August, 1806.
MY gude auld frien on Locher banks,
Your kindness claims my warmest thanks ;
Yet, thanks is but a draff-cheap phrase
O little value now-a-days ;
Indeed, it's hardly worth the heeding,
Unless to show a body's breeding.
Yet mony a puir, doilt, servile bodie
Will scrimp his stomach o its crowdie,
An pride to rin a great man's erran's,
An feed on smiles an sour cheese parin's,
An think himsel nae sma sheepshank,
Rich laden wi his lordship's thank.
The soger, too, for a his troubles,
His hungry wames, and bluidy hubbies,
His agues, rheumatisms, cramps,
Received in plashy winter camps,
O blest reward ! at last he gains
His sov'reign's thanks for a his pains.
‘Twas [1] wisely said by “Queer Sir John,”
That “Honour wadna buy a scone.”
Sae ane, of thanks, may get a million,
Yet live as puir's a porter's scullion :
Indeed, they're just (but, beg your pardon,)
Priest-blessing like, no worth a fardin. [2]
Thus, tho ‘mang first o frien's I rank you,
'Twere but sma compliment to thank you ;
Yet, lest you think me here ungratefu,
Of hatefu' names, a name most hatefu,
The neist time that ye come to toun,
By a' the pow'rs beneath the moon !
I'll treat you wi' a Hieland gill, [3]
Tho it shou'd be my hindmaist fill.
Tho in the bustling toun, the Muse
Has gather'd little feck o' news,
'Tis said, the Court of Antiquarians,
Has split on some great point o variance,
For ane has got, in gouden box,
The spectacles of auld John Knox ;
A second proudly thanks his fate wi'
The hindmaist pen that Nelson wrate wi',
A third ane owns an antique rare,
A saip brush made o mermaid's hair !
But, niggard wichts ! they a' refuse 'em—
These precious relics, to the museum,
Whilk selfish, mean, illegal deeds,
Hae set them a at loggerheads.
'Tis [4] also said, our noble Prince, [5]
Has play'd the wee saut loon for ance,
Has gien his bonnie wife the fling,
Yet gars her wear Hans Carvers ring ;
But a sic clish clash cracks I'll lea
Tae yon sculdudry committee.
Sure, taste refin'd and public spirit
Stan next to genius in merit ;
I'm proud to see your warm regard
For Caledonia's dearest bard.
Of him ye've got sae guid a painting,[6]
That nocht but real life is awanting.
I think yon rising genius, Tannock, [7]
May gain a niche in Fame's heich winnock ;
There, with auld Rubens,[8] placed sublime,
Look doun upon the wreck o time.
I ne'er, as yet, hae found a patron,
For, scorn be till't ! I hate a flatt'rin',
Besides, I never had an itchhin
Tae slake about a great man's kitchen,
An, like a spaniel, lick his dishes,
An come an gang just tae his wishes ;
Yet, studious to give worth its due,
I pride to praise the like o you ;
Gude chiels, replete wi sterling sense,
Wha wi their worth mak nae pretence.
Ay—there's my worthy frien, M‘Math, [9]
I'll loe him till my latest breath,
An like a traitor wretch be hang'd,
Before I'd hear that fallow wrang'd ;
His every action shows his mind,
Humanely noble, bricht, and kind,
An here's the worth o't, doubly rooted,
He never speaks ae word about it !
—My compliments an warm gudewill
Tae Maisters Semple, [10] Barr, [11] Lyle.[12]
Wad rav'ning Time but spare my pages,
They'd tell the warl in after ages,
That it, tae me, was wealth an fame,
Tae be esteem'd by chiels like them.
O Time, thou all devouring bear !
Hear—List, O list my ardent pray'r !
I crave thee here, on bended knee,
Tae let my dear-lov'd pages be !
O tak thy sharp-nail'd nibbling elves,
Tae musty scrolls on college shelves !
There, wi dry treatises on law,
Feast, cram, and gorge thy greedy maw;
But grant, amidst thy thin-sown mercies,
Tae spare, O spare, my darling verses!
