charm to a lass;
But if pounds be my beauties, your love’s unco
chill;
Lad! I’ll awa’ hame to my mither, I will.
Rodger.
I’ve lo’ed thee o’er truly to seek a new dearie,
I’ve lo’ed thee o’er fondly, through life e’er to weary,
I’ve lo’ed thee o’er lang, love, at last to deceive thee:
Look cauldly or kindly, but bid me not leave thee.
Macgregor.
Never wedding, ever wooing,
Still a love-torn heart pursuing;
Read you not the wrongs you’re doing,
In my cheek’s pale hue?
All my life with sorrow strewing,
Wed—or cease to woo.
Campbell.
Love is timid,
     Love is shy,
Can you tell me, tell me why?
Ah! tell me, why true love should be
     Afraid to meet the kindly smile
Of him she loves, from him would flee,
     Yet thinks upon him all the while?
Weir.
Somebody’s words are wonderfu’ words,
     They’re wonderfu’ words to hear;
Somebody’s words can lighten the heart,
     Or fill the e’e wi’ a tear.
They may say’s they like, they may do’s they like,
     An’ somebody I may tine;
But I’ll live’s I am, an’ I’ll die’s I am,
     If somebody mayna be mine.
Gibson.
Young Donald is the blithest lad
That e’er made love to me;
Whene’er he’s by my heart is glad,
He seems so gay and free.
Anon.
Tam I esteem, like him there’s few,
His gait and looks entice me.
Anon.
Thou canst love another jo,
While my heart is breaking:
Soon my weary e’en I’ll close,
Never more to waken, Jamie.
Burns.
Never, Henry, could I leave thee,
Never could this heart deceive thee;
Why then, laddie, me forsake,
And sae wi’ cruel absence grieve me?
Stirrat.
I swear and vow that only thou
Shall ever be my dearie.
Only thou, I swear and vow,
Shall ever be my dearie.
Burns.
She said, If that your heart be true,
If constantly you’ll love me,
I heed not care nor fortune’s frowns,
For naught but death shall move me.
Tytler
O! if we lasses could but gang
And woo the lads we like,
I’d run to thee, my Johnny dear,
Ne’er stop at bog or dyke.
Anon.
O tell na me of wind and rain,
Upbraid na me wi’ cauld disdain!
Gae back the gait ye cam’ again;
I winna let you in, jo.
Anon.
How ardently my bosom glows
Wi’ love to thee, my dearie, O!
My panting heart its passion shows,
Whenever thou art near me, O.
Yool.
But I’m blithe that my heart’s my ain,
And I’ll keep it a’ my life,
Until that I meet wi’ a lad
Who has sense to wed a good wife.
Herd.
Robin is my only jo,
Robin has the art to lo’e,
So to his suit I mean to bow,
Because I ken he lo’es me.
Herd.
A mutual flame inspires us both,
The tender look, the melting kiss:
Even years shall ne’er destroy our love,
But only gi’e us change o’ bliss.
Lapraik.
He shall nae say that time has changed
The passion I ha’e joy’d to feel,
Nor that ae thought has been estranged
Frae ane whom I ha’e lo’ed sae weel.
Van Dyk.
Oh sooner shall the rose of May
Mistake her own sweet nightingale,
And to some meaner minstrel’s lay
Open her bosom’s glowing veil,
Than Love shall ever doubt a tone,
A breath, of the beloved one!
Moore.
How the best charms of nature improve
When we see them reflected from looks that we love!
Moore.
When once the young heart of a maiden is stolen,
The maiden herself will steal after it soon.
Moore.
No! let the eagle change his plume,
The leaf its hue, the flower its bloom;
But ties around this heart once spun,
They cannot, will not, be undone.
Campbell.
And those who once have loved the most,
Too soon forget they loved at all.
Byron.
A slight blush, a soft tremor, a calm kind
     Of gentle feminine delight, and shown
More in the eyelids than the eyes, resigned
     Rather to his what pleases, most unknown,
Are the best tokens to a modest mind
     Of Love, when seated on his loveliest throne,
A sincere woman’s heart.
Byron.
The shaken tree grows faster at the root;
And Love grows firmer for some blasts of doubt.
Carcanet.

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