I readily and freely grant,

He downa see a poor man want;
What's no his ain he winna tak it,
What ance he says he winna break it;
Ought he can lend he 'll no refus 't
Till aft his gudeness is abused;
And rascals whiles that do him wrang,
Even that, he does na mind it lang:
As master, landlord, husband, father,
He does na fail his part in either.

But then nae thanks to him for a' that,
Nae godly symptom ye can ca' that;
It's naething but a milder feature
Of our poor sinfu', corrupt nature:
Ye'll get the best o' moral works,
'Mang black Gentoos and pagan Turks,
Or hunters wild on Ponotaxi,
Wha never heard of orthodoxy.

That he's the poor man's friend in need,
The gentleman in word and deed,
It's no through terror of d——tion ;
It's just a carnal inclination.

Morality, thou deadly bane,

Thy tens o' thousands thou hast slain!
Vain is his hope whose stay and trust is
In moral mercy, truth, and justice!

No-stretch a point to catch a plack;
Abuse a brother to his back;
Steal through a winnock frae a w
But point the rake that taks the door;
Be to the poor like ony whunstane,
And haud their noses to the grunstane,
Ply every art o' legal thieving;

No matter-stick to sound believing!

Learn three-mile prayers, and half-mile graces,

Wi' weel-spread looves, and lang wry faces;

palms

Grunt up a solemn, lengthened groan,

And da' parties but your own;

I'll warrant, then, ye 're nae deceiver-
A steady, sturdy, stanch believer.

Oh

ye wha leave the springs o' Calvin, For gumlie dubs of your ain delvin'!

muddy

Ye sons of heresy and error,

Ye'll some day squeel in quaking terror!

When Vengeance draws the sword in wrath,
And in the fire throws the sheath;
When Ruin, with his sweeping besom,
Just frets, till Heaven commission gies him:
While o'er the harp pale Misery moans,
And strikes the ever-deepening tones,
Still louder shrieks, and heavier groans!

Your pardon, sir, for this digression,
I maist forgot my dedication;
But when divinity comes 'cross me,
My readers still are sure to lose me.

So, sir, ye see 'twas nae daft vapour,
But I maturely thought it proper,
When a' my works I did review,
To dedicate them, sir, to you:
Because (ye need na tak it ill)

I thought them something like yoursel'.

Then patronise them wi' your favour,
And your petitioner shall ever-

I had amaist said, ever pray,
But that's a word I need na say:
For prayin' I hae little skill o't;

I'm baith dead sweer, and wretched ill o't;
But I'se repeat each poor man's prayer
That kens or hears about you, sir—

'May ne'er Misfortune's gowling bark
Howl through the dwelling o' the Clerk !1
May ne'er his generous, honest heart,
For that same generous spirit smart!
May Kennedy's far-honoured name
Lang beat his hymeneal flame,
Till Hamiltons, at least a dizzen,
Are by their canty fireside risen:
Five bonny lasses round their table,
And seven braw fellows, stout and able,
To serve their king and country weel,
By word, or pen, or pointed steel!
May health and peace, with mutual rays,
Shine on the evening o' his days,
Till his wee curlie John's ier-oe,
When ebbing life nae mair shall flow,
The last, sad mournful rites bestow.'

unwilling

great-grandchild

1 A sobriquet for Mr Hamilton, probably because of his acting in this capacity to some of

the county courts.

I will not wind a lang conclusion
With complimentary effusion:

But whilst your wishes and endeavours
Are blest wi' fortune's smiles and favours,
I am, dear sir, with zeal most fervent,
Your much indebted, humble servant.

But if (which powers above prevent!)
That iron-hearted carl, Want,
Attended in his grim advances

By sad mistakes and black mischances,
While hopes, and joys, and pleasures fly him,
Make you as poor a dog as I am,

Your humble servant then no more;
For who would humbly serve the poor?
But by a poor man's hopes in Heaven!
While recollection's power is given,
If, in the vale of humble life,
The victim sad of fortune's strife,
I, through the tender-gushing tear,
Should recognise my master dear,
If friendless, low, we meet together,
Then, sir, your hand-my friend and brother!

Amongst other productions at this crisis, was a

FAREWELL TO THE BRETHREN OF ST JAMES'S LODGE, TORBOLTON.

TUNE-Good-night, and Joy be wi' you a'.

