The Heron Ballads. [BALLAD IV..] JOHN BUSBY'S LAMENTATION. 'Twas in the seventeen hundred year In March, the three-and-twentieth day, The sun raise clear and bright; But O, I was a waefu' man Ere toofa' o' the night. Yerl Galloway lang did rule this land And thereto was his kinsman join'd The Murray's noble name! Yerl Galloway lang did rule the land Made me the judge o' strife; But now yerl Galloway's sceptre's broke, And eke my hangman's knife. 'Twas by the banks o' bonny Dee, Beside Kirkcudbright towers, The Stewart and the Murray there The Murray on the auld grey yaud, Wi' winged spurs did ride, That auld grey yaud, yea, Nid'sdale rade, An' there had been the yerl himsel', And there was Balmaghie, I ween, Frae the Glenken came to our aid In case that worth should wanted be, And there sae grave Squire Cardoness And there led I the Busbys a'; My gamesome Billy Will, And my son Maitland, wise as brave, * John Busby, Esq. of Tinwald-downs. † [The Poet's hopes, alas! were not realized. He died a few months after these lines were written.] [In this modest and affecting way Burns reminded his superior officer that he was a poor man, suffering from ill health, and that his salary, then due, would be very acceptable. Collector Mitchell was a kind and generous man, and befriended the Poet on many occasions; but he was not aware, at this time, that Hungry ruin had him in the wind," or that his family were enduring privations such as preyed with double force on the sensitive and feeling heart of Burns.] Wi' you no friendship will I troke, Nor cheap nor dear. But if, as I'm informed weel, Ye hate, as ill's the vera deil, The flinty heart that canna feel Come, Sir, here's tae you! Hae, there's my haun', I wiss you weel, And guid be wi' you. with other precious reliques of the immortal Bard. They were subsequently presented by him to Allan Cunningham, who was then editing a complete edition of the Poet's works. They had previously been submitted to Sir Walter Scott, who set a very high value upon them.] To Mrs. C, ON RECEIVING A WORK OF THOU flattering mark of friendship kind, The dear, the beauteous donor! But kind still, I mind still [Burns sent a copy of these lines to Mr. Aiken, in April, 1786.] To Miss Jessy Lewars,+ DUMFRIES, WITH A PRESENT OF BOOKS. THINE be the volumes, Jessy fair, The above epistle was accompanied by the Of future bliss, enrol thy name; following letter: Mossgiel, March 3rd, 1786. SIR, I have done myself the pleasure of complying with your request in sending you my Cottager. If you have a leisure minute, I should be glad if you would copy it, and return me either the original or the transcript, as I have not a copy of it by me, and I have a friend who wishes to see it.-R. B. [John Kennedy then resided at Dumfries House: he interested himself greatly in the success of the Kilmarnock edition of the poems of Burns. The original manuscript of the Cotter's Saturday Night, inclosed in the letter, came into the possession of Mr. Cochrane, the publisher, * The market-cross. With native worth, and spotless fame, POEM ON LIFE, ADDRESSED To Colonel De Pepster, My honour'd Colonel, deep I feel -the undying thanks of the Poet himself; his songs to † [Miss Jessy Lewars watched over the poet and his little her honour, and his simple gifts of books and verse, will household during his declining days, with all the affectionate keep her name and fame long in the world.] reverence of a daughter. For this she has received the [Arentz de Peyster, Colonel of the Gentleman Volunsilent thanks of all who admire the genius of Burns, or teers of Dumfries, was a rigid disciplinarian: he had dislook with sorrow on his setting sun; she has received more tinguished himself in the colonial war in America, and strength.] I. [THE epigrams of Burns are numerous: they | trates him, not so much by science as by robust are sharp and personal, and partake of the character of the natural, rather than the artificial, man. He differs from other wits of his time; and, because he does so, his invective has been pronounced harsh and acrimonious, and his sarcasms coarse and savage. He is not indeed one of those who "Hint a fault and hesitate dislike." He grapples at once with his enemy, and pros defended Detroit against the united efforts of the Indians and Republicans. He was regarded by many as a person harsh and stern; but this belonged rather to his manners than to his heart. He was in every respect a soldier. He thought the science of war the noblest of all sciences; a parade day the most glorious of all days, save that