This game was play'd in monie lands, 'Till lairds forbade, by strict commands, But New Light herds gat sic a cowe, Ye'll find ane plac'd; An' some their New-Light fair avow, Just quite barefac'd. Nae doubt the Auld Light flocks are bleatin' ; Their zealous herds are vex'd an' sweatin' ; Mysel', I've even seen them greetin' Wi' girnin' spite, To hear the moon sae sadly lie'd on But shortly they will cowe the loons! An' stay ae month amang the moons Guid observation they will gie them; An' when the auld moon's gaun to lea'e them, An' when the New Light billies see them, Sae, ye observe that a' this clatter I hope we bardies ken some better Than mind sic brulzie. William Simpson was, in the days of Burns, and is still, schoolmaster of the parish of Ochiltree; he has performed carefully the duties of his station, and lives respected by his scholars, some of whom are to be found in the east as well as in the west. Burns seems to have been partial to this class of men. He corresponded with David Sillar; he wrote anxiously to John Murdoch; William Nicol was long his companion, as well as correspondent; to Allan Masterton he was partial : he was intimate with the warm-hearted and enthusiastic James Gray. The present epistle shews what he thought of William Simpson; indeed, with all he was social and friendly who had any claim to education or information, save the unfortunate Dr. Hornbook. The natural modesty of the Poet is as visible in this epistle as it is elsewhere: as VOL. N. a rhymer, he aspires not to rank with Allan Ramsay, or Hamilton of Gilbertfield "Or Fergusson, the writer chiel, But he desires to sing of the hills and dales, and heroes and beauties of Kyle in his own rude country tongue. As Simpson is "a rhyme-composing brither," Burns speaks to him about his own aspirations; and, as he is a candidate for a kirk, he adds a postscript—a rather mystical one-on the heresy of the New Light. It is likely that honest "John Ochiltree of the old song took his name from Simpson's parish: and it is more than likely that the inimitable Edie Ochiltree of Scott's romance was baptized after the hero of the song: elsewhere, and in the strains of Burns, the name occurs. "The night it was a haly night, The day had been a haly day: May he ne'er haly matin see- TO J. LAPRAIK. Sept. 13th, 1785. GUID speed an' furder to you Johnny, Guid health, hale han's, an' weather bonny; Now when ye're nickan down fu' canny The staff o' bread, May ye ne'er want a stoup o' bran'y May Boreas never thresh your rigs, Like drivin' wrack; But may the tapmast grain that wags I'm bizzie too, an' skelpin' at it, But bitter, daudin' showers hae wat it, Sae my auld stumpie pen I gat it Wi' muckle wark, An' took my jocteleg an' whatt it, It's now twa month that I'm your debtor, For your braw, nameless, dateless letter, Abusin' me for harsh ill nature On holy men, While deil a hair yoursel' ye're better, But let the kirk-folk ring their bells, To help, or roose us, But browster wives an' whiskey stills, They are the muses. Your friendship Sir, I winna quat it, An' if ye mak' objections at it, Then han' in nieve some day we'll knot it, An' witness take, An' when wi' Usquabae we've wat it It winna break. But if the beast and branks be spar'd An' a' the vittel in the yard, An' theekit right, I mean your ingle-side to guard Ae winter night. |