Adieu! a heart-warm, fond adieu!
Dear brothers of the mystic tie!
Ye favoured, ye enlightened few,
Companions of my social joy;
Though I to foreign lands must hie,
Pursuing Fortune's slidd'ry ba',
With melting heart, and brimful eye,
I'll mind you still, though far awa'.

Oft have I met your social band,

And spent the cheerful, festive night;
Oft, honoured with supreme command,
Presided o'er the Sons of Light:
And by that hieroglyphic bright

Which none but Craftsmen ever saw!
Strong Memory on my heart shall write
Those happy scenes when far awa'.

May Freedom, Harmony, and Love,
Unite you in the grand design,
Beneath the Omniscient Eye above,
The glorious Architect Divine!
That you may keep the unerring line,
Still rising by the plummet's law,
Till Order bright completely shine,
Shall be my prayer when far awa'.

And you, farewell! whose merits claim,
Justly, that highest badge to wear!
Heaven bless your honoured, noble name,
To masonry and Scotia dear!
A last request permit me here,
When yearly ye assemble a',
One round-I ask it with a tear-

To him, the Bard that's far awa'.

The person alluded to in the last stanza was Major-general James Montgomery (a younger brother of Hugh Montgomery of Coilsfield), who now enjoyed the dignity of the worshipful Grand Master in this village lodge, while Robert Burns was Depute Master. The ardour of the poet in free-masonry was one of his most conspicuous passions. It seems almost incomprehensible that a mind like his could delight to associate with a set of men so different from himself as the ordinary trades-people of Torbolton, amongst whom probably Dr Hornbook shone as a man of learning and profound sagacity. Yet so it was.

It has been mentioned that he was nominated as Depute Master in July 1784. In the crumbling record of the lodge, he appears as re-elected in July 1785. In this capacity he signs minutes on the 29th June, the 20th July, the 2d and 18th August, the 15th September, the 26th October, the 10th November, the 1st and 7th December, the 7th January 1786, and the 1st March, when his brother Gilbert is entered 'passed and raised.' Apparently during all this time, though living several miles from the village, he had never missed attendance on one of the meetings of the lodge. On several occasions he held subordinate lodges at Mauchline, thus doing the utmost he could to propagate the masonic faith. One of these meetings took place on the 25th May, being eleven days subsequent to the assumed date of the parting with Highland Mary. From the 1st of March, about which time the distressing affair connected with the Lament began to harass him, his attendance on the Torbolton lodge was irregular. Dr Hornbook

on one occasion acts as his deputy. His signature appears, however, at the minutes of 7th and 15th June. On the latter occasion there is a curious entry: 'It was proposed by the lodge, that as they much wanted a lodge-room, a proposal be laid before the heritors who are intending to build a steeple here, that the lodge will contribute to the building of a lodge-room as the basis of that steeple, and that from the funds of the lodge they offer fifteen pounds, besides what will be advanced from the particular friends of the lodge; in order that this proposal be properly laid before the heritors, five persons—namely, the Right Worshipful Master, Brother M'Math, Brother Burns, Brother Wodrow, Brother William Andrew-are appointed to meet on Saturday at one o'clock, to draw up a proposal to lay before the heritors on Friday first.' It is odd to find Burns concerned in a movement to get a mason lodge introduced into a portion of a parish church.

The St James's Lodge at this time met in a small stifling backroom connected with the inn of the village-a humble cottage-like place of entertainment kept by one Manson. On the approach of St John's Day, the 24th of June, when a procession of the lodge was contemplated, Burns sent a rhymed note on the subject to his medical friend Mr Mackenzie, with whom, it may be explained, he had lately had some controversy on the origin of morals:

Friday first's the day appointed

By the Right Worshipful anointed,
To hold our grand procession;
To get a blad o' Johnnie's morals,
And taste a swatch o' Manson's barrels
I' the way of our profession.
The Master and the Brotherhood
Would a' be glad to see you;

For me I would be mair than proud
To share the mercies wi' you.
If Death, then, wi' skaith, then,
Some mortal heart is hechtin',
Inform him, and storm him,
That Saturday you'll fecht him.

MOSSGIEL, An. M. 5790.

hurt

entertainment

threatening

ROBERT BURNS.

He was now commencing the printing of his poems, and striving by dissipation to drown the painful recollection of his Jean. His signature likewise appears at the minutes of 29th June, 18th August, 5th October, and 10th November. On some one of these occasions he took an actual farewell of the lodge, but a blithesome