Memorials of Robert Burns and of some of his contemporaries and their descendants, by the grandson of Robert Aiken, with a numerous selection of his best poems and songs |
From inside the book
Page 4
... Till his 23rd year , by his brother's testimony , and to use his own words , " heart glowed with honest warm simplicity , un- " acquainted and uncorrupted with the ways of a " wicked world . The great misfortune of my life was " " my 66 ...
... Till his 23rd year , by his brother's testimony , and to use his own words , " heart glowed with honest warm simplicity , un- " acquainted and uncorrupted with the ways of a " wicked world . The great misfortune of my life was " " my 66 ...
Page 12
... till I have an opportunity in person , which I expect to have on Thursday first , of assuring you how sincerely I ever am , " Honoured and Dear Sir , " Your oft obliged , " ROBT . BURNS . " Of the many most interesting letters sent by ...
... till I have an opportunity in person , which I expect to have on Thursday first , of assuring you how sincerely I ever am , " Honoured and Dear Sir , " Your oft obliged , " ROBT . BURNS . " Of the many most interesting letters sent by ...
Page 14
... Till crush'd beneath the furrow's weight , Shall be thy doom ! " But Burns can descend to things most insignificant , most unpoetical , and yet charm you . Shakspere says— " The toad , ugly and venomous , Wears yet a precious jewel in ...
... Till crush'd beneath the furrow's weight , Shall be thy doom ! " But Burns can descend to things most insignificant , most unpoetical , and yet charm you . Shakspere says— " The toad , ugly and venomous , Wears yet a precious jewel in ...
Page 20
... Till too , too soon , the glowing west Proclaim'd the speed of winged day . Still o'er these scenes my mem'ry wakes , And fondly broods with miser care ! Time but th ' impression deeper makes , As streams their channels deeper wear . My ...
... Till too , too soon , the glowing west Proclaim'd the speed of winged day . Still o'er these scenes my mem'ry wakes , And fondly broods with miser care ! Time but th ' impression deeper makes , As streams their channels deeper wear . My ...
Page 21
... till he seems to feel the breeze from his native hills fan and revive his languid frame , —to see the well - known river , to hear the dash of its waterfalls , and listen to the murmuring flow of its crystal streams at the magic touch ...
... till he seems to feel the breeze from his native hills fan and revive his languid frame , —to see the well - known river , to hear the dash of its waterfalls , and listen to the murmuring flow of its crystal streams at the magic touch ...
Common terms and phrases
Afton amang auld auld lang syne Ayrshire banks bard beautiful Birks of Aberfeldy blaw blest bonnie bonnie Lass bosom braes BRIGS brother Burns cauld charm Cotter's Saturday Night Dalrymple daughter dear death Doonholm Dugald Stewart e'er Edinburgh Ellisland EPISTLE Ev'n fair Farewell father feeling Fête Champêtre flowers frae glen ha'e Halloween hame happy hear heart Highland hills honour James Jean King lass lassie letter lived Lord Lord Cockburn mair married Mary maun mony morning mourn Muse Nature's ne'er never o'er owre pleasure poems poet poetry poor pride rhyme river Ayr roar Robert Aiken Robert Burns Scotland Scottish Shakspere Shaw sing song soul Stewart stream sweet syne Tam O'Shanter tears thee thou thought thro unco verse wander weary weel Whyles wild winds wrote
Popular passages
Page 82 - He was the man who of all modern, and perhaps ancient poets, had the largest and most comprehensive soul, All the images of Nature were still present to him, and he drew them, not laboriously, but luckily: when he describes any thing, you more than see it, you feel it too.
Page 200 - His lyart haffets wearing thin an' bare ; Those strains that once did sweet in Zion glide, He wales a portion with judicious care; And "Let us worship God!" he says, with solemn air. They chant their artless notes in simple guise; They tune their hearts, by far the noblest aim : Perhaps "Dundee's" wild warbling measures rise, Or plaintive "Martyrs...
Page 199 - What makes the youth sae bashfu' an' sae grave ; Weel pleas'd to think her bairn's respected like the lave. O happy love ! where love like this is found ! O heart-felt raptures ! bliss beyond compare ! I've paced much this weary, mortal round, And sage experience bids me this declare: — "If Heaven a draught of heavenly pleasure spare, One cordial in this melancholy vale, 'Tis when a youthful, loving, modest pair, In other's arms breathe out the tender tale, Beneath the milk-white thorn that scents...
Page 178 - An' weary winter comin' fast, An' cozie here, beneath the blast, Thou thought to dwell, Till crash! the cruel coulter past Out thro' thy cell. That wee bit heap o' leaves an' stibble Has cost thee mony a weary nibble!
Page 178 - Thy wee bit housie, too, in ruin ! Its silly wa's the win's are strewin' ! An' naething, now, to big a new ane, O...
Page 367 - Ye banks and braes and streams around The castle o' Montgomery, Green be your woods, and fair your flowers, Your waters never drumlie ! There simmer first unfauld her robes, And there the langest tarry ; For there I took the last fareweel O' my sweet Highland Mary. How sweetly bloom'd the gay green birk, How rich the hawthorn's blossom, As underneath their fragrant shade I clasp'd her to my bosom ! The golden hours on angel wings Flew o'er me and my dearie ; For dear to me as light and life Was my...
Page 178 - I'm truly sorry man's dominion. Has broken nature's social union, An' justifies that ill opinion, Which makes thee startle At me, thy poor earth-born companion, An...
Page 56 - Tho' they may gang a kennin wrang, To step aside is human : One point must still be greatly dark, The moving Why they do it ; And just as lamely can ye mark, How far perhaps they rue it. Who made the heart, 'tis He alone Decidedly can try us, He knows each chord its various tone, Each spring its various bias : Then at the balance let's be mute, We never can adjust it ; What's done we partly may compute, But know not what's resisted.
Page 202 - And oh ! may Heaven their simple lives prevent From luxury's contagion, weak and vile ! Then, howe'er crowns and coronets be rent, A virtuous populace may rise the while, And stand a wall of fire around their much-loved Isle. O Thou! who pour'd the patriotic tide That stream'd thro...
Page 197 - November chill blaws loud wi' angry sugh ; The short'ning winter-day is near a close ; The miry beasts retreating frae the pleugh ; The black'ning trains o' craws to their repose : The toil-worn Cotter frae his labour goes, This night his weekly moil is at an end, Collects his spades, his mattocks, and his hoes, Hoping the morn in ease and rest to spend, And weary, o'er the moor, his course does hameward bend. At length his lonely cot appears in view, Beneath the shelter of an aged tree ; Th' expectant...