Page:Fugitive Poetry 1600-1878.djvu/335
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MR. WATSON'S PICTURE OF BURNS.
317
An' simmer suns maun gar that blaw
Which now is breerin',
Ere autumn's yellowed leaf can shaw
Ought hae't for shearin'.
Which now is breerin',
Ere autumn's yellowed leaf can shaw
Ought hae't for shearin'.
Nae learnèd Frenchifièd scrap,
Through Mauchline's furrows ere could saep,
Nor, winnowing i' your barn, escape
A bland o' Latin;
Sae a' your wark's been put to gap—
Your bread's been baken.
Through Mauchline's furrows ere could saep,
Nor, winnowing i' your barn, escape
A bland o' Latin;
Sae a' your wark's been put to gap—
Your bread's been baken.
You've yoked your horse ahint your cart,
Sae tak' advice, its weel your pairt
To own what solid lore ye lear't
And whare were bred.
There's nane now born maister o' art,
Or manna fed.
Sae tak' advice, its weel your pairt
To own what solid lore ye lear't
And whare were bred.
There's nane now born maister o' art,
Or manna fed.
I'm no for riving aff your brow
The laurel folks hae thocht your due,
But gin a while you left the plough
T' 'tend the college,
Why should you smore the thing that's true,
Wi' a' your knowledge?
1787.
The laurel folks hae thocht your due,
But gin a while you left the plough
T' 'tend the college,
Why should you smore the thing that's true,
Wi' a' your knowledge?
1787.
On Seeing Mr. Stewart Watson's Picture of Burns.
Bard of our hearts, beheld again on earth!
Not now, indeed, as oft through fancy's eye,
Following the plough, or by the rustic hearth,
Or 'mid the woods—warbling thy melody;
But in the shrine of Ancient Masonry,
Among "the favoured, the enlightened few,"
Who, by its "hieroglyphic bright," descry
The wisdom hidden from the world's dim view.
Not now, indeed, as oft through fancy's eye,
Following the plough, or by the rustic hearth,
Or 'mid the woods—warbling thy melody;
But in the shrine of Ancient Masonry,
Among "the favoured, the enlightened few,"
Who, by its "hieroglyphic bright," descry
The wisdom hidden from the world's dim view.
Oh, ever blessed be that art divine,
Which, with creative power, can back restore
The living look, each lineament and hue,
Of loved familiar faces now no more!
Honoured the pencil that hath traced before
Our eyes the imaged presence of the Bard,
Whose name and fame have filled all space, and o'er
His brow renewed the wreath—fond Masonry's award.
Which, with creative power, can back restore
The living look, each lineament and hue,
Of loved familiar faces now no more!
Honoured the pencil that hath traced before
Our eyes the imaged presence of the Bard,
Whose name and fame have filled all space, and o'er
His brow renewed the wreath—fond Masonry's award.