Nae hair-brain'd, sentimental traces
In your unletter'd, nameless faces!
In arioso trills and graces

Ye never stray,

But, gravissimo, solemn basses

Ye hum away.

Ye are sae grave, nae doubt ye 're wise;
Nae ferlyh tho' you do despise

The hairum-scairum, ram-stam1 boys,
The rattlin' squad:

I see you upward cast your eyes

Ye ken the road.

Whilst I-but I shall haud me there-
Wi' you I'll scarce gang onie where-
Then Jamie, I shall say nae mair

But quit my sang,

Content wi' you to make a pair,

Whare'er I gang.

TO JOHN LAPRAIK,

An old Scottish Bard.

April, 1785.

WHILE briars an' woodbines budding green,

An' paitricksk scraichin' loud at e'en,
An' morning pousie' whiddin'm seen,

Inspire my Muse,

This freedom in an unknown frien'

I pray excuse.

On Fasten-e'en" we had a rockin',

To ca' the crackP and weave the stockin';

i Thoughtless..

k Partridges. n Fastens-even.

A With contempt. ¿A hare. m Running as a hare does. o This is a term derived from those primitive times, when the country women employed their leisure hours in spinning on the rock or distaff. This instrument being very portable, was well fitted to accompany its owner to a neighbour's house; hence the phrase of going a rocking, or with the rock. The connexion, however, which the phrase had with the implement was forgottea after the rock gave place to the spinning wheel, and men talked of going a-rocking as well as women. It was at one of these rockings, or social parties, that Mr. Lapraik's song was sung. Burns being informed who was the author, wrote his first epistle to Lapraik; and his second in reply to his answer.

p To call upon some one in the company for a song or a story

And there was muckle fun an' jockin',
Ye need na doubt;

At length we had a hearty yokin'
At sang about.

There was ae sang, amang the rest,
Aboon them a' it pleas'd me best,
That some kind husband had addrest
To some sweet wife :

It thirl'd the heart-strings thro' the breast,
A' to the life.

I've scarce heard aught describes sae weel,
What gen'rous, manly bosoms feel:
Thought I, Can this be Pope, or Steele,
Or Beattie's wark "

They tauld me 'twas an odd kind chiel
About Muirkirk.

9 The song here alluded to was written by Mr. Lapiak after sustaining a considerable pecuniary loss. In consequence of some connexion as security for several persons concerned in the failure of the Ayr bank, he was obliged to sell his farm of Dalfram, near Muirkirk. One day, while his wife was fretting over their misfortunes, he composed it with a view to moderate her grief and for tify her resignation. It is as follows:

When I upon thy bosom lean,

And fondly clasp thee a' my ain,

I glory in the sacred ties

That made us ane, wha ance were twain:

A mutual flame inspires us baith,

The tender look, the melting kiss:

Even years shail ne'er destroy our love

But only gic us change o' biiss.

Hae a wish? it's a' for thee;

I ken thy wish is me to please;
Our moments pass sae smooth away,
That numbers on us look and gaze;
Weel pleas'd they see our happy days,
Nor Envy's sel finds aught to blame;
And ay when weary cares arise,

Thy bosom still shall be my hame.
I'll lay me there, and take my rest,
And if that aught disturb my dear,
I'll bid her laugh her cares away,
And beg her not to drap a tear:
Hae I a joy it's a' her ain;

United still her heart and mine;
They're like the woodbine round the tree,
That's twin'd till death shall them disjoin.

A droll, good fellow.

It pat me fidgin'-fain's to hear 't,
And sae about him there I spier't;
Then a' that kent him round declar'd
He had ingine,"

That nane excell'd it, few cam near 't,
It was sae fine.

That, set him to a pint of ale,
An' either douce,w or merry tale,
Or rhymes an' sangs he'd made himsel,
Or witty catches,

'Tween Inverness and Tiviotdale,

He had few matches.

Then up I gat, an' swoor an aith,
Tho' I should pawn my pleugh and graith,
Or die a cadger-pownie's death,

At some dyke-back,

A pint an' gill I'd gie them baith

To hear your crack.

But, first an' foremost, I should tell,
Amaist as soon as I could spell

I to the crambo-jinglea fell,

Tho' rude an' rough,

Yet crooningb to a body's sel,

Does weel enough.

I am nae Poet, in a sense,

But just a Rhymer, like, by chance,
An' hae to learning nae pretence,

Yet, what the matter?

Whene'er my Muse does on me glance, jingle at her.

Your critic-folk may cock their nose,

And say,

How can you e'er propose,

s Very anxious.

u Possessed of wit and genius.

Furniture.

y A carrier's poney.

a Rhyming.

Inquired.

w Serious.

z Conversc. Humming.

You wha ken hardly verse frae prose,
To mak a sang?'

But, by your leaves, my learned foes,
Ye're may be wrang.

What 's a' your jargon o' your schools,
Your Latin names for horns and stools;
If honest Nature made you fools,

What sairs your grammars?
Ye'd better taen up spades and shools,
Or knappin'-hammers.

A set o' dull, conceited hashes,d
Confuse their brains in college classes!
They gang in stirks, and come out asses,
Plain truth to speak;

An' syne they think to climb Parnassus
By dint o' Greek!

Gie me ae spark o' Nature's fire,

That's a' the learning I desire;

Then tho' I drudge thro' dubs and mire,
At pleugh or cart,

My Muse, tho' hamely in attire,

May touch the heart

O for a spunk o' Allan's glee,

Or Fergusson's, the bauld and slee,h
Or bright Lapraik's, my friend to be,
If I can hit it!

That would be leari enough for me,
If I could get it.

Now, Sir, if ye hae friends enow,
Tho' real friends, I b'lieve, are few,
Yet if your catalogue be fu',k

I'se no insist,

But gif ye want a friend that's true,

I'm on your list.

c Serves, what service.

d Stupid fellows, who know neither how to dress, or to behave

with propriety.

g A pond.

e Large calves.

h Sly.

i Learning.

f Then.

* Full.

1 winna blaw' about mysel;

As ill I like my fauts to tell;

But friends, and folk that wish me well, They sometimes roosem me,

Tho' I maun own, as monie still

As sairn abuse me.

There's ae wee faut they whiles lay to me,
I like the lasses-Gude forgie me!

For monie a plackP they wheedle frae me!
At dance or fair;

Maybe some ither thing they gie me,
They weel can spare.

But Mauchline race, or Mauchline fair;
I should be proud to meet you there;
We 'se gie a night's discharge to care,
If we forgather,

An' hae a swap o' rhymin'.

-ware

Wi' ane anither.

The four-gill chap, we'se gars him clatter,
An' kirsent him wi' reeking water;

Syne" we'll sit down an' tak our whitter,
To cheer our heart;

An' faith we'se be acquainted better

Before we part.

There's naething like the honest nappy!
Whaur 'll ye e'er see men sae happy,
Or women sonsie, saft an' sappy.

"Tween morn an' morn,

As them wha like to taste the drappie
In glass or horn?

I've seen me daez'tx upon a time;

I scarce could wink or see a styme;

Will not boast. m Praise me. n Sore.

o One small fault.

p An old Scotch coin, the third part of a Scotch penny.

Meet.

A pot or measure, in which whisky or other

ut to customers at ale-houses.

"Then.

s Make.

w A hearty draught of liquor.

spirits was served

t To christen ≈ Stupid.