Whereas, in BURNS' original MS., sent by him to THOMSON, the third and fourth lines ran "Wi' mony a sweet babe fatherless, And mony a widow mourning;" An exquisitely tender and truthful couplet, worthy of his best moments of inspiration, and which reading has since been universally adopted. On the other hand, the alteration as in the song, Farewell, thou fair Day, &c., “the bright setting sun" being substituted in some Editions for "the broad setting sun," as originally written, is bad; but this, and many such changes, are just other reasons for us sincerely wishing that BURNS' Works had been kept, untouched, as he left them. Without pretending to be critical, we may be allowed to remark that the quality of several of the Songs is so low that we can hardly fancy them written by BURNS: hence, had we been left entirely to the free exercise of our judgment, the present volume would have been smaller; but as we pledged ourselves, in our Prospectus, to give "The most complete and perfect Copy of the Poems and Songs of Robert Burns ever issued from any Press," and as even the questionable or doubtful pieces had certainly passed through his hands-been polished or enlarged by him-and as they had formerly been given in various Editions as productions of our Author, we did not feel ourselves warranted to leave them out. We have, therefore, partly at the expense of our own convictions, given the whole, and redeemed our pledge. We cannot close this Preface better than by appending BURNS' own words, which we found when collating the Afton Lodge MSS., and which, in so far as we know, have hitherto been unpublished. KILMARNOCK, DECEMBER, 1869. JAMES M'KIE. Many verses, on which an author would by no means rest his reputation in print, may yet amuse an idle moment in manuscript; and many Poems, from the locality of the subject, may be uninteresting or unintelligible to those who are strangers to that locality. Most of, if not all the following Poems are in one or other of these predicaments, and the author begs whoever into whose hands they may fall, that they will do him the justice not to publish what he himself thought proper to suppress." "R. B." CONTENTS. Here awa, there awa, wandering Willie There's auld Rob Morris that wons in yon glen Here is the Glen, and here the Bower The day returns, my bofom burns O Love will venture in, where it dare na weel be seen Nae gentle dames, tho' e'er fae fair O mirk, mirk is this midnight hour Where Cart rins rowing to the fea Blythe ha'e I been on yon hill Husband, husband, cease your strife Robert Bruce's Address to his Army at Bannockburn Farewell, thou fair day, thou green earth, and ye skies By Allan ftream I chanc'd to rove Farewell, thou ftream that winding flows Ye banks, and braes, and streams around Thou haft left me ever Now Spring has clad the grove in green The fmall birds rejoice on the green leaves returning Now in her green mantle blythe Nature arrays Where are the joys I have met in the morning 'Twas even;-or, the Lafs o' Ballochmyle Page 49 50 51 52 54 56 57 59 61 63 65 66 67 68 70 71 73 74 75 77 79 80 82 83 84 86 87 89 90 92 93 95 97 98 99 ΙΟΙ 103 105 107 108 ΙΙΟ Page III Laffie wi' the lintwhite locks O Tibbie! I hae feen the day Senfibility, how charming Bonie laffie, will ye go Farewell, ye dungeons dark and strong What can a young How pleasant the banks of the clear winding Devon But lately feen, in gladfome green laffie do wi' an auld man The Catrine woods were yellow feen Hark! the mavis' evening sang (First fett) First when Maggy was my care Thickest night furround my dwelling O Willie brew'd a peck o' maut 113 114 117 118 119 122 123 125 126 127 130 131 132 135 136 137 139 140 142 144 146 148 149 150 152 156 158 159 161 There liv'd ance a carle in Kellyburn-Braes Sae flaxen were her ringlets Willie Waftle's wife When o'er the hill the Eastern Star The lovely lafs o' Inverness Oh, how can I be blythe and glad |