But how it comes I never kenn'd yet,
They're maistly wonderfu' contented;
And buirdly chiels, and clever hizzies,
Are bred in sic a way as this is.

CÆSAR.

But then to see how ye 're negleckit,
How huff'd, and cuff'd, and disrespeckit!
L-d, man, our gentry care but little
For delvers, ditchers, and sic cattle;
They gang as saucy by poor folk,
As I wad by a stinking brock.

I've notic'd, on our laird's court-day,
And monie a time my heart's been wae,
Poor tenant bodies, scant o' cash,
How they maun thole" a factor's snash:
He'll stamp an' threaten, curse an' swear,
He'll apprehend them, poind their gear;
While they maun stan', wi' aspect humble,
An' hear it a', an' fear an' tremble!

I see how folk live that hae riches;
But surely poor folk maun be wretches?

LUATH.

They're nae sae wretched 's ane wad think;
Tho' constantly on poortith's brink :
They're sae accustom'd wi' the sight,
The view o't gies them little fright.

Then chance an' fortune are sae guided,
They're ay in less or mair provided;
An' tho' fatigu'd wi' close employment,
A blink o' rest's a sweet enjoyment.
The dearest comfort o' their lives,
Their grushiez weansa an' faithfu' wives;
The prattling things are just their pride,
That sweetens a' their fire-side.

r Stout-made young men.
A badger.

Hussies, young women. 10 Abuse.

x To seize for rent. z Of thriving growth.

u Suffer, endure.

y Poverty.

a Children,

An' whyles twalpennie-worth o' nappie
Can make the bodies uncoc happy;
They lay aside their private cares,
To mind the kirk and state affairs;
They'll talk o' patronage and priests,
Wi' kindling fury in their breasts,
Or tell what new taxation 's comin',
An' ferlied at the folk in Lon'on.

As bleak-fac'd Hallowmas returns,
They get the jovial, rantin' kirns,e
When rural life o' every station,
Unite in common recreation:

Love blinks, wit slaps, and social mirth,
Forgets there 's care upo' the earth.
That merry day the year begins,
They bar the door on frosty winds;
The nappie reeks wi' mantling ream,g
And sheds a heart-inspiring steam;
The luntin'h pipe, and sneeshin' mill,'
Are handed round wi' right guid will;
The cantiek auld folks cracking crouse,
The young anes ranting thro' the house-
My heart has been sae fainm to see them,
That I for joy hae barkit" wi' them.

Still it's owre true that ye hae said,
Sic
game is now owre aften play'd.
There's monie a creditable stock
O' decent, honest, fawsontP folk,
Are riven out baith root and branch,
Some rascal's pridefu' greed to quench,
Wha thinks to knit himsel the faster
In favour wi' some gentle master,
Wha, aiblins, thrang a-parliamentin',
For Britain's guids his saul indentin 't

b Ale.

c Very.

g To foam, or froth. Cheerful.

e The harvest supper. i Snuff-box.

d Wonder.
h Smoking.
Conversing merrily.
& Over
r Perhaps.

n Shouted, hallooed.
q Avarice, selfishness.

m Glad, happy. p Respectable. s Good

Making a bargain, or selling his vote for seven years.

CESAR.

Haith," lad, ye little ken about it;
For Britain's guid! guid faith I doubt it:
Say rather, gaun" as Premiers lead him,
An' saying aye or no 's they bid him:
At operas an' plays parading,
Mortgaging, gambling, masquerading;
Or maybe, in a frolic daft,

To Hague or Calais takes a waft,
To make a tour, and tak a whirl,
To learn bon ton, an' see the worl'.
There at Vienna or Versailles,
He rives his father's auld entails;
Or by Madrid he takes the rout,
To thrum guitars, an' fecht wi' nowt;
Or down Italian vista startles,
Wh-re-hunting among groves o' myrtles:
Then bouses drumlyb German water,
To mak himsel look fair and fatter,
An' clear the consequential sorrows,
Love-gifts of carnival signoras.

For Britain's guid! for her destruction!
Wi' dissipation, feud, an' faction.

LUATH.

Heche man! dear sirs! is that the gated

They waste sae monie a brawe estate!

Are we sae foughtenf an' harass'd

For gear to gang that gate at last!

O, would they stay aback frae courts,

An' please themselves wi' countrag sports,
It wad for ev'ry ane be better,

The laird, the tenant, an' the cotter!h

For thael frank, rantin', ramblin' billies,
Fient haet' o' them 's ill-hearted fellows:
Except for breakin' o' their timmer,m
Or speakin' lightly o' their limmer,"
Or shootin' o' a hare or moor-cock,
The ne'er a bit they 're ill to poor folk.
But will you tell me, master Cæsar,
Sure great folk's life 's a life o' pleasure?
Nae cauld or hunger e'er can steer them,
The very thought o't need na fear them.

CESAR.

L-d, man, were ye but whyles whare I am, The gentles ye wad ne'er envy 'em.

It's true they need na starve or sweat,
Thro' winter's cauld, or simmer's heat;
They 've nae sair wark to craze their banes,
An' fill auld age wi' gripes an' granes:
But human bodies are sic fools,
For a' their colleges and schools,
That when nae real ills perplex them,
They make enow themsels to vex them;
An' ay the less they hae to sturtP them,
In like proportion less will hurt them.
A country fellow at the pleugh,
His acre's till'd, he 's right eneugh;
A country-girl at her wheel,
Her dizzen 's done, she 's unco weel:
But gentlemen, an' ladies warst,

Wi' ev'ndown want o' wark are curst⚫

They loiter, lounging, lank, an' lazy;
Tho' deil haets ails them, yet uneasy;
Their days insipid, dull, an' tasteless;
Their nights unquiet, lang, an' restless:
An' e'en their sports, their balls, an' races,
Their galloping thro' public places;

A Young men.

A petty oath of negation, n A strumpet, or kept mistress. o Sometimes. q A dozen. r Very happy.

To trouble or molest.

The deuce of any th

There's sic parade, sic pomp an' arı,
The joy can scarcely reach the heart.
The men cast out in party matches,
Then souther" a' in deep debauches;
Aew night they 're mad wi' drink an' wh-ring,
Niest day their life is past enduring.
The ladies arm-in-arm in clusters,
As great and gracious a' as sisters;
But hear their absent thoughts o' ither,
They 're a' run deils an' jades thegither.
Whyles o'er the wee bit cup an' platie,
They sip the scandal potion pretty:
Or lee-langa nights, wi' crabbit leuks
Pore owre the devil's pictur'd beuks;b
Stake on a chance a farmer's stack-yard,
An' cheat like onie unhang'd blackguard.
There's some exception, man an' woman;
But this is gentry's life in common.

By this, the sun was out o' sight,
An' darker gloaminge brought the night;
The bum-clockd humm'd wi' lazy drone;
The kyee stood routin' i' the loan:f
When up they gat, and shook their lugs,
Rejoic'd they were na men but dogs;
An' each took aff his several way,
Resolv'd to meet some ither day.

TAM O' SHANTER.

A TALE.

Of Brownyis and of Bogilis full is this Buke.

Gawin Douglas.

WHEN chapman billiesh leave the street,
And drouthy neebors neebors meet,

y Right-down devils. z Cup and saucer.

# Such.

u Solder, cement.

b Playing cards.

w One.

x Next.

a Live-long.

c Twilight.

& Ears.

d A humming beetle that flies in the summer evenings. f Lowing in the place of milking.

& Cows.

h Hawkers, or pedlars.