TO

A LOUSE.

ON SEEING ONE ON A LADY'S BONNET,

AT CHURCH.

HA! whare ye gaun, ye crowlin ferlie!
Your impudence protects you sairly:
I canna say but ye strunt rarely,

Owre gauze and lace ;

Tho' faith, I fear ye dine but sparely

Ye ugly, creepin, blastit wonner,
Detested, shunn'd by saunt an' sinner,
How dare ye set your fit upon her,
Sae fine a lady!

Gae somewhere else and seek your dinner,
On some poor body.

Swith, in some beggar's haffet squattle;

There ye may creep, and sprawl, and sprattle Wi' ither kindred, jumpin cattle,

In shoals and nations ;

Whare horn or bane ne'er dare unsettle
Your thick plantations.

Now haud ye there, ye're out o' sight,

Below the fatt'rils, snug an' tight;

Na, faith ye yet! ye'll no be right

Till ye've got on it,

The vera tapmost, tow'ring height

O' Miss's bonnet.

My sooth! right bauld ye set your nose out,

As plump and gray as onie grozet ;

O for some rank, mercurial rozet,

I'd gie you sic a hearty doze o't,

Or fell, red smeddum,

Wad dress your droddum! I wad na been surpris'd to spy

You on an auld wife's flainen toy;

Or aiblins some bit duddie boy,

But Miss's fine Lunardi! fie,

On's wyliecoat;

How dare ye do't!

O, Jenny, dinna toss your head,

An' set your beauties a' abread!

Ye little ken what cursed speed

The blastie's makin!

Thae winks and finger-ends, I dread,

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Are notice takin!

O wad some pow'r the giftie gie us

To see oursels as others see us!

It wad frae monie a blunder free us

And foolish notion :

What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us,
And ev'n Devotion!

ADDRESS

EDINA! Scotia's darling seat!

All hail thy palaces and tow'rs, Where once beneath a monarch's feet

Sat legislation's sov'reign pow'rs! From marking wildly-scatter'd flow'rs, As on the banks of Ayr I stray'd, And singing, lone, the ling'ring hours, I shelter in thy honour'd shade.

II. II.

Here wealth still swells the golden tide,
As busy trade his labours plies ;
There architecture's noble pride
Bids elegance and splendor rise ;
Here justice, from her native skies,
High wields her balance and her rod;
There learning, with his eagle eyes,
Seeks science in her coy abode.

III.

Thy Sons, EDINA, social, kind,

With open arms the stranger hail; Their views enlarg'd, their lib'ral mind, Above the narrow, rural vale ; Attentive still to sorrow's wail,

Or modest merit's silent claim ; And never may their sources fail! And never envy blot their name!

IV.

Thy daughters bright thy walks adorn!
Gay as the gilded summer sky,
Sweet as the dewy milk-white thorn,
Dear as the raptur'd thrill of joy ;

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