TO MR. ROBERT FERGUSSON. Is Allan1 risen frae the deid, To grace the thistle ? Na; Fergusson's come in his stead In troth, my callant, I'm sae fain And words sae bonny, Nae suth'ron lown dare you disdain, Or cry fy on ye! Whae'er has at Auld Reikie been, And true description; Nor say ye've at Parnassus been To form a fiction. Hale be your heart, ye canty chield! That grows or feeds upon her fields; But ye, perhaps, thirst mair for fame 1 Ramsay. And then ye will be sair to blame For that ye My gude intention; needna gae frae hame, Ye've sic pretension. Sae saft and sweet your verses jingle, Whan we forgather round the ingle, Whan I again Auld Reikie see, And o' your caller oysters we Shall eat our fill. If sic a thing shou'd you betide, And shew you there the fisher's pride, There lads an' lasses do conveen As will confound ye, 1 The established or best mode of dressing salmon at the mouth of the Tweed is to put sea-water [sait] into the kettle, and boil the newlycaught fish therein. It is said by those who have tasted it that it is by far the best way to cook salmon.-Mr. Robert Burns, Secundus. [I sus. pect M. Soyer would dissent.] An' gar ye glowr out baith your een To see sae mony bosoms bare, An' sic huge puddins i' their hair, Yea, some wi' mutches that might scar I ne'er appear'd before in print, That you'd write mair; For sure your head-piece is a mint 1 'I would not rather,' as in Ramsay: But I lure chuse in Highland glens SONGS, vol. ii. p. 250. 2 In every edition of Fergusson from Ruddiman's (1779: Part II. or supplement to the Author's own, 1773) onward, tnis letter is dated erroneously 1773. It appeared in the 'Weekly Magazine' (Vol. xvii: pp. 3056) for September 5d. 1772: and the Poet's answer in the next Number, September 10th, 1772. See Life. ANSWER TO MR. J. S.'s EPISTLE. I TROW, my mettl'd Louden lathie, For whan in gude black print I saw thee I skirl❜d fou loud, "Oh wae befa' thee! "But thou'rt a daub." Awa', ye wylie fleetchin fallow! The rose shall grow like gowan yallow, As a' your butter'd words to swallow Ye mak my Muse a dautit pet, 1 But gin she cou'd like Allan's 1 met, Or couthie crack and hamely get Upo' her carritch, Eithly wad I be in your debt A pint o' parritch. At times whan she may lowse her pack, I'll grant that she can find a knack, To gar auld-warld wordies clack In hamespun rhime, While ilk ane at his billie's back Keeps gude Scots time. But she maun e'en be glad to jook, 1 Ramsay. Or blush as gin she had the yook Upo' her skin, Whan Ramsay1 or whan Pennicuik Their lilts begin. 2 At morning ear, or late at e'en, Can challenge you and me frae preein' Heh lad! it wou'd be news indeed, Beyont Lusterrick; 3 And auld shanks nag 4 wou'd tire, I dread, You crack weel o' your lasses there, 1 Allan Ramsay. 2 There are two Pennicuiks both poets. 1st, Dr. Alexander Pennicuik, author of the 'Description of Tweedale' and of various racy poems. He was the friend of Ramsay,-died 1722. 2d, Alexander Pennicuik who in 1720 published Streams from Helicon,' and in 1726 Flowers from Parnassus.' He wrote also an Historical account of the Blue Blanket, or Craftsman's Banner.' None of these poets are at all such as to make Fergusson blush. 3 Restalrig, an ancient village about a mile east from the Old town of Edinburgh, occupying the lower part of the vale which stretches from the sea-shore to Holyrood-house. It is curious that the vulgar Lusterrick preserves the proper ancient name more nearly than the polite, namely, Lestalric. 4 The feet, to go on foot to Berwick. See Glossary in loc. |