Could I but up thro hist'ry wimple,
Wi Robertson [13] or sage Dalrymple ; [14]
Or had I haul the pith an lear
Of a Mackenzie [15] or a Blair ! [16]
I aiblins then micht tell some story,
Wad show the Muse in bleezin glory ;
But scrimpt o time [17] and lear scholastic,
My lines run on in Hudibrastic, [18]
Till Hope, grown sick, flings down her claim,
An draps her dreams o' future fame.
—Yes, Oh waesuck ! should I be vaunty ?
My Muse is just a Rosinante, [19]
She stammers forth, wi hilchlin canter,
Sagely intent on strange adventure,
Yet, sae uncouth in garb an feature,
She seems the Fool of Literature.
But lest the critic's birsie besom,
Soop aff this cant of egotism,
I'll [20] sidelins hint—na, bauldly tell,
I whyles think something o mysel :
Else, wha the diel wad fash to scribble,
Expectin scorn for a his trouble ?
Yet, lest dear self shoud be mista'en,
I'll fling the bridle o'er the mane,
For, after a, I fear this jargon
Is but a Willie Glassford bargain.[21]
Note by Ramsay.—“This is the ‘worthy auld Buchanan’ celebrated as a naturalist in the Epistle to Barr (No. 20.) He was also something of an antiquary; and like Burns' friend, Captain Grose, was possessed of ‘a routh o auld nick-nackets.’ He died lately at an advanced age.”
James Buchanan, weaver in Kilbarchan, was horn in that village in 1756,—the year Tannahill's father came from Kilmarnock and settled in Paisley. He was an intelligent and independent person, and a very worthy and respected villager. He taught apprentices the weaving trade; and two of these were James Barr, mentioned in Notes to Nos. 20 and 144, and William M'Neil, referred to in the Notes of No. 62. James Buchanan devoted his leisure hours to antiquarian researches, botanical rambles, and study of the fine arts, music, and poetry. He became such an enthusiast in the prosecution of these several objects, that he formed a museum with his antiquarian relics, botanical specimens, and paintings; and while visitors were examining the collection, he entertained them with music on the dulcimer. One of his paintings, which was much admired, was the “Banks and Falls of Locherwater.” The pencil and not the pen could do justice to the beautiful scenery on the banks of the rivulet, and the silvery cascades of the stream. Locher, Welsh, the stream of linn and pools. Tannahill, in the first line of the Epistle, refers to his friend “on Locher banks.”
James Buchanan was appointed to the office of Grand Master of Saint Barchan's (156) Masonic Lodge, instituted in 1784; and he was chosen the first chairman of the Kilbarchan Burns' Anniversary Club, in 1804. His grandson, James Buchanan, 81 years of age, and, like his grandsire, a respectable weaver in Kilbarchan, mentioned to us that he had on two occasions gone with his grandsire to see Paisley, and on one of these occasions he was in a public-house in the main street, near the Cross of Paisley, nearly opposite the Saracen's Head Inn, and there were present, Smith, Stuart, Tolmie, Tannahill, James Buchanan, and the boy himself. Smith sang “Jessie, the Flower o Dunblane.” John Tolmie was a Paisley weaver, and afterwards became precentor in the Leigh Kirk of Paisley, before Stuart. The other parties are mentioned in other notes. The public-house was evidently Allan Stewart's Sun Tavern, 12 High Street, Paisley, and the party had met in the club room. James Buchanan, tertius, stated that his grandfather burned all his poetical pieces before his death, and he only recollected one couplet—an impromptu. He also mentioned that his grandmother, Mary Arnott, was a great smoker, but George How, an acquaintance, was a greater, and one day when his grandfather came in from the garden to the house, the two smokers had their black cutties in their mouths, puffing dreadful blasts, when his grandfather at once repeated the following couplet :—
“Tobacco reek, in misty columns flew,
Free Mary first, and eyne frae Geordie Hoo.”
