ON AN INNKEEPER NAMED BACON, WHO INTRUDED HIMSELF INTO ALL COMPANIES.
AT Brownhill we always get dainty good cheer,
And plenty of bacon each day in the year;
We've all things that's nice, and mostly in season,
But why always Bacon- come, give me a reason?
WHOM THE AUTHOR FEARED HE HAD OFFENDED.
RUSTICITY'S ungainly form
May cloud the highest mind;
But when the heart is nobly warm,
The good excuse will find.
Propriety's cold cautious rules
Warm fervour may o'erlook ;
But spare poor sensibility
The ungentle, harsh rebuke.
'PRAISE Woman still,' his lordship roars;
'Deserved or not, no matter!'
But thee, whom all my soul adores,
Even Flattery cannot flatter.
Maria, all my thought and dream,
Inspires my vocal shell;
The more I praise my lovely theme,
The more the truth I tell.
How, Liberty! girl, can it be by thee named?
And Equality too! hussey, art not ashamed?
Free and Equal, indeed? while mankind thou enchainest,
And over their hearts a proud despot thou reignest!
FROM a white-blossom'd sloe my dear Chloris requested
A sprig her fair breast to adorn ;
No, by heavens! I exclaimed, let me perish if ever
I plant in that bosom a thorn!
TO MR. MACKENZIE, SURGEON, MAUCHLINE.
FRIDAY first's the day appointed
By the Right Worshipful anointed,
To hold our grand procession;
To get a blad o' Johnie's morals,
And taste a swatch o' Manson's barrels
I' the way of our profession.
The Master and the Brotherhood
Would a' be glad to see you;
For me I would be mair than proud
To share the mercies wi' you.
If Death, then, wi' skaith, then,
Some mortal heart is hechtin',
Inform him, and storm him,
That Saturday you'll fecht him.
ROBERT BURNS.
Mossgiel, An. M. 5790.
DEAR I'll gie ye some advice
You'll tak it no uncivil:
You shouldna paint at angels mair.
But try and paint the devil.
To paint an angel's kittle wark,
Wi' auld Nick there's less danger;
You'll easy draw a weel-kent face,
But no sae weel a stranger.
LINES WRITTEN ON A TUMBLER.
YOU'RE welcome, Willie Stewart;
You're welcome, Willie Stewart;
There's ne'er a flower that blooms in May,
That's half sae welcome 's thou art.
Come, bumpers high, express your joy,
The bowl we maun renew it;
The tappit-hen, gae bring her ben,
To welcome Willie Stewart.
May foes be strang, and friends be slack.
İlk action may he rue it;
May woman on him turn her back,
That wrangs thee, Willie Stewart !
OF THE HIGH SCHOOL, EDINBURGH.
HONEST Will to heaven is gane,
And mony shall lament him;
His faults they a' in Latin lay,
In English nane e'er kent them.
INSCRIBED ON A TAVERN WINDOW.
THOU Greybeard, old Wisdom, mayst boast of thy treasures;
Give me with young Folly to live:
I grant thee thy calm-blooded, time-settled pleasures ;
But Folly has raptures to give.
WRITTEN EXTEMPORE IN A LADY'S POCKET-BOOK.
MISS KENNEDY, SISTER-IN-LAW OF GAVIN HAMILTON.]
GRANT me, indulgent Heav'n, that I may live
To see the miscreants feel the pains they give;
Deal Freedom's sacred treasures free as air,
Till slave and despot be but things which were.
No cold approach, no altered mien;
Just what would make suspicion start;
No pause the dire extremes between,
He made me blest, and broke my heart.
How gracefully Maria leads the dance!
She's life itself. I never saw a foot
So nimble and so elegant; it speaks,
And the sweet whispering poetry it makes
Shames the musician.
Adriano, or The First of June.
THANKSGIVING FOR VICTORY.
YE hypocrites! are these your pranks?
To murder men, and give God thanks?
Desist for shame! proceed no further!
God won't accept your thanks for murther!
YOURS this moment I unseal,
And, faith! I am gay and hearty!
To tell the truth an' shame the Deil,
I am as fu' as Bartie:
But Foorsday, Sir, my promise leal,
Expect me o' your party,
If on a beastie I can speel,
Or hurl in a cartie.
TO ALEX. CUNNINGHAM, WRITER.
My godlike friend-nay! do not stare;
You think the phrase is odd-like!
But God is love the Saints declare,
Then surely thou art God-like!
And is thy ardour still the same?
And kindled still at Auna?
Others may boast a partial flame,
But thou art a volcano !
Ev'n Wedlock asks not love beyond
Death's tie-dissolving portal!
But thou, omnipotently fond,
Mayst promise love immortal.
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