The poem
O saw ye bonnie Lesley As she gaed o'er the Border? She's gane, like Alexander, To spread her conquests farther.
To see her is to love her, And love but her for ever; For Nature made her what she is, And ne'er made sic anither!
Thou art a queen, fair Lesley, Thy subjects we, before thee; Thou art divine, fair Lesley, The hearts o' men adore thee.
The Deil he could'na scaith thee, Or aught that wad belang thee; He'd look into thy bonnie face, And say "I canna wrang thee!"
The Powers aboon will tent thee; Misfortune sha'na steer thee; Thou'rt like themsel' sae lovely That ill they'll ne'er let near thee.
Return again, fair Lesley, Return to Caledonie! That we may brag we hae a lass There's nane again sae bonnie!
Interesting that the name Lesley(ie) is used in Scotland for girls and for boys, with spellings ...ey and ...ie respectively.
The ie spelling originates with the village in Fife now forming the 'old' part of Glenrothes. The ey version originates to my knowledge with the poem, but is very inconsistently used, especially in US/Canada where Leslie for the girls' name is common. The poem clearly needs more publicity.