Masonic Poets Of Scotland—No. I.

musical , sprightly , or sad—that have stirred the tenderest of passions , and cheered the downcast and dispirited ; thousands on thousands heard , as if the blow had . been struck at their own hearts and homes , that the minstrel ' s eye was closed in

death ; that Burns had expired prematurely old ; that the poet of the people , Avho had sung so sweetly of the " ingle side , " and so graphically depicted Scottish customs ; whose shade seemed to hover hy wood , stream , and waterfall , to linger in

the sequestered glen and by the hoary ruin ; who had immortalised the place of " tryst , " and Tam o' Shanter's fli ° -ht , and the " banks and braes o ' bonnie Doon , " had departed to join the vast multitude of the undying .

We shall not enlarge upon the poetry of Burns . True poetry essentially consists in a reflection or sublimation of feeling ; it glows with the fire of passion , or gives utterance , musically , to some universal or particular truth . Often , in happy

words , describing objects with which we are conversant , it drapes them with a mantle of beauty . So poetry , Avhen treating of familiar themesweaving the spells of youthful fancy , or depicting the tenderness of human love , or investing

commoner objects with lustre—appeals to as wide a circle as it can reach . In addition , Burns' poetry appealed to popular sympathies and likings ; it breathed a spirit of manliest independence—did not deal in far-fetched allusions—and often

embodied the fervour of a fall heart . Instead of an epic , he wrote " The Twa Dogs " and " Tam o ' Shanter . " Patriotism he appealed to in such strains as these : " Does haughty Gaul invasion threat ? " or better still , in tbe " Scots , wha hae . " Often did he write concernin . o- love—the theme of

not a few of his poems , ancl of the larger proportion of his songs , beautifully portraying ( though sometimes dwelling on its coarser aspects ) many of its gentler promptings and emotions . How closely , too , had he looked on the changeful

aspect of surrounding nature , truly sketchingwith the few touches bringing- out the idea as by a master's hand—the scenery with which he was conversant !

We specify , as worthy of notice ,- the power of describing both scenery and persons which Burns possessed , mingled with ancl influenced by warmth of emotion . Thus , the well-known lines on a " mountain daisy : "AVee modest , crimson-tipped flower , I ' ve met thee in an evil hour :

For I maun crush amang the stour Thy slender stem : To snare thee now is past my power , Thou bonny gem . Cauld blew the bitter , biting north Upon thy early , humble birth ;

Yet cheerfully thou glinted forth Amid the storm , Scarce rear'd above the parent earth Thy tender form .

The flaunting flowers our gardens yield , High sheltering woods and wa ' s maun shield ; But thou , beneath the random bield 0 ' clod or stane , Adorns the histie stibble-field Unseen , alane .

There , in thy scanty mantle clad , Thy snawy bosom sunward spread , Thou lifts thy unassuming head In humble guise ; But now the share uptears thy bed , And low thou lies .

Such is the fate of hapless maid , Sweet floweret of the rural shade By love's simplicity betray'd , And guileless trust , Till she , like thee , all soil'd is laid Low i' the dust .

Let us also notice the description of the "bonnie lark" in the same ] 3 oem : — Bending thee ' mang the dewy weet , WV speckled breast , Then , upward springing , blythe to meet The kindling east :

A peculiarly striking and well-defined image . . Pervaded by equal tenderness and beauty are the " Stanzas to a Mouse on turning'her up in her nest Avith the Plough , " which Francis Jeffrey singled out for admiration when reviewing Burns "

writings fifteen years after the poet ' s death . Such are characteristic specimens of his poetry in its purest and most natural vein . Of Burns ' songs—perhaps the most perfect of all his compositions—we shall soon say something . But we

would remark upon what may be called , for lack of a better expression , the excellence of his moralising descriptions : — But pleasures are like poppies spread , AA e seize the flower , the bloom is fled ; Or like the snow-flake on the river , One moment seen , then lost for ever .

HOAV deep the pathos , and natural the feeling , expressed in what follows , but taking a rather worldly view , though well worthy of quotation on account of the fineness of the expression : — I'll wander on , wi' tentiess heed How never halting moments speed ,