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I'm sure sma's pleasure it can gie,
É'en to a Deil,

To skelpi an' scaud poor dogs like me,
An' hear us squeel!

Great is thy pow'r, an' great thy fame;
Far kenn'dk and noted is thy name;
An' tho' yon lowin' heugh's thy hame.
Thou travels far;

An' faith! thou's neither lag nor lame,
Nor blate,m nor scaur."

Whyles ranging like a roaring lion
For prey, a' holes an' corners tryin';
Whyles on the strong-wing'd tempest flyin',
Tirling the kirks:

Whyles in the human bosom pryin',
Unseen thou lurks.

I've heard my reverend graunie say,
In lanely glens ye like to stray;
Or where auld, ruin'd castles, gray,
Nod to the moon,

Ye fright the nightly wand'rer's way
Wi' eldritch croon.¶

To

When twilight did my graunie summon,
say her prayers, douce," honest woman!
Aft yont the dyke she's heard you bummin',
Wi' eeriet drone;

Or, rustlin', thro' the boortries" comin',
Wi' heavy groan.

Aew dreary, windy, winter night,

The stars shot down wi' sklentin's light;

Small. h Give. i Strike, or beat. k Known.

Flaming pit. m Bashful.

• Sometimes. p Uncovering.

r Wise, good. s Beyond.

u Elder-trees.

w One.

n Apt to be scared. Frightful hollow moan. Frighted, or frightful.

Glimmering.

Wi' you, mysel, I gat a fright,
Ayont the lough

Ye, like a rash-bush, stood in sight,
Wi' waving sugh.

The cudgel in my nieveb did shake,
Each bristl'd hair stood like a stake,
When wi' an eldritch stour, quaick-quaick—
Amang the springs,

Awa' ye squatter'd like a drake,

On whistling wings.

Let warlocks grim, an' wither'd hags,
Tell how wi' you on ragweed? nags,
They skim the muirs an' dizzy crags,
Wi' wicked speed;

And in kirk-yards renew their leagues
Owre howkits dead.

Thence countra wives wi' toil an' pain,
May plunge an' plunge the kirnh in vain
For, oh! the yellow treasure 's ta'en
By witching skill:

;

An' dawtit, twal-pintk Hawkie's' gaenm
As yell's" the Bill.

Thence mystic knots mak great abuse,
On young guidmen,P fond, keen, an' crouse ;9

y A pool, or sheet of water. z A bush, or large tuft of rushes a Rushing noise of wind or water.

c The raising a cloud of dust.

b Hand, or fist. d Fluttered in water. e Wizards. f Ragwort. g Digged up, or disinterred. Those who are, or were, believers in the old traditions relative to witchcraft, supposed that the incantations of these demoniacs were frequently performed over dead bodies, which they dug, scratched, or conjured out of their graves in order to perform their devilish orgies more effectually. h Churn. i Fondled, caressed. k Twelve-pint. n Barren.

7 Cow.

m Gone.

o Bull. The literal English meaning of these last two lines is, that a favourite cow, that gave daily twelve Scotch pints of milk (equal to forty-eight English pints), is become as barren as a bull, in consequence of witchcraft.

Men newly married.

q Courageous.

When the best wark-lumer i' the house,
By cantrip wit,

Is instant made no worth a louse,
Just at the bit.

When thowest dissolve the snawy hoord,
An' float the jingling icy-boord,
Then Water kelpies" haunt the foord,
By your direction,

An' 'nighted trav❜llers are allur'd
To their destruction.

An' aft your moss-traversing Spunkies,
Decoy the wight that late an' drunk is,
The bleezin', curst, mischievous monkies
Delude his eyes,

Till in some miry slough he sunk is,
Ne'er mair to rise.

When Masons' mystic word an' grip
In storms an' tempests raise you up,
Some cock or cat your rage maun stop,
Or, strange to tell!

The youngest brother ye wad whip
Aff straught to h-ll!

Lang syne in Eden's bonnie yard,
When youthfu' lovers first were pair'd,
An' a' the soul of love they shar'd
The raptur'd hour,

Sweet on the fragrant, flow'ry swaird,
In shady bow'r :

r A working tool.-Fully to appreciate the meaning of the stanza beginning Thence mystic knots,' it is necessary for the English reader to know, that a tradition was entertained in Scotland of the power of witchcraft to prevent consummation on the bridal night, by rendering the young guid man. powerless just at the bit,' or moment when, &c.

s A charm or spell.

t Thaws.

u A mischievous kind of spirits, said to haunt fords, or ferries, particularly in stormy nights.

w Will-o'-the-wisp, or Jaek-a-lantern.

Then you, ye auld, snick-drawing dog!
Ye came to Paradise incog.

An' play'd on man a cursed brogue,
(Black be your fa'!)

An' gied the infant warld a shog,y

'Maist ruin'd a'.

D'ye mind that day, when in a bizz,3
Wi' reekit duds,a an' reestit gizz,b
Ye did present your smoutier phiz,
'Mang better folk,

An' sklented on the man of Uz
Your spitefu' joke?

An' how ye gat him i' your thrall,
An' brak him out o' house an' hall,
While scabs an' blotches did him gall,
Wi' bitter claw,

An lows'de his ill-tongu'd wicked scawl,'
Was warst ava?

But a' your doings to rehearse,

Your wily snares an' fechtings fierce,
Sin' that day Michaelh did you pierce,
Down to this time,

Wad ding' a' Lallan tongue, or Erse,
In prose or rhyme.

An' now, auld Cloots, I ken ye 're thinkin',
A certain Bardie's rantin', drinkin',
Some luckless hour will send him linkin',*
To your black pit;

But, faith! he'll turn a corner jinkin','
An' cheat you yet.

But fare you weel, auld Nickie-ben!

O wad ye tak a thought an' men'!

Trick-contriving.
a Smoky clothes.
e Ugly, or smutty.

e Loosed. A scold

1 Puzzle.

y A violent shock. z Bustle. b Withered, or scorched wig. d Hit aslant, or obliquely. g Fighting. h Vide Milton, book vi Tripping. 1 Dodging.

Ye aiblins might-I dinna ken"
Still hae a stake

I'm wae to think upon yon den,
Ev'n for your sake!

ADDRESS TO EDINBURGH.

EDINA! Scotia's darling seat!
All hail thy palaces and tow'rs,
Where once beneath a monarch's feet
Sat Legislation's sov'reign pow'rs!
From marking wildly-scatter'd flow'rs,
As on the banks of Ayr I stray'd,
And singing, lone, the ling'ring hours,
I shelter in thy honour'd shade.
Here Wealth still swells the golden tide,
As busy Trade his labours plies;
There Architecture's noble pride

Bids elegance and splendour rise;
Here Justice, from her native skies,
High wields her balance and her rod;
There Learning, with his eagle eyes,
Seeks Science in her coy abode.
Thy sons, Edina, social, kind,

With open arms the stranger hail;
Their views enlarg'd, their lib'ral mind,
Above the narrow, rural vale;
Attentive still to sorrow's wail,

Or modest merit's silent claim;
And never may their sources fail!
And never envy blot their name!
Thy daughters bright thy walks adorn!
Gay as the gilded summer sky,

m Perhaps.

n Do not know.

• Written in the winter of 1784-5. The idea of an Address to the Deil was suggested to the poet, by running over in his mind the many ludicrous accounts and representatious we have, from various quarters, of this august personage.'-Gilbert Burns.

E

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