A wee bit o' Burns

[Penny Tray]

The bonie lasses weel may miss him,
And in their dear petitions place him:
The widows, wives, an’ a’ may bless him
Wi’ tearful e’e,
For weel I wat they’ll sairly miss him
That’s owre the sea!

*ON A SCOTTISH BARD

[Penny Tray]

Hale be your heart, hale be your fiddle!
Lang may your elbuck jink an’ diddle,
To cheer you thro’ the weary widdle
O war’ly cares,
Till bairns’ bairns kindly cuddle
You auld grey hairs!

*SECOND EPISTLE TO DAVIE

[Penny Tray]

Here Souter Hood in death does sleep;
To hell if he’s gane thither,
Satan, gie him thy gear to keep;
He’ll haud it weel thegither.

*EPITAPH ON A CELEBRATED RULING ELDER

[Penny Tray]

Altho’ I say’t, he’s gleg enough,
An’ ‘bout a house that’s rude an’ rough,
The boy might learn to swear;
But then wi’ you he’ll be sae taught,
An’ get sic fair example straught,
I hae na onie fear.
Ye’ll catechise him, every quirk,
An shore him weel wi’ Hell;
An’ gar him follow to the kirk –
Ay when ye gang yoursel!

*TO GAVIN HAMILTON, ESQUIRE, MAUCHLINE – RECOMMENDING A BOY

[michaelm]

* The Wounded Hare


Inhuman man! curse on thy barb'rous art,
And blasted be thy murder-aiming eye;
May never pity soothe thee with a sigh,
Nor ever pleasure glad thy cruel heart!

Go live, poor wand'rer of the wood and field!
The bitter little that of life remains:
No more the thickening brakes and verdant plains
To thee a home, or food, or pastime yield.

Seek, mangled wretch, some place of wonted rest,
No more of rest, but now thy dying bed!
The sheltering rushes whistling o'er thy head,
The cold earth with thy bloody bosom prest.

Perhaps a mother's anguish adds its woe;
The playful pair crowd fondly by thy side;
Ah! helpless nurslings, who will now provide
That life a mother only can bestow!

Oft as by winding Nith, I musing, wait
The sober eve, or hail the cheerful dawn,
I'll miss thee sporting o'er the dewy lawn,
And curse the ruffian's aim, and mourn thy hapless fate.

[Penny Tray]

Morality, thou deadly bane,
Thy tens o’ thousands thou hast slain!
Vain is the hope, whase stay and trust is
In moral mercy, truth, and justice!

*A DEDICATION

[Penny Tray]

Is there a man, whose judgment clear
Can others teach the course to steer,
Yet runs, himself, life’s mad career,
Wild as the wave? –
Here pause – and, thro’ the starting tear,
Survey this grave.

*A BARD’S EPITAPH

[Penny Tray]

Wae worth thy power, thou cursed leaf!
Fell source o’ a’ my woe and grief,
For lack of thee I’ve lost my lass,
For lack of thee I scrimp my glass!
I see the children of affliction
Unaided, through thy curs’d restriction.
I’ve seen the oppressor’s cruel smile
Amid this hapless victims’ spoil;
And for thy potence vainly wish’d,
To crush the villain in the dust.
For lack o’ thee, I leave this much-lov’d shore,
Never, perhaps, to greet old Scotland more.

*LINES WRITTEN ON A BANK-NOTE

[John Donnelly]

A question and a point.
Does this banknote still exist? and he did not do what the last lines said of his intentions.

JD.

[Penny Tray]

JD,

Re your question:

I'm reading a book which says that -"The note is (not was) of the Bank of Scotland for one pound, and dated 1st March, 1780." - inferring that it still exists, but I don't know where.

Re you point:

And, of course, you are correct, he did not leave Scotland for Jamaica as originally planned.

[John Donnelly]

Hi PT.

I'm coming over with Dutch friends in June, and Alloway is on the itinerary.
I'll make enquiries then.

JD.

[Penny Tray]

JD, you'll not then be disappointed - further research lists the currency as a "guinea note" that "may still be seen at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway".