Till Willie Howe took o'er the knowe

For Philadelphia,1 man ;
Wi' sword an' gun he thought a sin
Guid christian bluid to draw, man;
But at New-York, wi' knife an' fork,
Sir-Loin he hackèd sma',2 man.

Burgoyne gaed up, like spur an' whip,
Till Fraser brave did fa', man;
Then lost his way, ae misty day,
In Saratoga shaw,* man.3
Cornwallis fought as lang's he dought,
An' did the buckskin's claw, man;
But Clinton's glaive frae rust to save,
He hung it to the wa', man.

Then Montague, an' Guilford too,
Began to fear a fa', man;

And Sackville dour, wha stood the stoure,+
The German chief to thraw,‡ man :

For Paddy Burke, like ony Turk,

Nae mercy had at a', man;

An' Charlie Fox threw by the box,
An' lows'd his tinkler jaw, man.

* wood.

† commotion.

+ thwart.

1 General Howe removed his army from New York to Philadelphia in the summer of 1777.

2 Alluding to a razzia made by orders of Howe at Peekskill, March 1777, when a large quantity of cattle belonging to the Americans was destroyed. 3 General Burgoyne surrendered his army to General Gates, at Saratoga, on the Hudson, October 1776.

Alluding to the active operations of Lord Cornwallis in Virginia, in 1780, all of which ended, however, in his surrender of his army at Yorktown, October 1781, while vainly hoping for reinforcements from General Clinton at New York.

Then Rockingham took up the game;
Till death did on him ca', man;
When Shelburne meek held up his cheek,
Conform to gospel law, man :

Saint Stephen's boys, wi' jarring noise,
They did his measures thraw, man ;
For North an' Fox united stocks,

An' bore him to the wa', man.1

Then clubs an' hearts were Charlie's cartes,
He swept the stakes awa', man,

:2

Till the diamond's ace, of Indian race,
Led him a sair faux pas, man :
The Saxon lads, wi' loud placads,*
On Chatham's boy did ca', man;
An' Scotland drew her pipe an' blew,
"Up, Willie, waurt them a', man!”

Behind the throne then Granville's gone,
A secret word or twa, man;
While slee Dundas arous'd the class
Be-north the Roman wa', man :

An' Chatham's wraith, in heav'nly graith,
(Inspired bardies saw, man),

Wi' kindling eyes, cry'd, "Willie, rise!
Would I hae fear'd them a', man?"

*cheers.

† vanquish.

+ guise.

'Lord North's administration was succeeded by that of the Marquis of Rockingham, March 1782. At the death of the latter in the succeeding July, Lord Shelburne became prime minister, and Mr Fox resigned his secretaryship. Under his lordship, peace was restored, January 1783. By

the union of Lord North and Mr Fox, Lord Shelburne was soon after forced to resign in favour of his rivals, the heads of the celebrated coalition.

2 Fox's famous India Bill, by which his ministry was brought to destruction, December 1783.

But, word an' blow, North, Fox, and Co.
Gowff'd* Willie like a ba', man;

Till Suthron raise, an' coost their claise
Behind him in a raw, man:
An' Caledon threw by the drone,
An' did her whittlet draw, man;

An' swoor fu' rude, thro' dirt an' bluid,

To mak it guid in law, man.1

[The poet applied to the Earl of Glencairn and to Mr Erskine, Dean of Faculty, for their opinion as to the policy of including this poem in his Edinburgh volume, and they seem to have approved of it.]

REPLY TO AN ANNOUNCEMENT BY

J. RANKINE.

I AM a keeper of the law

In some sma' points, altho' not a';
Some people tell me gin I fa',

Ae way or ither,

The breaking of ae point, tho' sma',
Breaks a' thegither.‡

I hae been in for't ance or twice,
And winna say o'er far for thrice ;
Yet never met wi' that surprise

That broke my rest ;
But now a rumour's like to rise-
A whaup's § i' the nest !

* struck.

† knife.

James ii. ro.

§ Curlew, a bird that will scream.

1 In the new parliament called by Mr Pitt, after his accession to office in the spring of 1784, amidst the many new members brought in for his support, and that of the king's prerogative, there was an exceeding proportion from Scotland.

EPISTLE TO JOHN RANKINE,

ENCLOSING SOME POEMS.

O ROUGH, rude, ready-witted Rankine,
The wale* o' cocks for fun an' drinking!
There's mony godly folks are thinking,

Your dreams1 and tricks

Will send you Korah-like a-sinkin,

Straught to auld Nick's.

Ye hae sae mony cracks an' cants,
And in your wicked, drucken rants,
Ye mak a devil o' the saunts,

An' fill them fou;

And then their failings, flaws, an' wants,
Are a' seen thro'.

Hypocrisy, in mercy spare it!

That holy robe, O dinna tear it!

Spare't for their sakes, wha aften wear it—
The lads in black;

But your curst wit, when it comes near it,
Rives't+ aff their back.

Think, wicked Sinner, wha ye're skaithing: +
It's just the 'Blue-gown' badge an' claithing
O' saunts; tak that, ye lea'e them naething
To ken them by,

Frae ony unregenerate heathen,

* choice.

Like you or I.

† tears it.

+ damaging.

A certain humorous dream of his was then making a noise in the country side.-R. B.

I've sent you here some rhymin ware,
A' that I bargain'd for, an' mair;
Sae, when ye hae an hour to spare,
I will expect,

Yon sang1 ye'll sen't, wi' cannie* care,
And no neglect.

Tho' faith, sma' heart hae I to sing!
My muse dow+ scarcely spread her wing ;
I've play'd mysel a bonie spring,

An' danc'd my fill!

I'd better gaen an' sair't‡ the king,
At Bunker's Hill.

'Twas ae night lately, in my fun,
I gaed a rovin wi' the gun,

An' brought a paitrick to the grun'-
A bonie hen;

And, as the twilight was begun,

Thought nane wad ken.

The poor, wee thing was little hurt ;
I straiket it a wee for sport,

Ne'er thinkin they wad fash§ me for't;
But, Deil-ma-care!

Somebody tells the poacher-court,||

The hale affair.

Some auld, us'd hands had taen a note,
That sic a hen had got a shot;

I was suspected for the plot;

I scorn'd to lie ;