The Poetry of Robert Burns Edited by William Ernest Henley and Thomas F. Henderson |
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TO GAVIN HAMILTON, ESQ., MAUCHLINE
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 | The Poetry of Robert Burns |  |
TO GAVIN HAMILTON, ESQ., MAUCHLINE
RECOMMENDING A BOY
Mossgaville, May 3, 1786
I hold it, Sir, my bounden duty
To warn you how that Master Tootie,
Alías Laird M'Gaun,
Was here to hire yon lad away
'Bout whom ye spak the tither day,
An' wad hae don't aff han';
But lest he learn the callan tricks—
As faith! I muckle doubt him—
Like scrapin out auld Crummie's nicks,
An' tellin lies about them,
As lieve then, I'd have then
Your clerkship he should sair,
If sae be ye may be
Not fitted otherwhere.
To warn you how that Master Tootie,
Alías Laird M'Gaun,
Was here to hire yon lad away
'Bout whom ye spak the tither day,
An' wad hae don't aff han';
But lest he learn the callan tricks—
As faith! I muckle doubt him—
Like scrapin out auld Crummie's nicks,
An' tellin lies about them,
As lieve then, I'd have then
Your clerkship he should sair,
If sae be ye may be
Not fitted otherwhere.
86
Altho' I say't, he's gleg enough,
An' bout a house that's rude an' rough
The boy might learn to swear;
But then wi' you he'll be sae taught,
An' get sic fair example straught,
I hae na onie fear:
Ye'll catechise him every quirk,
An' shore him weel wi' ‘Hell’;
An' gar him follow to the kirk—
Ay when ye gang yoursel!
If ye, then, maun be then
Frae hame this comin Friday,
Then please, Sir, to lea'e, Sir,
The orders wi' your lady.
An' bout a house that's rude an' rough
The boy might learn to swear;
But then wi' you he'll be sae taught,
An' get sic fair example straught,
I hae na onie fear:
Ye'll catechise him every quirk,
An' shore him weel wi' ‘Hell’;
An' gar him follow to the kirk—
Ay when ye gang yoursel!
If ye, then, maun be then
Frae hame this comin Friday,
Then please, Sir, to lea'e, Sir,
The orders wi' your lady.
My word of honour I hae gien,
In Paisley John's that night at e'en
To meet the ‘warld's worm,’
To try to get the twa to gree,
An' name the airles an' the fee
In legal mode an' form:
I ken he weel a snick can draw,
When simple bodies let him;
An' if a Devil be at a',
In faith he's sure to get him.
To phrase you an' praise you,
Ye ken, your Laureat scorns:
The pray'r still you share still
Of grateful Minstrel Burns.
In Paisley John's that night at e'en
To meet the ‘warld's worm,’
To try to get the twa to gree,
An' name the airles an' the fee
In legal mode an' form:
I ken he weel a snick can draw,
When simple bodies let him;
An' if a Devil be at a',
In faith he's sure to get him.
To phrase you an' praise you,
Ye ken, your Laureat scorns:
The pray'r still you share still
Of grateful Minstrel Burns.
| The Poetry of Robert Burns | |