When, glimmering thro' the groaning trees, Thro' ilka bore the beams were glancing; And loud resounded mirth and dancing.105 Inspiring bold John Barleycorn! What dangers thou canst make us scorn! Wi' usquebae, we'll face the devil! The swats sae ream'd in Tammie's noddle, 110 Fair play, he car'd na deils a boddle. But Maggie stood right sair astonish'd, Till, by the heel and hand admonish'd, She ventur'd forward on the light; And vow! Tam saw an unco sight! 115 Warlocks and witches in a dance; Nae cotillion brent new frae France, But hornpipes, jigs, strathspeys, and reels, Put life and mettle in their heels. A winnock-bunker in the east, 120 There sat auld Nick, in shape o' beast; 125 Coffins stood round like open presses, By which heroic Tam was able 130 To note upon the haly table, A murderer's banes in gibbet airns; 135 Five tomahawks, wi' blude red rusted; 140 The grey hairs yet stack to the heft; Which ev'n to name wad be unlawfu'. As Tammie glowr'd, amaz'd and curious, The mirth and fun grew fast and furious: 145 The piper loud and louder blew ; The dancers quick and quicker flew ; They reel'd, they set, they cross'd, they cleekit, And coost her duddies to the wark, 150 And linket at it in her sark! Now Tam, O Tam! had thae been queans, That ance were plush, o' guid blue hair, But Tam kenn'd what was what fu' brawlie, 165 That night enlisted in the core, (Lang after kenn'd on Carrick shore; And shook baith meikle corn and bear, 170 And kept the country-side in fear,) Her cutty sark, o' Paisley harn, It was her best, and she was vauntie. But here my muse her wing maun cour; And thought his very een enrich'd ; 185 Even Satan glowr'd, and fidg'd fu' fain, And hotch'd and blew wi' might and main : Till first ae caper, syne anither, Tam tint his reason a' thegither, And roars out, "Weel done, Cutty-sark! 190 And in an instant all was dark : And scarcely had he Maggie rallied, As bees bizz out wi' angry fyke, 195 As open pussie's mortal foes, When, pop! she starts before their nose; When, "Catch the thief!" resounds aloud; 200 Wi' mony an eldritch skreech and hollow. Ah, Tam! Ah, Tam! thou'll get thy fairin ! In hell they'll roast thee like a herrin! In vain thy Kate awaits thy comin ! Kate soon will be a woefu' woman! Now, wha this tale o' truth shall read, (1-32) In Shairp's "Burns," E. M. L., p. 121, read the testimony of the wife of Burns in regard to the poet's behaviour during poetic composition. Burns drew Tam, Souter Johnny, and "sullen dame," from real life. (33– 58) Note that this storm swirling outside the tavern represents Tam's wife. Tam, ensconced by the "ingle," drinking his divine "nappy" ale, pays careless attention to the "rair and rustle" without. He seems oblivious of the ghost of his wife, who rides in her attacks on the back of a storm; but as time passes, dramatic harmony is appreciated, — the hurricane without is met by as great a tempest within the breast, when his conscience feels the home-call of his Kate. "O'er a' the ills o' life victorious" is a motto which Burns afterward obeyed in "sage experience" at the Globe tavern of Dumfries. (59–104) Observe the felicitous phrases which rise in greatness above the dialect. This is unusual in the poems of Burns.' Detect faint traces of the midnight ride of Ichabod Crane. (105-224) "Inspiring bold John Barleycorn!" Cf. "Scotch Drink" : "Leeze me on thee, John Barleycorn, and "Holy Fair": Thou king o' grain!" "Leeze me on drink! it gies us mair What fault may be found with Burns' treatment of the supernatural? Compare the comical elements in the poem with those presented in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Name ten rides in English and American literature and the famous rides in German poetry that have been written by Bürger and Goethe. Burns has not strongly painted a moral. Consult E. M. L. " Wordsworth," p. 149, for a criticism of "Tam o' Shanter." A BARD'S EPITAPH Is there a whim-inspired fool, Owre fast for thought, owre hot for rule, 5 And owre this grassy heap sing dool, ΙΟ Is there a bard of rustic song, Who, noteless, steals the crowds among, O, pass not by ! But, with a frater-feeling strong, Here, heave a sigh. Is there a man, whose judgment clear, Can others teach the course to steer, 15 Yet runs, himself, life's mad career, |