Now, by the pow'rs o' verse and prose! Thou art a dainty chield, O Grose! Whae'er o' thee shall ill suppose,
They sair misca' thee;
I'd take the rascal by the nose,
Wad say, Shame fa' thee!
WRITTEN ON THE BLANK LEAF OF A BOOK, PRESENTED TO HER BY THE AUTHOR.
BEAUTEOUS rose-bud, young and gay,
Blooming on thy early May,
Never may'st thou, lovely flow'r,
Chilly shrink in sleety show'r!
Never Boreas' hoary path,
Never Eurus' pois'nous breath, Never baleful stellar lights, Taint thee with untimely blights! Never, never reptile thief
Riot on thy virgin leaf!
Nor even Sol too fiercely view Thy bosom blushing still with dew!
May'st thou long, sweet crimson gem, Richly deck thy native stem;
Till some ev'ning, sober, calm, Dropping dews, and breathing balm, While all around the woodland rings, And ev'ry bird thy requiem sings; Thou, amid the dirgeful sound,
Shed thy dying honours round,
And resign to parent earth
The loveliest form she e'er gave birth
BROTHER TO A YOUNG LADY, A PARTICULAR FRIEND OF THE AUTHOR'S.
SAD thy tale, thou idle page,
And rueful thy alarms:
Death tears the brother of her love
From Isabella's arms.
Sweetly deckt with pearly dew The morning rose may blow; But cold successive noontide blasts May lay its beauties low.
Fair on Isabella's morn
The sun propitious smil’d;
But, long o'er noon, succeeding clouds I' Succeeding hopes beguil❜d.
Fate oft tears the bosom chords That nature finest strung: So Isabella's heart was form'd, And so that heart was wrung,
Dread Omnipotence, alone,
Can heal the wound he gave; Can point the brimful grief-worn eyes To scenes beyond the grave.
Virtue's blossoms there shall blow, And fear no withering blast; There Isabella's spotless worth Shall happy be at last.
HUMBLE PETITION OF BRUAR WATER
Bruar Falls, in Athole, are exceedingly picturesque and beautiful; but their effect is much impaired by the want of trees and shrubs.
My Lord, I know your noble ear Woe ne'er assails in vain; Embolden'd thus, I beg you'll hear Your humble Slave complain, How saucy Phoebus' scorching beams, In flaming summer-pride, Dry-withering, waste my foamy streams, And drink my crystal tide.
The lightly-jumping glowrin trouts, That thro' my waters play, If, in their random, wanton spouts, They near the margin stray; If, hapless chance! they linger lang, I'm scorching up so shallow, They're left the whitening stanes amang, In gasping death to wallow.
Last day I grat wi' spite and teen, As Poet B**** came by,
That, to a bard I should be seen Wi' half my channel dry: A panegyric rhyme, I ween, Even as I was he shor'd me; But had I in my glory been, He, kneeling, wad ador'd me.
Here, foaming down the shelvy rocks, In twisting strength I rin;
There, high my boiling torrent smokes, Wild-roaring o'er a linn: Enjoying large each spring and well As Nature gave them me, I am, altho' I say't mysel, Worth gaun a mile to see.
Would then my noble master please To grant my highest wishes, He'll shade my banks wi' tow'ring trees, And bonnie spreading bushes. Delighted doubly then, my Lord, You'll wander on my banks, And listen mony a grateful bird Return you tuneful thanks.
The sober laverock, warbling wild, Shall to the skies aspire;
The gowdspink, music's gayest child, Shall sweetly join the choir:
The blackbird strong, the lintwhite clear, The mavis mild and mellow;
The robin pensive autumn cheer, In all her locks of yellow:
This too, a covert shall ensure,
To shield them from the storm; And coward maukin sleep secure, Low in her grassy form:
Here shall the shepherd make his seat, To weave his crown of flow'rs; Or find a sheltering safe retreat, From prone descending show'rs.
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