We'll light a spunk, and every skin, Like oil some day. ADDRESS TO THE UNCO GUID, My son, these maxims make a rule, The cleanest corn that e'er was dightf Solomon.-Eccles. vii. 17. O YE wha are sae guid yoursel, Ye 've nought to do but mark and tell The heapet happer's ebbing still, Hear me, ye venerable core, I, for their thoughtless, careless sakes, Their failings and mischances. Ye see your state wi' theirs compar'd, And shudder at the niffer, But cast a moment's fair regard, What maks the mighty differ? w A fire. z Run. Always together. + Cleaned from chaff. Grains of chaff. § Merrin ent. e Well-going. d Heaped hopper. e Clapper of a mill. f Sober. g Thoughtless. h Unlucky. i Exchange. That purity ye pride in, And (what 's aft mair then a' the lavek) Think, when your castigated pulse Wi' wind and tide fair i' your tail, O, would they stay to calculate Ye high, exalted, virtuous dames, A dear lov'd lad, convenience snug, Ye're aiblins" nae temptation. Then gently scan your brother man, Tho' they may gang a kennin' wrang; One point must still be greatly dark, All the rest. 1 Both. m Awkward. o A little, a small matter. Perhaps. Who made the heart, 'tis He alone He knows each chord-its various tone What's done we partly may compute, But know not what's resisted. THE TWA HERDS. The Twa Herds' were Mr. Moodie, minister of Riccarton, and Mr. John Russel, then minister of Kilmarnock, and afterwards of Stirling. O A'ye pious godly flocks, Weel fed on pastures orthodox, Wha now will keep ye frae the fox, Or worrying tykes,P Or wha will tent the waifs and crocks, The twa best Herds in a' the wast, Hae had a bitter, black outcast Atween themsel. O M'Kinlay, man; and wordy" Russel, The Lord's cause ne'er gat sic a twistle, O, Sirs! whae'er wad hae expeckit, Your duty ye wad sae negleckit, This is the first of my poetic offspring that saw the light Burns' Letters. p Dogs. -Ewes too old for breeding. u Worthy. Ye wha were ne'er by lairds respeckit, To wear the plaid, But by the brutes themselves eleckit, What flock wi' M'Kinlay's flock could rank, He let them taste, Frae Calvin's well, ay clear they drank- The thummart wil'-cat, brock and tod,b And weel he lik'd to shed their bluid, What herd like Russel tell'd his tale? And saw gine they were sick or hale,d He fine a mangy sheep could scrub, And new-light herds could nicely drub, Could shake them o'er the burnin' dub, Sic twa!-O, do I live to see 't? While new-light herds, wi' laughin' spite, A' ye wha tent the gospel fauld, We trust in thee, -s shaul; That thou wilt work them, hot and cauld, Till they agree. Consider, Sirs, how we 're beset, There's scarce a new herd that we get, I hope frae heav'n to see them yet Dalrymple has been lang our fae, That aft hae made us black and blae, Auld Ww lang has hatch'd mischief, Ane to succeed him, A chiel wha'll soundly buff our beef And monie a ane that I could tell, There's S-h for ane, I doubt he's but a grey-nick quill, An' that ye 'll fin'. O! a' ye flocks, o'er a' the hills, By mosses, meadows, moors and fells, Come join your counsel and your skills, To coweh the lairds, ƒShallow. g Much woe. h Frighten. |