Then wait a wee, and cannie wale cautiously choose A routhie butt, a routhie ben ;* For Johnie o' the Buskie-glen, He lo'es sae weel his craps and kye, For Buskie-glen and a' his gear. O thoughtless lassie, life's a faught; cow-stable fans do not crops COWS glance wot wealth fight easiest way The canniest gate, the strife is sair A hungry care's an unco care: Syne as ye brew, my maiden fair, Keep mind that ye maun drink the yill. O gear will buy me rigs o' land, And gear will buy me sheep and kye; extra then must ale ridges COWS loyal gold silver Light is the burden love lays on; [The poet has here very successfully adorned his favorite sentiments in love-matters, and finely contrasted the generous ardor of the young * A house well provided both in the kitchen and parlor.-J. H. country lass with the prudent, yet affectionate counsels of her experienced adviser. The air, which is a very pleasing one, is found in Thomson's "Orpheus Caledonius," 1725.] BESSY AND HER SPINNIN WHEEL. (JOHNSON'S MUSEUM, 1792.) O LEEZE me on my spinnin-wheel, commend me to covers cosy And leeze me on my rock and reel; distaff wheel On ilka hand the burnies trot, low every thatched birch cool glances cot oaks wood-pigeons linnets heights On lofty aiks the cushats wail, Amuse me at my spinnin-wheel. That clothes me comfortably from top to toe.-J. H. each other's landrail lea cottage Wi' sma' to sell and less to buy, Aboon distress, below envy, O wha wad leave this humble state, For a' the pride of a' the great? Above gaudy noisy [Comfort, contentment, and industry combined, is here the poet's theme; and never was the subject treated with more felicity of expression in descriptive song. The melody, taken from Oswald's fifth book, very happily unites with the words.] FRAGMENTS OF SONG. (JOHNSON'S MUSEUM, 1792.) No cold approach, no altered mien, No pause the dire extremes between, He made me blest-and broke my heart. [These lines were inserted by Burns to complete the closing stanza of a song by Miss Cranstoun, who became the second wife of Professor Dugald Stewart, on 26th July 1790. The title of her song is "The tears I shed must ever fall." The poet has added at the bottom of the MS. (now in the British Museum) "I want this song by all means in the fourth volume. In the last line of each stanza, four syllables are repeated to answer the notes-" He made me blest-he made me blest."] LOVE FOR LOVE. ITHERS seek they ken na what, know not Let love sparkle in her e'e; There the lover's treasure lies. dowry [Burns has inserted these lines of his own to form the middle portion of a song in Ramsay's Tea Table Miscellany, called "Jocky fou and Jenny fain," which Johnson has transplanted into the Museum.] FRAGMENT ON MARIA. How gracefully Maria leads the dance! Adriano, or, The first of June. [This elegant little fragment appears, in the poet's holograph, on the back of a MS. copy of the "Lament of Mary Queen of Scots" that apparently had been presented by the author to a lately acquired friend, Mrs. Maria Riddell of Woodley Park, near Dumfries, wife of Mr. Walter Riddell, a younger brother of Captain Riddell, of Glenriddell. The lines were forwarded by Mr. Douglas to London Notes and Queries, with the view of obtaining information regarding their authorship. The result was a reply announcing that the fragment had been copied by Burns from a poem by Dr. James Hurdis, called "The Village Curate," published in 1789. On 2d Feb. 1790, Burns ordered a copy of this book from Peter Hill. The poet seems to have been introduced to this fascinating lady about the time he came to reside with his family in Dumfries. Her mansion stood about four miles to the south of Dumfries. She was as yet under twenty years of age, although a mother, and having a taste for literature and natural history, she delighted in the society of men of talent. The vivid genius of Burns soon attracted her attention, and he became a frequent visitor at Woodley Park. Her father was William Woodley, Governor and Commander-in-chief of St. Kitts, and of the Leeward Islands. She had formed the acquaintance of Mr. Walter Riddell, and ultimately became his wife in the West Indies, where he possessed an estate; and they appear to have come to reside in Dumfries about the close of 1791. The mansion they selected for their abode was that of Goldielea, the name of which was changed to Woodley Park in compliment to Mrs. Riddell or her family. Mrs. Riddell, being desirous of publishing a work of her own, entitled "Voyages to the Madeira and Leeward Caribee Islands, with sketches of the natural history of these Islands," obtained, in January, 1792, a letter of introduction from Burns to Mr. William Smellie, the printer, of Edinburgh. In that letter the poet thus hit off some of her characteristics: "She has one unlucky failing—a failing which you will easily discover, as she seems rather pleased with indulging in it— and a failing that you will easily pardon, as it is a sin which very much besets yourself-where she dislikes or despises, she is apt to make no more a secret of it than where she esteems and respects."] SAW YE BONIE LESLEY. (GEO. THOMSON'S COLL., 1798.) O SAW ye bonie Lesley, As she gaed o'er the Border? She's gane, like Alexander, To spread her conquests farther. To see her is to love her, And love but her forever; For Nature made her what she is, Thou art a queen, fair Lesley, The hearts o' men adore thee. The deil he could na scaith thee, Or aught that wad belang thee; And say I canna wrang thee!' went harm |
