The ill-thiefd blaw the Heron* south! He'd tak my letter; I lippen'de to the chiel in trouth, And bade f nae better. But aiblins, honest Master Heron And holy study; And tired o' sauls to waste his lear on, But what d'ye think, my trusty fier,i Ye'll now disdain me! And then my fifty pounds a year Will little gain me. Ye glaiket,j gleesome dainty damies, That strang necessity supreme is ’Mang sons o men. I hae a wife and twa wee laddies; They maun hae brose and brats1 o' duddies: m * Robert Heron, author of a History of Scotland, and of a Life of Burns "He ventur'd the soul, and I risk'd the body."-Jolly Beggars. Ye ken yoursels my heart right proud is- But I'll sned besoms," thraw saugh woodies," Lord help me thro' this warld o' care! I'm weary sick o't late and air! Not but I hae a richer share Than mony ithers; But why should ae man better fare, And a' men brithers? Come, Firm Resolve, take thou the van, And let us mind, faint heart ne'er wan Wha does the utmost that he can, Will whyles 9 do mair. But to conclude my silly rhyme (I'm scant o' verse and scant o' time), To make a happy fireside clime To weans and wife, That's the true pathos and sublime Of human life. My compliments to sister Beckie, And eke the same to honest Lucky; I wat she is a daintie chuckie," As e'er tread clay; And gratefully, my gude auld cockie, I'm yours for ay. ROBERT BURNS. [Dr Blacklock had addressed a versified epistle to Burns from Edin burgh on 24th August of this year, which the poet had replied to, " cut broom besoms. " sometimes. weave willow-baskets. Pmale-hemp which bears seed. matronly hen. entrusting the conveyance of his letter to a private hand, Mr Robert Heron, a young licentiate of the Church, who proved a faithless messenger. This fact is referred to in the second and third stanzas of the text. The Rev. Thomas Blacklock, D.D., was born in Annan, in 1721, of poor parents who came originally from England. When about six months old, he lost his eyesight through small-pox. His father dying when the son was nineteen years old, Dr Stevenson of Edinburgh, who admired his early genius, brought him to that city, where he was educated for the Church at the University. He published a small volume of poetry so early as 1746, and in 1754 was brought into further public notice by Prof. Joseph Spence of Oxford, who published a memoir of him, and some fresh specimens of his poetry. He is styled "the Rev. Mr Blacklock" in a volume containing several of his poems, produced in 1760; and in 1766 the degree of D.D. was conferred on him. A situation within the University was provided for him, and the remainder of his life was spent in circumstances of comfort. Dr Johnson sought him out when he visited Edinburgh in 1773, and "looked on him with reverence." The same Robert Heron who is censured by Burns in the text, speaks of Dr Blacklock, as an "angel upon earth," and Lockhart in his life of our poet finely remarks that although "the writings of Blacklock are forgotten, the memory of his virtues will not pass away till mankind shall have ceased to sympathise with the misfortunes of genius, and to appreciate the poetry of Burns." Blacklock showed his filial piety by erecting in St Michael's Churchyard, Dumfries, a tombstone to the memory of his father, there buried. He was crushed to death in 1740, by the fall of a malt-kiln, and the tablet bears a poetical inscription which is included in Dr Blacklock's works. This friend and correspondent of Burns died on 7th July 1791, and was buried in the ground attached to the old chapel-of-ease in Buccleuch Street, Edinburgh.] ADDRESS TO THE TOOTHACHE. (CURRIE, 1800.) My curse upon your venom'd stang, When fevers burn, or agues freeze us," But thee-thou hell o' a' diseases- Adown my beard the slavers trickle, * 3 I throw the wee stools o'er the mickle, 6 а While round the fire the giglets a keckle,b To see me loup, An', raving mad, I wish a heckle 8 Were in their doup! In a' the numerous human dools,c The tricks o' knaves, or fash f o' fools, Where'er that place be priests ca' hell, 9 An rankèt plagues their numbers tell, Thou, TOOTHACHE, surely bear'st the bell, O thou grim, mischief-making chiel, * Cunningham, followed by Chambers, has "kick" instead of "throw." Till daft mankind aft dance a reel In gore, a shoe-thick, Gie a' the faes o' SCOTLAND's weal A towmond's toothache! [The date of this poem has hitherto been very widely mistaken. A letter of the poet, addressed to Mr Creech, enclosing a lately composed song and some epigrams, incidentally mentions that the author was then suffering from an attack of toothache; and his editors, Cunningham, Chambers, &c., have accordingly jumped to the conclusion that the letter to Creech and the present poem were written about the same date. The letter referred to is, in the original, dated simply "May 30th," neither address nor year being given. Cromek, however, who first published it, supplies "Ellisland, 1789," on conjecture merely. We have been favoured with an inspection of the original manuscript, now in the hands of Mr Creech's representatives, and find that the song transcribed in the letter was composed for George Thomson in November, 1794; consequently the proper date of the communication is "Dumfries, 30th May, 1795." What, then, is the date of the poem ? We have just ascertained, but unfortunately too late to record this "Address to the Toothache" in its proper place in these volumes, that it was composed prior to the publication of the author's Edinburgh edition of April, 1787. Colonel Campbell of Blythswood having intimated to our publisher that he possesses a copy of the Kilmarnock edition (1786), with certain pieces inscribed in Burns's handwriting on its fly-leaves, we were lately favoured with an inspection of the rare volume. It is in the most perfect condition; and although there is no presentation inscription on it, we conclude that it must have been presented by the bard to one of his distinguished patrons, because he has copied into it an early version of his farewell song, "The gloomy night is gathering fast," the variations in which exactly correspond with the Stair MS. (see note, p. 19). On the other fly-leaves he has inscribed the poem which forms the text, and the handwriting quite corresponds with that of the farewell song; hence we must conclude that this is a production of the same period. It is not at all likely that he would have so copied the "Farewell" after its publication in the Edinburgh edition, where it is given in a much improved form. The following are the variations shewn by comparing this with the version supplied by Dr Currie : |