1806.
“Him who ne'er listen'd to the voice of praise,
The silence of neglect can ne'er appal.”
—Beattie. [1]
TWAS on a sunny Sabbath day,
When wark-worn bodies get their play
(Thanks tae the rulers o the nation,
Wha gi'e us all a toleration,
Tae gang as best may please oursel's—
Some tae the kirk, some tae the fiel's), [2]
I've wander'd out, wi serious leuk,
Tae read twa page on Nature's beuk ;
For lang I've thocht, as little harm in
Hearin a lively out-fiel sermon,
Even tho rowtet by a stirk,
As that aft bawl'd in crowd'd kirk
By some proud, stern, polemic wicht,
Wha cries, “My way alane is richt!”
Wha lairs himsel in controversy,
Then damns his neighbours without mercy,
As if the fewer that were spar't,
These few would be the better ser't.
Now tae my tale—digression o'er—
I wander'd out by Stanely tow'r,
The lang grass on its tap did wave,
Like weeds upon a warrior's grave ;
Whilk seem'd tae mock the bluidy braggers,
An grow on theirs as rank's on beggars'—
But hold, I'm frae the point again.—
I wander'd up Gleniffer glen ;
There, leaning gainst a mossy rock,
I, musing, ey'd the passing brook,
That in its murmurs seem'd tae sae—
“Tis thus thy life glides fast away :
Observe the bubbles on my stream ;
Like them, fame is an empty dream,
They blink a moment tae the sun,
Then burst, and are for ever gone :
So fame's a bubble of the mind ;
Possess'd, tis nocht but empty wind,
No courtly gem e'er purchas'd dearer,
An' ne'er can satisfy the wearer.
Let them wha hae a bleezing share o't
Confess the truth, they sigh for mair o't.
Then let contentment be thy cheer,
An never soar aboon thy sphere;
Rude storms assail the mountain's brow
That lichtly skiff the vale below."
A gaudy Rose was growing near,
Proud, tow'ring on its leafy brier ; [3]
In Fancy's ear it seem'd to say—
“Sir, have you seen a flower so gay ?
The poet's in my praises combine,
Comparing Chloe's [4] charms tae mine ;
The sunbeams for my favour sue me,
And dark-brow'd nicht comes doun tae woo me;
But when I shrink from his request,
He draps his tears upon my breast,
And in his misty cloud sits wae,
Till chas'd away by rival day—
That streamlet's grov'lling grunting fires me,
Since no one sees me but admires me ;
See yon bit violet [5] neath my view :
Wee sallow thing, its nose is blue !
An that bit primrose [6] 'side the breckan,
Puir yellow ghaist,—it seems forsaken !
The sun ne'er throws't ae transient glow,
Unless when passing whether or no ;
But wisely spurning ane sae mean,
He blinks on me frae morn till e'en.”
To which the Primrose calm replied—
“Puir gaudy gowk, suppress your pride,
For sune the strong flow'r-sweeping blast
Shall strew your honours in the dust ;
While I, beneath my lowly bield,
Will live an bloom frae harm conceal'd ;
An while the heavy raindrops pelt you,
Ye'll maybe think on what I've tell't you.”
The Rose, derisive, seem'd to sneer,
An wav'd upon its bonnie brier.
Now dark'ning duds began to gather,
Presaging sudden change o weather ;
I wander'd hame by Stanely green,
Deep pond'ring what I'd heard an seen,
Firmly resolv'd to shun from hence
The dangerous steeps of eminence,
Tae drap this rhyming trade for ever,
And creep thro life a plain, day plodding weaver.
This poem first appeared in 1806 in Maver's Gleaner. See Note to No. 5.—Ed.
[1] James Beattie, LL.D., an eminent Poet and Philosopher, was born at Lawrencekirk, 25th October, 1735. His leisure hours were devoted to poetical compositions, several of which appeared in the Scots Magazine. His first volume of Poems was published in 1759. In 1760, he was appointed Professor of Moral Philosophy in Mareschal College, Aberdeen. In 1770, his “Essay on Truth” appeared; in 1771 and 1774, his “Minstrelsy” was published; and, in 1776, his Essays on Poetry and Music. He died 18th August, 1803. The gentle Tannahill must have been an admirer of Beattie, when he took the motto of this poem from his works, and also added a note from the same author to the “Soldier's Funeral,” No. 101.
[2] This parenthetical sentence was suppressed in Ramsay's Edition.
[3] The Briarbush or Dog-rose,—Rosa canina,—very prevalent on the Braes of Gleniffer and almost everywhere, a spreading shrub, growing from five to eight feet high. Leaflete narrow, elliptic, errated, smooth, upper pair and odd leaflet largest, and the young leaves shining as if varnished. Flowers in June and July, red or white—the latter rarely, and the buds redder than the expanded flowers. The hip or fruit elliptic, smooth, shining scarlet. Rosewater distilled from flowers of the Dog-rose more fragrant than from garden roses. The mossy protuberance seen on the briarbush is the workmanship of bedeguar insects. The Dog-rose is the emblem of Pleasure and Pain.—Ed.
[4] The shepherdess beloved by Daphnis in the pastoral romance of Longus, entitled “Daphnis and Chloe.” Saint Pierre's tale of “Paul and Virginia” is founded on the fine romance of Longus.
[5] The Dog Violet, Viola Canina. This plant is also abundant on Gleniffer Braes. Root woody. Leaves heart-shaped, acute, nearly smooth. Flowers from April to June, and, in shaded places, longer, –the status axillary, solitary, erect, bearing two awl-shaped bracteas in the upper part, and one nodding blue-flower. The emblem of Love in Idleness.—Ed.
[6] The Common Primrose, Primula Vulgaris. This plant is also to be found on Gleniffer Braes. Leaves spread from the root four or five inches long, dark green above and pale beneath. The flowers of a pale yellow or sulphur colour, and very common in April and May, and later in glens. This is the parent of all the varieties of Polyanthi. The emblem of Early Youth.—Ed
[Semple 28]