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The Poetical Works of Robert Fergusson, With Biogr Intr., Notes and Glossary by R. Ford
The Poetical Works of Robert Fergusson With Biogr Intr Notes and Glossary by R Ford Author:Robert Fergusson General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1905 Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million book... more »s for free. Excerpt: THE FARMER'S INGLE. Et multo in primis hilarans convivia Baccho, Ante focuni, si frigus erit. -- V"'g- Btic. When gloamin' grey out-owre the welkin keeks ; When Batie ca's his owsen to the byre ; When Thrasher John, sair dung, his barn-door steeks, And lusty lasses at the dightin' tire ; What bangs fu' leal the e'enin's coming cauld, And gars snaw-tappit winter freeze in vain ; Gars dowie mortal look baith blythe and bauld, Nor fley'd wi' a' the poortith o' the plain ; Begin, my Muse ! and chaunt in namely strain. Frae the big stack, weel winnow't on the hill, Wi' divots theekit frae the weet and drift; Sods, peats and heather)' truffs the chimley fill, And gar their thickening smeek salute the lift, The gudeman, new come name, is blythe to find, When he out-owre the hallan flings his een, That ilka turn is handled to his mind ; That a' his housie looks sae cosh and clean ; For cleanly house loes he, though e'er so mean. Weel kens the gudewife that the pleughs require A heartsome meltith, and refreshing synd O' nappy liquor, owre a bleezin' fire ; Sair wark and poortith downa weel be join'd. Wi' butter'd bannocks now the girdle reeks ; I' the far nook the bowie briskly reams ; The readied kail stand by the chimley cheeks, And haud the riggin het wi' welcome streams, Whilk than the daintiest kitchen nicer seems. The second stanza of Burns's " Cottar's Saturday Night," it will be observed, bears considerable resemblance, in thought and expression, to the opening lines here. It might be argued indeed, as lias been often hinted, that the earlier poem inspired the lat...« less