Shall ever danton me or awe me,

My sweet wee lady,

Or if I blush when thou shalt ca' me
Tit-ta or daddy.

Wee image of my bonnie Betty,
I, fatherly, will kiss an' daut thee,
Ás dear an' near my heart I set thee,
Wi' as gude will,

As a' the priests had seen me get
That's out o' h-ll.

What tho' they ca' me fornicator,
An' tease my name in kintry-clatter:
The mair they tauk I'm kent the better,
E'en let them clash;

An auld wife's tongue's a feckless matter
To gie ane fash.

Sweet fruit o' monie a merry dint,
My funny toil is now a' tint,

Sin' thou came to the warl' asklent,

Which fools may scoff at;
In my last plack thy part's be in 't-
The better half o't.

An' if thou be what I wad hae thee,
An' tak the counsel I shall gie thee,
A lovin' father I'll be to thee,

If thou be spared;

Thro' a' thy childish years I'll e'e thee,
An' think 't weel war'd.

Gude grant that thou may ay inherit
Thy mither's person, grace, an' merit,
An' thy poor worthless daddy's spirit,
Without his failin's!
'Twill please me mair to hear an' see 't
Than stocket mailins.

TO A HAGGIS.1

FAIR fa' your honest, sonsie' face,
Great chieftain o' the puddin'-race!
Aboon' them a' ye tak your place,

Painch, tripe, or thairm:

Weel are ye wordy of a grace

As lang 's my arm.

The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill,
Your pin wad help to mend a mill
In time o' need,

While thro' your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.

His knife see rustic labor dight,?
An' cut you up wi' ready slight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright
Like onie ditch;

And then, O what a glorious sight,

Warm-reeking rich!

Then horn for horns they stretch an' strive:
Deil tak the hindmost! on they drive,
Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve1
Are bent like drums,

Then auld guidman, maist like to rive,"
Bethankit hums.

Is there that o'er his French ragout,
Or olio that wad staw1s a sow,

Or fricassee wad make her spew

Wi' perfect sconner,

14

Looks down wi' sneering, scornfu' view

On sic a dinner?

Poor devil! see him owre his trash,
As feckless" as a wither'd rash,

1 A kind of pudding boiled in the stomach of a cow, or sheep.-2 Enga. ging, pleasing.— Above. — Paunch.- A small gut.- Worthy.-7 Wipe clean.- A spoon made of horn.-9 Bellies.-10 By and by.-11 To split.12 Grace after meat.-13 Surfeit.-14 Loathing.-15 Puny, weak.

His spindle-shank a guid whip-lash,
His nieve' a nit;2

Thro' bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit!

But mark the rustic, haggis-fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread,
Clap in his walies nieve a blade,

He'll mak it whissle;

An' legs, an' arms, an' heads will sned,*
Like taps o' thrissle."

Ye Powers wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o' fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups' in luggies;

But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer,
Gie her a Haggis!

ADDRESS TO THE TOOTHACHE.

My curse upon thy venom'd stang,
That shoots my tortured gums alang;
And thro' my lugs gies monie a twang,
Wi' gnawing vengeance;
Tearing my nerves wi' bitter pang,
Like racking engines.

When fevers burn, or ague freezes,
Rheumatics gnaw, or colic squeezes;
Our neighbor's sympathy may ease us,
Wi' pitying moan;

But thee-thou hell o' a' diseases,
Ay mocks our groan!

Adown my beard the slavers trickle!
I throw the wee stools o'er the mickle,10

1 The fist.-2 Nut.- Large, ample. To lop off.-5 Tops of thistles.Small portions.-7 A jerk of waters, or a thin potion that will jerk or quash like water. 8 A small wooden dish with a handle. - Ears. 1 20 The greater.

As round the fire the giglets' keckle'
To see me loup;

While, raving mad, I wish a heckle
Were in their doup."

O' a' the numerous human dools,"
Ill har'sts, daft bargains, cutty-stools,"
Or worthy friends raked i' the mools,i
Sad sight to see!

10

The tricks o' knaves, or fash" o' fools,
Thou bear'st the gree."

Where'er that place be priests ca' hell,
Whence a' the tones o' misery yell,
And ranked plagues their numbers tell,
In dreadfu' raw,"

13

Thou, Toothache, surely bear'st the bell
Aboon them a'!

O thou grim, mischief-making_chiel',
That gars the notes of discord squeel,
Till daft mankind aft dance a reel

In gore a shoe-thick,

Gie a' the faes o' Scotland's weal

A towmond's16 Toothache!

TO A POSTHUMOUS CHILD,

BORN IN PECULIAR CIRCUMSTANCES OF DISTRESS,

SWEET floweret, pledge o' meikle” love,
And ward o' monie a prayer,
What heart o' stane wad thou na move,
Sae helpless, sweet, and fair!

November hirples o'er the lea,
Chill, on thy lovely form;

Fools.- Laugh.-3 Leap, jump.

A board in which are driven a number of sharp iron pins, used for dressing hemp, flax, &c.

Backside. Sorrows.-7 Bad harvests.-8 Foolish bargains.— Stool of repentance.-10 Laid in the grave.-11 Trouble.-12 The victory.-13 Row. -14 Above. 15 Makes, 16 A twelvemonth.-17 Much. -18 Creeps, 'or limps.

And gane, alas! the shelt'ring tree,
Should shield thee frae the storm.

May He, who gives the rain to pour,
And wings the blast to blaw,
Protect thee frae the driving shower,
The bitter frost and snaw!

May He, the friend of woe and want,
Who heals life's various stounds,'
Protect and guard the mother-plant,
And heal her cruel wounds!

But late she flourish'd, rooted fast,
Fair on the summer morn;
Now, feebly bends she in the blast,
Unshelter'd and forlorn.

Blest be thy bloom, thou lovely gem,
Unscathed' by ruffian hand!
And from thee many a parent stem
Arise to deck our land!

TO A MOUNTAIN DAISY,

On turning one down with the plough, in April, 1786,

WEE, modest, crimson-tippéd flower,
Thou'st met me in an evil hour;
For I maun crush amang the stoure1
Thy slender stem;

To spare thee now is past my power,
Thou bonnie gem.

Alas! it's no thy neebor sweet!
The bonnie Lark, companion meet!
Bending thee 'mang the dewy weet!"
Wi' spreckled breast,

When upward-springing, blythe, to greet
The purpling East.

Cauld blew the bitter-biting North

Upon thy early, humble birth,

Acute pains.-2 Unhurt.-3 Small.-4 Dust.-5 Not.-6 Wet, wotness.