'Till butter'd so'nsd wi' fragrant lunt,• Fu' blythe that night. SCOTCH DRINK. Gie him strong drink until he wink, Till he forgets his loves or debts, Solomon's Proverbs, xxxi. 6, 7. LET other poets raise a fracas 'Bout vines, an' wines, an' drunken Bacchus, I sing the juice Scots bear can mak us, O thou, my Muse! guid auld Scotch drink, Inspire me, till I lisp and wink, To sing thy name! Let husky Wheat the haughs adorn; Leeze me on thee, John Barleycorn, Thou king o' grain! d Sowens-oatmeal made into a kind of pudding. This is always the Halloween supper. Mouths. g Stirring. e Smoke of tobacco. h Then. i Spirituous liquor. On thee aft Scotland chows her cood, Wi' kail an' beef; But when thou pours thy strong heart's blood, There thou shines chief. Food fills the wame,m an' keeps us livin'; The wheels o' life gae down hill, scrievin', Thou clears the head o' doitedp Lear;9 Thou even brightens dark Despair Aft clad in massy siller weed,r Thou art the life o' public haunts; k Flexible bread; i. e. Bannocks made of barley meal, &c. which when baked are so flexible as to admit of being easily rolled together. The choice. n Grieving. m The belly. p Stupified, fatigued with study. o Swiftly. 9 Learning, knowledge. r Silver dress; alluding to the silver cups and tankards used at the tables of the gentry. s Ale is here intended, a small portion of which is frequently mixed with the porridge of the poorer sort of people. 1 Gives a relish to. "Without. Ev'n godly meetings o' the saunts, When gaping they besiege the tents, That merry night we get the corn in, An' just a wee drap sp'ritual burn in, When Vulcan gies his bellows breath, Then Burnewinf comes on like death Nae mercy then for airn1 or steel; When skirlin' weaniesm see the light, When neebors anger at a plea, An' just as wud¶ as wud can be, w Foams. x A wooden cup or dish. y A small quantity of spirits burnt in a spoon, and put into the z Tasteful. ale. b Tackle, geer. e A cup with a handle. g Stroke. h Iron. a Sugar. c To make a hissing noise. d Froth. f Burn-the-wind-the blacksmith. i Bony. k The smith's large hammer. 7 Anvil. m Crying children. n Tell id.e stories. • Ninnies. p A midwife. 9 Mad. How easy can the barley breer It's aye the cheapest lawyer's fee, Alake! that e'er my Muse has reason An' hardly, in a winter's season Wae worth that brandy, burning trash! An' sends, beside, auld Scotland's cash Ye Scots wha wish auld Scotland well, It sets you ill, Wi' bitter dearthfu' wines to mell,b Or foreign gill. May gravels round his blether wrench, Out-owre a glass o' whisky punch O Whisky! soul o' plays an' pranks! When wanting thee, what tuneless cranks Thou comes!—they rattle i' their ranks Thee, Ferintosh e O sadly lost! For loyal Forbes' charter'd boasts Thae curst horse-leeches o' th' excise, Fortune! if thou'll but gie me still An' deal't about as thy blind skill THE AUTHOR'S EARNEST CRY AND To the Scotch Representatives in the House of Commons. How art thou lost! Parody on Milton. YE Irish Lords, ye Knights an' Squires, e A very superior kind of whisky made in a district of the Highlands called by that name. f Coughing. g Lord Forbes of Ferintosh, in the county of Cromarty, formerly held by charter a right for all his tenantry to distil whisky without paying any duty to the king. h A term of contempt. Acake; kind of bread. i Brimstone. k Whole breeches, m Plenty. 11 This was written before the act anent the Scotch distilleries, of Session 1786; for which Scotland and the Author return their most grateful thanks. |