EPISTLE TO J. LAPRAIK Epistle to J. Lapraik.1 AN OLD SCOTTISH BARD.-APRIL 1, 1785. This freedom, in an unknown frien', On Fasten-e'en we had a rockin,d At length we had a hearty yokin1 There was ae sang, amang the rest, To some sweet wife; It thirl'd the heart-strings thro' the breast,2 I've scarce heard ought describ'd sae weel, They tauld me 'twas an odd kind chiel1 partridges crying. b hare scampering. 1 The song admired by Burns was pilfered by Lapraik from (or contributed by him to) The Weekly Magazine, Oct. 14, 1773 (Chambers). The poem here is Burns's Ars Poetica: possibly his rhymes had been censured by some collegian. Otherwise it is not easy to account for his attack on Greek, a language of which he had no more than • night before Ash Wednesday. I set to. h fellow. Scott, and perhaps less than Shakspeare. Lapraik published his verses in 1788; they are collected by Burnsians. The text is that of the Kilmarnock edition. Some variations in the Common-place Book are noted below. 2 "It touch'd the feelings o' the breast." 8 "The style sae tastie and genteel." 1 EPISTLE TO J. LAPRAIK It pat me fidgin-fain to hear't, That nane excell'd it, few cam near❜t, That, set him to a pint of ale, Or rhymes an' sangs he'd made himsel, 'Tween Inverness an' Teviotdale, He had few matches. Then up I gat, an' swoor an aith, At some dyke-back, A pint an' gill I'd gie them baith, But, first an' foremost, I should tell, Tho' rude an' rough— Yet crooning' to a body's sel's Does weel eneugh. I am nae poet, in a sense; But just a rhymer like by chance, Whene'er my muse does on me glance, EPISTLE TO J. LAPRAIK Your critic-folk may cock their nose, But, by your leaves, my learnèd foes, What's a' your jargon o' your schools- What sairs your grammars? Ye'd better taen up spades and shools, A set o' dull, conceited hashes c1 An' syne they think to climb Parnassus Gie me ae spark o' nature's fire, That's a' the learning I desire; Then tho' I drudge thro' dub an' mire At pleugh or cart, My muse, tho' hamely in attire, May touch the heart. O for a spunk o' Allan's glee, That would be lear eneugh for me, If I could get it. a serves. b stone-breakers' hammers. • blockheads, 1"A set of silly, senseless asses." young bullocks, EPISTLE TO J. LAPRAIK Now, sir, if ye hae friends enow, I'se no insist: But, gif ye want ae friend that's true, I winna blawb about mysel, As ill I like my fauts to tell; But friends, an' folk that wish me well, They sometime roose me; Tho' I maun own, as mony still As far abuse me. There's ae wee faut they whiles lay to me, Maybe some ither thing they gie me, But Mauchline Race or Mauchline Fair, An' hae a swap o' rhymin-ware The four-gill chap, we'se gar1 him clatter, Syne we'll sit down an' tak our whitter, An' faith, we'se be acquainted better Before we part. SECOND EPISTLE TO J. LAPRAIK Awa ye selfish, war'ly race, a Wha think that havins, sense, an' grace, Ev'n love an' friendship should give place I dinna like to see your face, Nor hear your crack. But ye whom social pleasure charms Come to my bowl, come to my arms, But, to conclude my lang epistle, Your friend and servant. Second Epistle to J. Lapraik.1 ⚫ manners, APRIL 21, 1785. WHILE new-ca'd kye rowtd at the stake To own I'm debtor To honest-hearted, auld Lapraik, b money-making. d newly-calved (or driven) kine roar. 1 The date is given, April 21, 1785. Burns harps, as usual, on his lack of envy of the rich. ⚫ fidget with joy. Text also from Kilmarnock edition; the more important variations of the Common-place Book are noticed below. |