John Buchanan, weaver in Paisley, another grandson, stated that he was now 79 years of age, and when he was ten, in 1806, he accompanied his grandfather to Paisley to see the town. On returning, and coming to Queen Street, they went down to see Tannahill, and after a short conversation, he invited them into the house of his mother, where they were entertained to tea. She was a quiet old woman. Tannahill's face was sharp or thin, and his nose was long. His working dress was a bonnet, blue jacket, and knee breeches, and in that dress he convoyed them to the east end of Elderslie, near a road leading down to Burn Brae. There were neither Canal nor Railway then. Old James Buchanan died in 1829, aged 73 years, and his antiquarian relics, botanical specimens, paintings, and musical instruments, that he had so much pleasure in collecting, were all dispersed,—Ed.
[1] This paragraph was suppressed in the Editions of 1815 and 1817.
[2] Note by the Author.—“Alluding to the anecdote of the sailor who would not accept of the priest's blessing, alleging that if it was worth one farthing he would not part with it.”
[3] Note by Ramsay.—“A Hielan' gill—a phrase jocularly used in the Low¬lands of Scotland to mean double quantity of a common gill—half a mutchkin. Thus Burns says—
‘But bring a Scotsman frae his hill,
Clap in his cheek a Highland gill,
Say, such is royal George's will,
And there's the foe,
He has nae thought but how to kill Twa at a blow.’ ”
[4] This paragraph was omitted in the Editions of 1815, 1817, and 1838.—Ed.
[5] George Augustus Frederick, Prince of Wales, born 12th August, 1762, married 8th April, 1795, his cousin, Princess Caroline Amelia, sister of the Duke of Brunswick, born 17th May, 1768; issue, Princess Charlotte Augusta, born 7th January, 1796.—Ed.
[6] Note by the Author.—“Portrait of Burns, painted by Mr. J. Tannock for the Kilbarchan Burns Anniversary Society.” This portrait is now in the possession of Mr. Archibald Crawford, Kilbarchan, one of the two surviving members of the original Society.—Ed.
[7] Note in the 1825 Edition.—“Mr. Tannock belongs originally to Kilmarnock, and has for many years prosecuted his profession of portrait painting in London with a success certainly deserving the poetical compliment here paid him.” James Tannock, a distinguished artist, was born in Kilmarnock in 1784. In 1803, be became a student with Alexander Naysmith, Edinburgh, a celebrated artist, to whom Burns sat for his portrait. Tannock afterwards came to Paisley, and practised for two years; and, during that period, painted the Kilbarchan portrait of Burns,—the first he executed. After visiting several provincial towns in Scotland, he went to London, and became a student of the Royal Academy, and next in the British Gallery, where he was introduced to several parsons of eminence and distinction, and entrusted with the execution of many fine works of art. He was also much employed in painting portraits of Burns. The eminent painter, Benjamin West, President of the Royal Society, on seeing one of Tannock's portraits, and following up the opinion expressed by Tannahill, wrote thus:—“It is Nature itself; it is the man sitting before you. Tannock is a man of genius.” James Tannock died at Kilmarnock in 1863, aged 79.—Ed.
[8] Peter Paul Rubens, born 29th June, 1577, the great Flemish historical painter, whose chefs-d'ceuvre are “The Descent from the Cross,” “The Elevation of the Cross,” and “Last Judgment.” He died 30th May, 1640.
[9] In the original edition, this name was printed M'M * * * In subsequent editions, it was sometimes printed M‘Neil and sometimes M‘Math. The latter is correct; and that worthy friend of the Author, John M'Math, was a weaver, who wrought in the same loomshop with him. Like the Poet, he lived and died a bachelor.—Ed.
[10] James Semple, manufacturer, Kilbarchan, born in 1775. He was an acquaintance of the Author and R. A. Smith, and they frequently met him in Kilbarchan. James Semple was twice elected President of the Kilbarchan Burns' Club. He was an extreme Royalist, and was the junior Lieutenant in the Renfrewshire Yeomanry Infantry when the above Epistle was written, and afterwards an officer in the Renfrewshire Militia, and, latterly, in the Rifles of 1819. He died in 1833, aged 68. Mr. Semple was not related to the Editor.—Ed.
