LINES TO SIR JOHN WHITEFORD

LINES TO SIR JOHN WHITEFORD1
Sent with a Copy of "The Lament"

THOU, who thy honor as thy God rever'st,

Who, save thy mind's reproach, nought earthly

fear'st,

To thee this votive offering I impart,

The tearful tribute of a broken heart.

The Friend thou valued'st, I, the Patron lov'd; His worth, his honor, all the world approved: We'll mourn till we too go as he has gone,

And tread the shadowy path to that dark world unknown.

1 The "Whiteford Arms" was named after the Whiteford family who owned the beautiful estate of Ballochmyle on the Ayr, about a mile from Mauchline. On a tablet on the roof in front of the chimney is the following inscription:

"This is the house tho' built anew,

Where Burns cam

weary from the Pleugh

To hae a crack wi' Johnny Doo,

On nights at e'en and whiles taste, too,

Wi' Bonie Jean his mountain dew.

The Bachelors' Club of Mauchline, of which Burns was leader, held its meetings in the "Whiteford Arms." Debating was usually a part of the programme.

EPITAPH ON JOHN DOVE, INNKEEPER1

HERE lies Johnie Pigeon.

What was his religion

Whaever desires to ken,

To some other warl'
Maun follow the carl,

For here Johnie Pigeon had nane!

1 John Dove was mine host at "Whiteford Arms."

THE LASS O' BALLOCHMYLE

THE LASS O' BALLOCHMYLE

'Twas even; the dewy fields were green,
On every blade the pearls hang;
The zephyr wantoned round the bean,
And hove its fragrant sweets alang;
In ev'ry glen the mavis sang,

All nature list'ning seemed the while, Except where greenwood echoes rang, Amang the braes o' Ballochmyle.

With careless step I onward strayed,
My heart rejoiced in Nature's joy.
When musing in a lonely glade

A maiden fair I chanced to spy;
Her look was like the morning's eyes
Her air like Nature's vernal smile;
Perfection whispered, passing by,
"Behold the lass o' Ballochmyle."

Fair is the morn in flowering May, And sweet is night in Autumn wild; When roving through the garden gay, Or wandering in the lonely wild.

But woman, Nature's charming child!

There all her charms she does compile;
Even there her other works are foiled
By the bonie lass o' Ballochmyle.

O, had she been a country maid,
And I the happy country swain,
Though sheltered in the lowest shed
That ever rose on Scotland's plain!
Through weary Winter's wind and rain
With joy, with rapture, I would toil;
And nightly to my bosom strain
The bonie lass o' Ballochmyle.

Then pride might climb the slippery steep
Where fame and honors lofty shine;
And thirst of gold might tempt the deep,
Or downward seek the Indian mine;

Give me the cot below the pine,

To tend the flocks or till the soil;

And ev'ry day have joys divine

With the bonie lass o' Ballochmyle.

Note: While walking on the banks of the Ayr River one beautiful evening Burns saw Miss Alexander, the sister of the owner of the Ballochmyle estate. Though he saw her but a moment, as she crossed his path she made a deep impression on him. He sent her a copy of the poem and asked her permission to publish it. She did not reply to his letter; but she afterwards showed it with pride. It is now in the Mossgiel Museum.

FAREWELL TO BALLOCHMYLE

FAREWELL TO BALLOCHMYLE1

THE Catrine woods were yellow seen,
The flowers decay'd on Catrine lee,
Nae lav'rock sang on hillock green,
But nature sicken'd on the e'e.
Thro' faded groves Maria sang,

Hersel in beauty's bloom the while;
And ay the wild-wood echoes rang,
Fareweel the braes o' Ballochmyle.

Low in your wintry beds, ye flowers,
Again ye'll flourish fresh and fair;
Ve birdies dumb, in with'ring bowers,
Again ye'll charm the vocal air.
But here, alas! for me nae mair

Shall birdie charm, or floweret smile;

Fareweel the bonie banks of Ayr,

Fareweel, fareweel! sweet Ballochmyle!

1 The Maria referred to in this poem was Miss Maria Whiteford, daughter of Sir John Whiteford, the owner of Ballochmyle, when Burns first went to Mossgiel Farm.

Catrine woods and lee belonged to Dugald Stuart, a professor in Edinburgh University, a great friend of Burns.

Burns often sat in the Ballochmyle woods on a seat still named after him, formed by the twisted over-ground roots of a large tree.