of victory. His voice was rough and commanding; his eye brightened up whenever he looked along the glittering ranks which he ruled; he forgot that he was eighty years old, and "Bold, soldier-featured, undismayed, On the Author's Father, O YE whose cheek the tear of pity stains, I The tender father and the gen'rous friend. This good old soldier befriended the Poet as far as the Poet would permit; for Burns was not without friends in his last moments.] * [This exquisite little gem, of which Burns's authorship cannot be doubted, first appeared in a periodical paper published at Liverpool under the title of Kaleidoscope.] † [William Burness merited the eulogy of his eminent son: early suffering made him somewhat austere, and a conscious ness of declining strength and sinking fortunes hindered him from mixing much in the world's mirth; but he set his children an example of piety, patience and fortitude, and deserves to be named whenever humble worth is recorded.] VAR. Who sympathise with virtue's pains.-MS. Goldsmith. † [The above lines were published by the late Mr. Cobbett, with the following particulars: - "It is our fortune to know a Mr. Kennedy, an aged gentleman, a native of Scotland, and the early associate and friend of Robert Burns. Both were born in Ayr-shire, near the town of Ayr, so frequently celebrated in the poems of the bard. Burns, in the 'Cotter's Saturday Night, gives a noble picture of what we may presume to be the family circle of his father. Kennedy, whose boyhood was passed in the labours of a farm, subsequently became the agent to a mercantile house in a neighbouring town. Hence he is called in the epitaph which the Poet wrote on him, "Tam the Chapman." These lines were composed on Kennedy's recovery from a severe illness. On his way to kirk, on a bright Sabbath morning, he was met by the Poet, who, having rallied him on the sombre expression of his countenance, fell back, but soon overtook him, and presented him with the epitaph written on a bit of paper with a pencil.] [The gentleman to whom the "Cotter's Saturday Night" is addressed-one of the Poet's earliest patrons. He was so anxious to make his friend's merits known that, wherever he went, he recited his witty or serious poems, with so much taste and effect, that Burns said "I was unknown, Sir, till you read me into reputation."] [These lines form the conclusion of a letter from Burns to Mr. John Kennedy, dated Kilmarnock, August, 1786, in which he alluded to his intention to go to Jamaica, See the correspondence of that period.] [This is one of those which Johnson calls an epithet to let. The name of the individual is neither mentioned in it nor alluded to in any of the author's productions. This is An honest man here lies at rest, VI. On Gavin Hamilton. THE poor man weeps-here Gavin sleeps, VII. On Burns's Horse being impounded. †† Was e'er puir Poet sae befitted, VIII. On Wee Johnny. ‡‡ HIC JACET WEE JOHNNY. WHOE'ER thou art, O reader know An' here his body lies fu' low- the more to be regretted for Burns seldom praised without reason.-"To no man," he observed in a note to John M'Murdo, "whatever his station in life, or his power to serve me, have I ever paid a compliment at the expense of truth."] **["These lines allude to the persecution which Gavin Hamilton endured for riding on Sunday, and speaking irreverently in the presence of a clergyman. The church should be merciful in all frivolous matters; disputes about trifles tend to pull dignity down. The day is past for a minister being expelled from his kirk for writing a virtuous drama, or a hearer being rebuked for gallopping on Sunday."-CUNNINGHAM.] †† [The Poet on one occasion paid the "merry city" of Carlisle a visit, and got "unco happy" within its ancient walls. He had come into the city on horseback, and his nag was turned out to grass for a few hours. The horse, as may well be supposed, having such a master, was a brute of taste; he, accordingly, took it into his head that the grass in a field belonging to the worthy corporation, which adjoined that in which it had been put, was of a better and sweeter flavour than its own allotment, and made good a lodgment there. The mayor impounded the horse, and the next morning, when Burns heard of the disaster, he wrote the above Stanza. The mayoralty of this worthy was about to expire on the very day on which the verse was written. As soon as he learned whose horse he had impounded, he gave instant orders for its liberation, exclaiming, Let him have it, by all means, or the circumstance will be heard of for ages to come.'] #["Wee Johnny" was John Wilson, printer of the Kilmarnock edition of the Poet's works. He was so unconscious of the worth of what he was working upon, that he doubted the success of the speculation, upon which Burns said he was To some other warl' For here Johnny Pidgeon had nane! Strong ale was ablution- A dram was memento mori ; But a full flowing bowl And port was celestial glory. X1. On a Wag in Mauchline.