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Wad haud the Lothians three in tackets,
A towmont guid;

An' parritch-pats, and auld saut-backets,
Before the flood.

Of Eve's first fire he has a cinder;
And Tubal-Cain's fire-shool and fender;
That which distinguished the gender
O' Balaam's ass;

A broom-stick o' the Witch of Endor,
Weel shod wi' brass.

Forbye, he'll shape you aff, fu' gleg,
The cut of Adam's philioeg;*

The knife that nicket Abel's craigy

He'll prove you fully,

It was a faulding jocteleg,"

Or long-kail gullie."

But wad ye see him in his glee,
(For meikle glee and fun has he,)
Then set him down, and twa or three

Guid fellows wi' him;

And port, O port! shine thou a wee,
And then ye 'll see him!

Now, by the pow'rs o' verse and prose!
Thou art a dainty chield, O Grose!
Whae'er o thee shall ill suppose,

They sair misca' thee;

I'd take the rascal by the nose,

Wad

say, Shame fa' thee!

Small nails.

Would furnish tacks enough to supply the three counties of Lothian for a twelvemonth.

Besides.

t Porridge-pots.

w Quite readily.

The short petticoat, part of the Highlanc dress.
2 A foiding, or clasp knife.
Fellow.

y Throat

A large knife used for cutting kail.

VERSES WRITTEN AT SELKIRK.
AULD chuckie Reekied 's sair distrest,
Down droops her ance weel burnisht crest,
Nae joy her bonnie buskite nest

Can yield ava,

Her darling bird that she lo'es best,
Willie's awa!

O Willie was a witty wight,g

And had o' things an uncoh slight;
Auld Reekie ay he keepit tight,

And trig an' braw:1

But now they'll buskk her like a fright,
Willie 's awa!

The stiffest o' them a' he bow'd,
The bauldest o' them a he cow'd ;
They durst nae mair than he allow'd,
That was a law:

We've lost a birkiem weel worth gowd
Willie 's awa!

Now gawkies, tawpies, gowks and fools,"
Frae colleges, and boarding schools,
May sprout like simmer puddock-stools,
In glen or shaw ;P

He who could brush them down to mools,
Willie 's awa!

The brethren o' the Commerce-chaumer
May mourn their loss wi' dooifu' clamour;
He was a dictionar and grammar

Amang them a';

I fear they'll now mak mony a stammer,
Willie 's awa!

c To William Creech, Esq. Edinburgh, author of 'Fugitive

Pieces,' &c. and the Poet's worthy publisher.

e Dressed. fAt all. g A superior genius.

i Spruce and tine. k Dress. Frightened.
n Foolish, thoughtless young persons.
p A small wood in a hollow.

d Edinburgh,

h Very great.

m Clever fellow.

• Mushrooms.

was secretary.

7 Dust.

r The Chamber of Commerce of Edinburgh, of which Mr. C.

Nae mair we see his levee door
Philosophers and poets pour,
And toothy critics by the core,

In bloody raw!

The adjutant o' a' the score,

Willie 's awa!

Now worthy Gregory's Latin face,
Tytler's and Greenfield's modest grace;
M'Kenzie, Stuart, such a brace,

As Rome ne'er saw;

They a' maunt meet some ither place,
Willie 's awa!

Poor Burns-e'en Scotch drink canna quicken,
He cheeps" like some bewilder'd chicken,
Scar'd frae its minniew and the cleckenx
By hoodie-craw ;y

Grief's gien his heart an unco kickin',
Willie 's awa!

Now ev'ry sour-mou'd, girnin'a blellum,b
And Calvin's focke are fit to fell him;
And self-conceited critic skellumd

His quill may draw;

He wha could brawliee ward their bellum,
Willie 's awa!

Up wimpling, stately Tweed I 've sped,
And Eden scenes on chrystal Jed,
And Etrick banks now roaring red,
While tempests blaw;

But ev'ry joy and pleasure 's fled,
Willie 's awa!

May I be slander's common speech;

A text for infamy to preach;

Many literary gentlemen were accustomed to meet at Mr C's house at breakfast.

w Mother. x Brood. y The pewit-gull. z Given.

a Grinning.

t Must.

u Chirps.

b A talking fellow.

c People.
f Their ill nature.

g Meandering.

d A worthless fellow. e Finely.

And, lastly, streekith out to bleach
In winter snaw;

When I forget thee! Willie Creech,
Tho' far awa!

May never wicked fortune touzle him!
May never wicked men bamboozle him!
Until a powi as auldk 's Methusalem!
He canty claw!!

Then to the blessed, new Jerusalem,
Fleet wing awa!

LIBERTY.-A FRAGMENT.

THEE, Caledonia, thy wild heaths among-
Thee fam'd for martial deed and sacred song-
To thee I turn with swimming eyes;
Where is that soul of freedom fled!
Immingled with the mighty dead!

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Beneath that hallow'd turf where Wallace lies! Hear it not, Wallace, in thy bed of death! Ye babbling winds in silence sweep; Disturb not ye the hero's sleep, Nor give the coward secret breathIs this the power in freedom's war That wont to bid the battle rage? Behold that eye which shot immortal hate, Crushing the despot's proudest bearing, That arm which, nerved with thundering fate, Braved usurpation's boldest daring!

One quench'd in darkness like the sinking star, And one the palsied arm of tottering, powerless age.

THE VOWELS.-A TALE.

'Twas where the birch and sounding thong are The noisy domicile of pedant pride; [plied, Where Ignorance her darkening vapour throws, And cruelty directs the thickening blows;

A Stretched.

i Hed.

k Old. 7 Cheerfully scratch,

Upon a time, Sir Abece the great,
In all his pedagogic powers elate,

His awful chair of state resolves to mount,
And call the trembling vowels to account.

First enter'd A, a grave, broad, solemn wight, But, ah! deform'd, dishonest to the sight! His twisted head look'd backward on his way, And flagrant from the scourge, he grunted, ai! Reluctant, E stalk'd in; with piteous grace The justling tears ran down his honest face! That name, that well-worn name, and all his own, Pale he surrenders at the tyrant's throne! The pedant stifles keen the Roman sound Not all his mongrel diphthongs can compound; And next the title following close behind, He to the nameless, ghastly wretch assign'd. The cobweb'd gothic dome resounded Y! In sullen vengeance, I, disdain'd reply: The pedant swung his felon cudgel round, And knock'd the groaning vowel to the ground! In rueful apprehension enter'd O, The wailing minstrel of despairing woe; Th' Inquisitor of Spain the most expert, Might there have learnt new mysteries of his art. So grim, deform'd, with horrors entering U, His dearest friend and brother scarcely knew! As trembling U stood staring all aghast, The pedant in his left hand clutch'd him fast, In helpless infant's tears he dipp'd his right, Baptiz'd him eu, and kick'd him from his sight.

FRAGMENT,

Inscribed to the Right Hon. C. J. Fox.

How wisdom and folly meet, mix, and unite; How virtue and vice blend their black and their

white;

How genius, the illustrious father of fiction,

Confounds rule and law, reconciles contradiction-

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