[11] James Barr,—“blythe Jamie.” See Notes to Nos. 20 and 144.—Ed.[12] William Lyle, weaver, Kilbarchan. He was Precentor in the Parish Kirk, Kilbarchan, and obtained some celebrity as a vocalist. He died in 1822, aged 42.—Ed.
[13] William Robertson, D.D., born at Borthwick in Midlothian, 1721; died 11th June, 1793. He was a distinguished historian, and wrote the history of Scotland in 1759, besides several other histories and literary works. He was Principal of the Edinburgh University.—Ed.
[14] Sir David Dalrymple of Hailes, Baronet, admitted a Lord of Session 6th March, 1766, under the title of “Lord Miles.” He was the author of the erudite work “Annals of Scotland,” which is a standing monument of accurate and faithful research, and is a most reliable history of our ancient kingdom. He also wrote some minor historical works. He was born in 1726, and died 29th November, 1792.—Ed.
[15] Henry Mackenzie, born in Edinburgh in August, 1745. He was educated for the legal profession, but became more distinguished in literary work. He was the author of “The Man of Feeling,” published in 1771, and “Man of the World,” 1773, and “Enquiry into the Nature and Authenticity of the Poems of Ossian,” 1805. He, along with other friends, projected the “British Essayists.” Died 14th June, 1831.—Ed..
[16] Hugh Blair, D.D., F.R.S.E., born 7th April, 1718, minister in Edinburgh, and first Professor of Belles Lettres in the University there. He wrote a Dissertation concerning the Antiquity of the Poems of Ossian in 1762, and his Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres were published in 1783. He died 27th December, 1810.—Ed.
[17] Note by the Author.—“Time”—Scottish idiom for leisure.
[18] Doggerel verse, like that in which Butler's “Hudibras” was composed. Samuel Butler was born in 1612; and wrote the poem of “Hudibras,” attacking the cant and fanaticism of the period, and gained the approbation of Charles II. He died in 1680.
[19] The name the erratic Spanish knight, Don Quixote, gave to his steed when he set out on his strange adventures. Though the bones of the old horse jutted out, he fancied that neither the horse Bucephalus of Alexander the Great, nor the horse Babieca of Cid, the Spanish hero, were equal to the new-named Rosinante. Rosin (Spanish), a common drudge horse; ante, before. Michael de Cervantes Saavedra, author of “Don Quixote,” poet, novelist, and dramatist, was born 1549; and died 1616, aged 69. “Don Quixote” was published in 1605, and 1615 at Madrid.
[20] This paragraph was omitted in the editions of 1815 and 1817.—Ed.
[21] Note by Ramsay.—“William Glassford, a late writer of doggerel verses, which he hawked in pennyworths amongst the inhabitants of Paisley, under the title of ‘Poems on Engaging Subjects.’ The reader may be amused on being made aware of some of those subjects, which the author considered so captivating. One is ‘On the Police of Paisley;’ another, ‘On Creation;’ a third, ‘On War; France and Bonaparte’ and a fourth, ‘On the New Light’.”
William Glassford, commonly called “Willie,” lived in Well Street, and he generally came down to the Cross on Thursdays (the market day) and Saturday afternoons. He liked his “mercies,” particularly if he got them for nothing ; and he generally returned “wi a wee bit drappie in his e'e,” either “laughin or greetin fou.” He was one of the minor rhymsters of Paisley, and frequently rested on the doorsteps opposite Professor Wilson's (author of “The Isle of Palms”) house. Willie delighted in children, or children believed in Willie; and he would form them into a ring round him, and sing—or, rather, croon—what he called his “sublime stanza,” the description of "oor ain toun”:—
The bonnie toun o Paisley,
It stan's upon a hill ;
By it rins the River Cart,
And ca's the Seidill Mill.”
(That verse has been rivetted on our memory from our youth.) Willie then, pointing over to Professor Wilson's house, said—“If I had been born in that big house, I would has been a gran poet.” William Glassford died in November, 1822, aged 60.—Ed.
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