IV.

The wanton coot the water skims,
Amang the reeds the ducklings cry,
The stately swan majestic swims,
And every thing is blest but I.

V.

The sheep-herd steeks his faulding slap,
And owre the moorland whistles shill;
Wi' wild, unequal, wand'ring step,

I meet him on the dewy hill.

VI.

And when the lark, 'tween light and dark,
Blythe waukens by the daisy's side,
And mounts and sings on flittering wings,
A woe-worn ghaist I hameward glide.

VII.

i

Come, Winter, with thine angry howl,
And raging bend the naked tree:
Thy gloom will sooth my cheerless soul,
When nature all is sad like me!

And maun I still on Menie doat,

And bear the scorn that's in her e'e? For it's jet, jet black, and like a hawk, And winna let a body be,

The chorus was composed by a wit in Edinburgh, and adopted by Burns because it contained the name of Menie, which is, he says, the abbreviation of Mariamne. It jars with the ruling sentiment of the song, and has been discarded by some editors as superfluous: if we regard the lyric as a poem to be read or recited, the chorus may be spared; but if we look upon it as a composition to be sung, the omission maims the performance. Yet it cannot be denied that some of the old choruses, which Burns adopted in his lyrics, injure the feeling and unity of his strains. He rose into a higher mood very frequently. The Lass of Craigie-burn-wood and the Lincluden Vision may be named as instances of this.

Of the lady who inspired this strain no one has given any account. It was first printed in the second edition

of the Poet's works.

THE

FAREWELL

TO THE

BRETHREN OF ST. JAMES'S LODGE,

TARBOLTON.

Tune-Good-night, and Joy be wi' you a’!

I.

ADIEU! a heart-warm, fond adieu !
Dear brothers of the mystic tie!
Ye favour'd, ye enlighten'd few,
Companions of my social joy!
Tho' I to foreign lands must hie,
Pursuing Fortune's slidd'ry ba',
With melting heart, and brimful eye,
I'll mind you still, tho' far awa'.

II.

Oft have I met your social band,

And spent the cheerful, festive night; Oft, honor'd with supreme command, Presided o'er the sons of light:

And by that hieroglyphic bright,

Which none but craftsmen ever saw ! Strong mem'ry on my heart shall write Those happy scenes when far awa'.

III.

May freedom, harmony, and love
Unite you in the grand design,
Beneath th' omniscient eye above,
The glorious Architect divine!
That you may keep th' unerring line,
Still rising by the plummet's law,

Till order bright completely shine,
Shall be my pray'r when far awa'.

And

IV.

you farewell! whose merits claim, Justly, that highest badge to wear! Heav'n bless your honor'd, noble name, To masonry and Scotia dear! A last request permit me here,

When yearly ye assemble a', One round-I ask it with a tear,

To him, the Bard that's far awa'.

The Poet, it is said, recited or rather chanted this "Farewell" in the St. James's Lodge of Tarbolton, when his chest was on the way to Greenock, and he had measured the last song he expected to measure in Caledonia. The concluding verse affected his friends greatly. The voice of Burns was low, strong, and musical; when in the church, he usually joined in the bass, and good singers observed that he was ever in harmony. This song was first printed in the Kilmarnock edition :-several of the gentlemen who heard the Poet chant it, are still living in the west of Scotland.

The mason lodge was a favourite haunt of Burns; and he alludes to the mysteries of the institution, and the socialities of the brethren, on various occasions. Thus, in the "Address to the Deil :"

"When masons' mystic word an' grip,

In storms an' tempests raise ye up,

Some cock or cat your rage maun stop,
Or, strange to tell!

The youngest brother ye wad whup

Aff straught to hell."

And also in Tam Samson's Elegy

:

"The brethren o' the mystic level
May hing their head in wofu' bevel,
While by their nose the tears will revel,
Like ony bead;

Death 's gi'en their lodge an unco devel→

Tam Samson's dead!"