II.

Oft have I met your social band,

And spent the cheerful, festive night; Oft, honor'd with supreme command, Presided o'er the sons of light:

And by that hieroglyphic bright,

Which none but craftsmen ever saw! Strong mem'ry on my heart shall write Those happy scenes when far awa’.

III.

May freedom, harmony, and love
Unite you in the grand design,
Beneath th' omniscient eye above,
The glorious Architect divine!
That you may keep th' unerring line,
Still rising by the plummet's law,

Till order bright completely shine,
Shall be my pray'r when far awa'.

IV.

And you

farewell! whose merits claim,

Justly, that highest badge to wear! Heav'n bless your honor'd, noble name,

To masonry and Scotia dear!
A last request permit me here,

When yearly ye assemble a',
One round-I ask it with a tear,
To him, the Bard that's far awa'.

The Poet, it is said, recited or rather chanted this "Farewell" in the St. James's Lodge of Tarbolton, when his chest was on the way to Greenock, and he had measured the last song he expected to measure in Caledonia. The concluding verse affected his friends greatly. The voice of Burns was low, strong, and musical; when in the church, he usually joined in the bass, and good singers observed that he was ever in harmony. This song was first printed in the Kilmarnock edition :-several of the gentlemen who heard the Poet chant it, are still living in the west of Scotland.

The mason lodge was a favourite haunt of Burns; and he alludes to the mysteries of the institution, and the socialities of the brethren, on various occasions. Thus, in the "Address to the Deil :"

"When masons' mystic word an' grip,

In storms an' tempests raise ye up,

Some cock or cat your rage maun stop,
Or, strange to tell!

The youngest brother ye wad whup

Aff straught to hell."

And also in Tam Samson's Elegy

"The brethren o' the mystic level
May hing their head in wofu' bevel,
While by their nose the tears will revel,
Like ony bead;

Death 's gi'en their lodge an unco devel

Tam Samson's dead!"

ON CESSNOCK BANKS.

Tune-If he be a Butcher neat und trim.

I.

ON Cessnock banks there lives a lass, Could I describe her shape and mien ; The graces of her weelfar'd face,

And the glancin' of her sparklin' een!

II.

She's fresher than the morning dawn When rising Phoebus first is seen, When dew-drops twinkle o'er the lawn; An' she's twa glancin' sparklin' een.

III.

She's stately like yon youthful ash,
That grows the cowslip braes between,
And shoots its head above each bush;

An' she's twa glancin' sparklin' een.

IV.

She's spotless as the flow'ring thorn,

With flow'rs so white and leaves so green, When purest in the dewy morn ;

An' she's twa glancin' sparklin' een.

V.

Her looks are like the sportive lamb,
When flow'ry May adorns the scene,
That wantons round its bleating dam;
An' she 's twa glancin' sparklin' een.

VI.

Her hair is like the curling mist
That shades the mountain-side at e'en,
When flow'r-reviving rains are past;
An' she's twa glancin' sparklin' een.

VII.

Her forehead's like the show'ry bow,
When shining sunbeams intervene,
And gild the distant mountain's brow;
An' she's twa glancin' sparklin' een.

VIII.

Her voice is like the ev'ning thrush
That sings in Cessnock banks unseen,

While his mate sits nestling in the bush;
An' she's twa glancin' sparklin' een.

IX.

Her lips are like the cherries ripe

That sunny walls from Boreas screen-
They tempt the taste and charm the sight;
An' she's twa glancin' sparklin' een.

X.

Her teeth are like a flock of sheep,
With fleeces newly washen clean,
That slowly mount the rising steep;
An' she's twa glancin' sparklin' een.

XI.

Her breath is like the fragrant breeze
That gently stirs the blossom'd bean,
When Phoebus sinks beneath the seas;
An' she 's twa glancin' sparklin' een.

XII.

But it's not her air, her form, her face,
Tho' matching beauty's fabled queen,
But the mind that shines in ev'ry grace,
An' chiefly in her sparklin' een.

The lass of Cessnock banks inspired a song of similes. The Poet had read his bible, for he likened her looks to