* LAMENT him, Mauchline husbands a', He aften did assist ye; For had ye staid whole years awa, Your wives they ne'er had missed ye. Ye Mauchline bairns, as on ye pass To school in bands thegither, O tread ye lighty on his grass,Perhaps he was your father. XII. On a Celebrated Ruling Elder. § HERE souter Hood in death does sleep;- XIII. On a Noisy Polemic. || a "silly saulless body," and wrote this sarcastic epitaph, which he printed without being aware that it was his own forlorn hic jacet. He had his revenge, when Burns proposed a second edition, Wee Johnny demurred, unless some good man" would guarantee payment. Mr. William Parker, of Kilmarnock, offered to do this at once. "It is like you to offer," said the Poet, "and like me to refuse." *[" Mr. Ladyman, an English commercial traveller, alighting one afternoon, in the year 1794, at Brownhill, a stage about thirteen miles from Dumfries, was informed by the landlord that Burns, the Poet, was in the house, and that he had now the best possible opportunity of being introduced to the company of the cleverest man in Scotland. Mr. Ladyman immediately requested the honour of an introduction, and was forthwith shown into the room in which the Bard was sitting with two other gentlemen. The landlord, who was a forward sort of man, and stood upon no ceremony with Burns, presented Mr. Ladyman; and while the Poet rose and received the stranger with that courtesy which always marked his conduct, sat down himself along with his guests, and mixed in the conversation. When Mr. Ladyman entered the inn, it was about two o'clock. The Poet had been drinking since mid-day with the two gentlemen, and was slightly elevated with liquor, but not to such a degree as to make any particular alteration upon his voice or manner. He did not speak much, nor take any eager share in the conversation. He frequently leant down his head upon the edge of the table, and was silent for a considerable time, as if he had been suffering bodily pain. However, when opportunity occurred, he would start up, and say something shrewd or decisive upon the subject in agitation. About an hour after Mr. Ladyman arrived dinner was served, consisting of beans and bacon, &c., of which the landlord partook, like the rest of the company, evidently to the displeasure of the poet. During the course of the subsequent toddy, Mr. Ladyman ventured to request of Burns to let the company have a small specimen of his poetry upon any subject he liked to think of "just any thing, in short-whatever might come uppermost-doggerel or not." Burns was never offended by any solicitation of this sort, when it was made in a polite manner, and with proper deference to his own good pleasure. In the present case, he granted the request so readily that, almost imme BELOW thir stanes lie Jamie's banes: diately after Mr. Ladyman had done speaking, he delibe- † [This person kept the Whitefoord Arms, at the entrance of the Cowgate in Mauchline. The honest landlord's religion is made out to be a comparative appreciation of his various liquors.] ['This laborious wag was James Smith, whose history has been related in the note to that exquisite epistle beginning "Dear Smith, the sleest pawkie thief!" He failed in all his speculations in Scotland, afterwards emigrated and died in the West Indies.] [This ruling elder was one of those who examined anxiously into the poetical delinquencies of Burns, and hoped to find that the spiritual artillery of the kirk could be levelled at profane rhymers. He got hold, it is said, of some indecorous verses, which, in a mirthful moment, had dropt from the pen of the Poet, and as he read them in the Session, he paused at every verse, exclaiming "A wild lad! a wild lad!"] [This person's name is James Humphrey: he is by trade a mason, is now grown old and infirm, but loves to talk of Burns and of the warm debates between them on Effectual Calling and Free Grace. Cromek said that he found him at work in a quarry, with a fox-skin cap and wooden clogs on, and stirred him up to talk on devotional matters, which he did with a natural eloquence and a quick acuteness that surprised him.] |