Till Willie Howe took o'er the knowe For Philadelphia,1 man ; Burgoyne gaed up, like spur an' whip, Then Montague, an' Guilford too, And Sackville dour, wha stood the stoure,+ For Paddy Burke, like ony Turk, Nae mercy had at a', man; An' Charlie Fox threw by the box, * 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; Saint Stephen's boys, wi' jarring noise, An' bore him to the wa', man.1 Then clubs an' hearts were Charlie's cartes, :2 Till the diamond's ace, of Indian race, Behind the throne then Granville's gone, An' Chatham's wraith, in heav'nly graith, Wi' kindling eyes, cry'd, "Willie, rise! *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. Till Suthron raise, an' coost their claise 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'; Ae way or ither, The breaking of ae point, tho' sma', I hae been in for't ance or twice, That broke my rest ; * 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, Your dreams1 and tricks Will send you Korah-like a-sinkin, Straught to auld Nick's. Ye hae sae mony cracks an' cants, An' fill them fou; And then their failings, flaws, an' wants, Hypocrisy, in mercy spare it! That holy robe, O dinna tear it! Spare't for their sakes, wha aften wear it— But your curst wit, when it comes near it, Think, wicked Sinner, wha ye're skaithing: + 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, Yon sang1 ye'll sen't, wi' cannie* care, Tho' faith, sma' heart hae I to sing! An' danc'd my fill! I'd better gaen an' sair't‡ the king, 'Twas ae night lately, in my fun, An' brought a paitrick to the grun'- And, as the twilight was begun, Thought nane wad ken. The poor, wee thing was little hurt ; Ne'er thinkin they wad fash§ me for't; Somebody tells the poacher-court,|| The hale affair. Some auld, us'd hands had taen a note, I was suspected for the plot; I scorn'd to lie ; |