Part 19 (1/2)
_Mar_ Then is their conduct stillcould excuse the inteues but a natural and uncontrollable bitterness of mind
FOOTNOTES:
[G] For the sake of brevity a part of the first scene has been excised It subsequently appears that Lady Teazle abandons the society of the scandal-ers, and she and her fond but somewhat irascible husband becoie us To see oursel's as others see us!
It wad frae monie a blunder free us And foolish notion: What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us, And e'en devotion!_
ROBERT BURNS
XXVIII THE COTTER'S SAturdAY NIGHT[H]
ROBERT BURNS--1759-1796
Let not Ambition mock their useful toil, Their homely joys, and destiny obscure; Nor Grandeur hear with a disdainful smile The short and simple annals of the poor
GRAY
My lov'd, my honor'd, e pays; With honest pride, I scorn each selfish end,-- My dearest , in simple Scottish lays, The lowly train in life's sequester'd scene; The native feelings strong, the guileless ways; What Aiken in a cottage would have been; Ah! though his worth unknown, far happier there, I ween
Nove winter-day is near a close; Thetrains o' craws to their repose: The toil-worn Cotter frae his labor goes-- This night his weekly moil is at an end,-- Collects his spades, histhe morn[2] in ease and rest to spend, And, weary, o'er the th his lonely cot appears in view, Beneath the shelter of an aged tree; The expectant wee-things, toddlin, stacher[3] through, To lee
His wee bit ingle,[5] blinkin bonnily, His clean hearth-stane, his thriftie wifie's s on his knee, Does a' his weary carking cares beguile, An' et his labor an' his toil
Belyve,[6] the elder bairns co the farh, some herd, some tentie[8] rin A canny[9] errand to a neebor town: Their eldest hope, their Jenny, wo in her e'e, Coown, Or deposite[11] her sair-won[12] penny-fee,[13]
To help her parents dear, if they in hardshi+p be
Wi' joy unfeign'd, brothers and sisters meet And each for other's welfare kindly spiers:[14]
The social hours, sing'd, unnoticed fleet; Each tells the uncos[15] that he sees or hears; The parents, partial, eye their hopeful years; Anticipation forward points the view
The mother, wi' her needle an' her shears, Gars[16] auld claes look amaist as weel's the new; The father mixes a' wi' admonition due
Their master's an' their mistress's command The younkers a' are warned to obey; An' h out o' sight, to jauk[18] or play: ”An' oh! be sure to fear the Lord alway, An' ht!
Lest in te astray, Iht in vain that sought the Lord aright!”
But, hark! a rap co o' the same, Tells how a neebor lad cam o'er the moor To do some errands, and convoy her hame
The wily mother sees the conscious flame Sparkle in Jenny's e'e, an' flush her cheek; Wi' heart-struck, anxious care, inquires his name, While Jenny hafflins[19] is afraid to speak; Weel pleas'd the mother hears it's nae wild, worthless rake
Wi' kindly welcos him ben;[20]
A strappan youth; he taks the mother's eye; Blithe Jenny sees the visit's no ill ta'en; The father cracks[21] of horses, pleughs, and kye
The youngster's artless heart o'erfloi' joy, But, blate[22] an' laithfu',[23] scarce can weel behave; The mother, wi' a woman's wiles, can spy What rave; Weel pleas'd to think her bairn's respected like the lave[24]
O happy love! where love like this is found!
O heart-felt raptures! bliss beyond coe experience bids ht of heavenly pleasure spare, One cordial in this , modest pair, In other's arms breathe out the tender tale, Beneath the ale”