'Till butter'd so'nsd wi' fragrant lunt,•
Set a' their gabs a-steerin' ;
Syneh wi' a social glass o' strunt,'
They parted aff careerin'

Fu' blythe that night.

SCOTCH DRINK.

Gie him strong drink until he wink,
That's sinking in despair;
An' liquor guid to fire his bluid,
That's prest wi' grief an' care;
There let him bouse an' deep carouse,
Wi' bumpers flowing o'er,

Till he forgets his loves or debts,
An' minds his griefs no more.

Solomon's Proverbs, xxxi. 6, 7.

LET other poets raise a fracas

'Bout vines, an' wines, an' drunken Bacchus,
An' crabbit names an' stories wrack us,
An' grate our lug,

I sing the juice Scots bear can mak us,
In glass or jug.

O thou, my Muse! guid auld Scotch drink,
Whether thro' wimplin' worms thou jink,
Or, richly brown, ream o'er the brink,
In glorious faem,

Inspire me, till I lisp and wink,

To sing thy name!

Let husky Wheat the haughs adorn;
An' Aits set up their awnie horn,
An' Pease an' Beans, at e'en or morn,
Perfume the plain,

Leeze me on thee, John Barleycorn,

Thou king o' grain!

d Sowens-oatmeal made into a kind of pudding. This is

always the Halloween supper. Mouths. g Stirring.

e Smoke of tobacco.

h Then. i Spirituous liquor.

On thee aft Scotland chows her cood,
In souple scones, the wale' o' food!
Or tumblin' in the boiling flood

Wi' kail an' beef;

But when thou pours thy strong heart's blood, There thou shines chief.

Food fills the wame,m an' keeps us livin';
Tho' life's a gift no worth receivin',
When heavy dragg'd wi' pine an' grievin' ;"
But, oil'd by thee,

The wheels o' life gae down hill, scrievin',
Wi' rattlin' glee.

Thou clears the head o' doitedp Lear;9
Thou cheers the heart o' drooping Care;
Thou strings the nerves o' Labour sair,
At's weary toil;

Thou even brightens dark Despair
Wi' gloomy smile.

Aft clad in massy siller weed,r
Wi' gentles thou erects thy head;
Yet humbly kind in time o' need,
The poor man's wine,3
His wee drap parritch, or his bread,
Thou kitchenst fine.

Thou art the life o' public haunts;
But" thee, what were our fairs and rants?

k Flexible bread; i. e. Bannocks made of barley meal, &c. which when baked are so flexible as to admit of being easily rolled together. The choice. n Grieving.

m The belly.

p Stupified, fatigued with study.

o Swiftly. 9 Learning, knowledge. r Silver dress; alluding to the silver cups and tankards used at the tables of the gentry.

s Ale is here intended, a small portion of which is frequently mixed with the porridge of the poorer sort of people.

1 Gives a relish to.

"Without.

Ev'n godly meetings o' the saunts,
By thee inspir'd,

When gaping they besiege the tents,
Are doubly fir'd.

That merry night we get the corn in,
O sweetly then thou reamsw the horn in!
Or reeking on a New-year mornin'
In cog or bicker,

An' just a wee drap sp'ritual burn in,
An' gusty sucker !a

When Vulcan gies his bellows breath,
An' ploughmen gather wi' their graith",
O rare to see thee fizz an' freathd
I' th' lugget caup!e

Then Burnewinf comes on like death
At ev'ry chaup.5

Nae mercy then for airn1 or steel;
The brawnie, bainie, ploughman chiel,
Brings hard owrehip, wi' sturdy wheel,
The strong fore-hammer,k
Till block an' studiel ring an' reel
Wi' dinsome clamour.

When skirlin' weaniesm see the light,
Thou maks the gossips clatter" bright,
How fumblin' cuifs their dearies slight;
Wae worth the name;
Nae howdiep gets a social night,
Or plack frae them.

When neebors anger at a plea,

An' just as wud¶ as wud can be,

w Foams.

x A wooden cup or dish.

y A small quantity of spirits burnt in a spoon, and put into the z Tasteful.

ale.

b Tackle, geer.

e A cup with a handle.

g Stroke. h Iron.

a Sugar.

c To make a hissing noise. d Froth. f Burn-the-wind-the blacksmith. i Bony. k The smith's large hammer.

7 Anvil. m Crying children. n Tell id.e stories.

• Ninnies.

p A midwife.

9 Mad.

How easy can the barley breer
Cement the quarrel!

It's aye the cheapest lawyer's fee,
To taste the barrel.

Alake! that e'er my Muse has reason
To wytes her countrymen wi' treason!
But monie daily weet their weasont
Wi' liquors nice,

An' hardly, in a winter's season
E'er spieru her price.

Wae worth that brandy, burning trash!
Fell source o' monie a pain an' brash!"
Twinsx monie a poor, doylty, drunken hash.”
O' half his days;

An' sends, beside, auld Scotland's cash
To her warst faes.

Ye Scots wha wish auld Scotland well,
Ye chief, to you my tale I tell,
Poor placklessa devils like mysel!

It sets you

ill,

Wi' bitter dearthfu' wines to mell,b

Or foreign gill.

May gravels round his blether wrench,
An' gouts torment him inch by inch,
Wha twists his gruntlec wi' a glunchd
Ŏ' sour disdain,

Out-owre a glass o' whisky punch
Wi' honest men.

O Whisky! soul o' plays an' pranks!
Accept a Bardie's humble thanks!

When wanting thee, what tuneless cranks
Are my poor verses!

Thou comes!—they rattle i' their ranks
At ither's a-s!

Thee, Ferintosh e O sadly lost!
Scotland, lament frae coast to coast!
Now colic grips, an' barkin' hoast,
May kill us a';

For loyal Forbes' charter'd boasts
Is ta'en awa!

Thae curst horse-leeches o' th' excise,
Wha mak the whisky stells their prize!
Haud up thy hand, Deil! ance, twice, thrice!
There, seize the blinkers !h
An' bake them up in brunstane pies
For poor d-n'd drinkers.

Fortune! if thou'll but gie me still
Hale breeks, a scone, an' whisky gill,
An' rowthm o' rhyme to rave at will,
Tak a' the rest,

An' deal't about as thy blind skill
Directs thee best.

THE AUTHOR'S EARNEST CRY AND
PRAYER"

To the Scotch Representatives in the House of Commons.
Dearest of distillation! last and best-

How art thou lost!

Parody on Milton.

YE Irish Lords, ye Knights an' Squires,
Wha represent our brughs an' shires,

e A very superior kind of whisky made in a district of the Highlands called by that name. f Coughing.

g Lord Forbes of Ferintosh, in the county of Cromarty, formerly held by charter a right for all his tenantry to distil whisky without paying any duty to the king.

h A term of contempt.

Acake; kind of bread.

i Brimstone.

k Whole breeches, m Plenty.

11 This was written before the act anent the Scotch distilleries, of Session 1786; for which Scotland and the Author return their most grateful thanks.