if ance they pit her till't,
Her tartan petticoat she'll kilt,
An'durk an' pistol at her belt,
She'll tak the streets,
An' rin her whittle to the hilt,
I' the first she meets!
Her tartan petticoat she'll kilt,
An'durk an' pistol at her belt,
She'll tak the streets,
An' rin her whittle to the hilt,
I' the first she meets!
Robert Burns - Poems and Songs
]
[Footnote 4: Sir Adam Ferguson of Kilkerran, Bart. ]
[Footnote 5: The Marquis of Graham, eldest son of the Duke of
Montrose. ]
[Footnote 6: Right Hon. Henry Dundas, M. P. ]
[Footnote 7: Probably Thomas, afterward Lord Erskine. ]
[Footnote 8: Lord Frederick Campbell, second brother of the Duke
of Argyll, and Ilay Campbell, Lord Advocate for Scotland,
afterward President of the Court of Session. ]
An' Livistone, the bauld Sir Willie;^9
An' mony ithers,
Whom auld Demosthenes or Tully
Might own for brithers.
See sodger Hugh,^10 my watchman stented,
If poets e'er are represented;
I ken if that your sword were wanted,
Ye'd lend a hand;
But when there's ought to say anent it,
Ye're at a stand.
Arouse, my boys! exert your mettle,
To get auld Scotland back her kettle;
Or faith! I'll wad my new pleugh-pettle,
Ye'll see't or lang,
She'll teach you, wi' a reekin whittle,
Anither sang.
This while she's been in crankous mood,
Her lost Militia fir'd her bluid;
(Deil na they never mair do guid,
Play'd her that pliskie! )
An' now she's like to rin red-wud
About her whisky.
An' Lord!
if ance they pit her till't,
Her tartan petticoat she'll kilt,
An'durk an' pistol at her belt,
She'll tak the streets,
An' rin her whittle to the hilt,
I' the first she meets!
For God sake, sirs! then speak her fair,
An' straik her cannie wi' the hair,
An' to the muckle house repair,
Wi' instant speed,
An' strive, wi' a' your wit an' lear,
To get remead.
[Footnote 9: Sir Wm. Augustus Cunningham, Baronet, of Livingstone. ]
[Footnote 10: Col. Hugh Montgomery, afterward Earl of Eglinton. ]
Yon ill-tongu'd tinkler, Charlie Fox,
May taunt you wi' his jeers and mocks;
But gie him't het, my hearty cocks!
E'en cowe the cadie!
An' send him to his dicing box
An' sportin' lady.
Tell you guid bluid o' auld Boconnock's, ^11
I'll be his debt twa mashlum bonnocks,
An' drink his health in auld Nance Tinnock's ^12
Nine times a-week,
If he some scheme, like tea an' winnocks,
Was kindly seek.
Could he some commutation broach,
I'll pledge my aith in guid braid Scotch,
He needna fear their foul reproach
Nor erudition,
Yon mixtie-maxtie, queer hotch-potch,
The Coalition.
Auld Scotland has a raucle tongue;
She's just a devil wi' a rung;
An' if she promise auld or young
To tak their part,
Tho' by the neck she should be strung,
She'll no desert.
And now, ye chosen Five-and-Forty,
May still you mither's heart support ye;
Then, tho'a minister grow dorty,
An' kick your place,
Ye'll snap your gingers, poor an' hearty,
Before his face.
God bless your Honours, a' your days,
Wi' sowps o' kail and brats o' claise,
[Footnote 11: Pitt, whose grandfather was of Boconnock in Cornwall. ]
[Footnote 12: A worthy old hostess of the author's in Mauchline,
where he sometimes studies politics over a glass of gude auld
Scotch Drink.
[Footnote 4: Sir Adam Ferguson of Kilkerran, Bart. ]
[Footnote 5: The Marquis of Graham, eldest son of the Duke of
Montrose. ]
[Footnote 6: Right Hon. Henry Dundas, M. P. ]
[Footnote 7: Probably Thomas, afterward Lord Erskine. ]
[Footnote 8: Lord Frederick Campbell, second brother of the Duke
of Argyll, and Ilay Campbell, Lord Advocate for Scotland,
afterward President of the Court of Session. ]
An' Livistone, the bauld Sir Willie;^9
An' mony ithers,
Whom auld Demosthenes or Tully
Might own for brithers.
See sodger Hugh,^10 my watchman stented,
If poets e'er are represented;
I ken if that your sword were wanted,
Ye'd lend a hand;
But when there's ought to say anent it,
Ye're at a stand.
Arouse, my boys! exert your mettle,
To get auld Scotland back her kettle;
Or faith! I'll wad my new pleugh-pettle,
Ye'll see't or lang,
She'll teach you, wi' a reekin whittle,
Anither sang.
This while she's been in crankous mood,
Her lost Militia fir'd her bluid;
(Deil na they never mair do guid,
Play'd her that pliskie! )
An' now she's like to rin red-wud
About her whisky.
An' Lord!
if ance they pit her till't,
Her tartan petticoat she'll kilt,
An'durk an' pistol at her belt,
She'll tak the streets,
An' rin her whittle to the hilt,
I' the first she meets!
For God sake, sirs! then speak her fair,
An' straik her cannie wi' the hair,
An' to the muckle house repair,
Wi' instant speed,
An' strive, wi' a' your wit an' lear,
To get remead.
[Footnote 9: Sir Wm. Augustus Cunningham, Baronet, of Livingstone. ]
[Footnote 10: Col. Hugh Montgomery, afterward Earl of Eglinton. ]
Yon ill-tongu'd tinkler, Charlie Fox,
May taunt you wi' his jeers and mocks;
But gie him't het, my hearty cocks!
E'en cowe the cadie!
An' send him to his dicing box
An' sportin' lady.
Tell you guid bluid o' auld Boconnock's, ^11
I'll be his debt twa mashlum bonnocks,
An' drink his health in auld Nance Tinnock's ^12
Nine times a-week,
If he some scheme, like tea an' winnocks,
Was kindly seek.
Could he some commutation broach,
I'll pledge my aith in guid braid Scotch,
He needna fear their foul reproach
Nor erudition,
Yon mixtie-maxtie, queer hotch-potch,
The Coalition.
Auld Scotland has a raucle tongue;
She's just a devil wi' a rung;
An' if she promise auld or young
To tak their part,
Tho' by the neck she should be strung,
She'll no desert.
And now, ye chosen Five-and-Forty,
May still you mither's heart support ye;
Then, tho'a minister grow dorty,
An' kick your place,
Ye'll snap your gingers, poor an' hearty,
Before his face.
God bless your Honours, a' your days,
Wi' sowps o' kail and brats o' claise,
[Footnote 11: Pitt, whose grandfather was of Boconnock in Cornwall. ]
[Footnote 12: A worthy old hostess of the author's in Mauchline,
where he sometimes studies politics over a glass of gude auld
Scotch Drink.
