Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1873-02-01
ALEYA. GAZETTE 4 VIRGINIA ADFER ElSER.
IGOR TuE COT NTkI.l
Robert Burns.

Robert Burns.
From the Louisville Couricr-Journal
Bv the suffl ayes Of his couatryucn. ratified
by the consent Of all who are Competent to Judge,
Burns in the realm Of song aud lyric is lacilc
prucerS Loyal rs they are to CampbclI and
Scott, Scotsmen the world over cling to burn>
as the representative poet OF Scotland Unhkc
many Of his couatgymcn who had tuned ;h /:
Tyre before him, an uninterrupted succcsson OF
splendid names, from Lyndsly Duabar and
Gavin Douglass to Allan Rar,scy and The i'll
fated Ferguson and TanuaEil, lucn famous in
their time, but whose reputation Is now chiefly
confined to their native couutry, Burns took Il
wider range and appealed to Il larger clrc'c;
Though intensely national, he was IN pr'l"und
sympathy with all humanity; Tenderness thc
most exquisite humor. broad. genial and rtln-
ed, strong perception Of narural beauty; Il
hatred deep and unarpea>ahle OF all ialsch"o!
and sbanls he sang Of friendship and love, Of
patriotism and duty, awakening a>ympathct'c
response not from his own countrylnon only.
but from all who love the tender and true.
Among all the cbutions of gaiety, there is an
undercurrcnt that goes to the rcccSses o! the
heart No poet since Shakespeare has invest
ed with an interest SO intensely human. objects
commonly regarded as of inferior interest.
None has been able to draw lessons Of morals
from these with happier effect. The lines tn Il
daisy, "Wec, modest, rm>oll-tppci flower,
TO the mouse overturned BY the r!ow>'larc.
''Wec, S:cckit, COW riu', tim rous bcastc,
bring us iu sympathy at once with the lowest
of Gods creatures. Who but Burns could
thus moralIze on the first:
Still thou art blessed compared wi the
The present only touchcth thee,
But, oh backward cast MY er,
On prospects orear,
And forward, tho Gamma see.
guess and fear
Or on the second:
Even thou who mourncd the daisyS fate,
That fate is thin No distant da'c
Stern Ruins loSsharc drives clatc
Full on thy bloom,
Till crushed beneath the iurow's Wi hit
Shall be thy DOOM
The Address to the DELI is unique in the
Eugli>h language His great heart asks half
III humor, half in sadness, whether even for
the Arch Enemy who, ''iu Eden'S bonnie
yard 'yicd the intaut world Il shog maist
ruined Il, :" there may not be rcpcutaLcc aud
recovery.
But, fare We weel, Aud Nickic ben:
Oh, wad yc tax thought aud men,
lc aiblins might dinna KEN
Still hae stake.
I'm wac to think upon you Il Ii
Ev u Tor your sake
What can more strikngy illustrate ~! Only
the sympathy which the poet felt with the
sougStcrS OF the wood and the green h:aeS and
ripping waters of the Doom, but the sympathy
Which he expected III return, than the h"cS
known in every household where Er".lsh Is
spoken:
Yc banks aud bracS o bonnie Doom
How can yc bloom sac fresh aud lair;
How can yc chant, yc ttle bird,
And | sac weary, III o care?
Ia pictures of moral life drawn from the
rustic picty of his fathers home, Goldsmith
and Crabbe fall far below him. Isaac Ash
ford" is touching, The Village Pastor
moves the heart to love and admire but We think
Saturday Night" cou'd hesitate to which to
give the palm. The picture is complete The
weary cottcr wen ring homcward from his toll.
the expcctant wee things, waiting his return
Jenny, accompanied by her lover. coullig TO
deposit her sair Worn peApy ic", the artlcss
hllshing presentation of the ''nrcbor lad to
the old people. his welcome tothc board crown
cd with the ''halcsomc parri1eh, chief O Sc
tia food, and the evening meal over, The
circle formed Tor family worship. when the
big lla-Bble aucc his fathers pride, is
brought out,
Ills bonnet rcyerc"s,ly laid aside =
His lyart haIcls wearin' thin AMI bare,
He wales portion with peculiar care.
And 'lct us worship God he say wish solemn
air.
No wonder the poet who has i'll this cxqul-
size aud inmitab|y pastoral condensed volumes
inlo >cutcucc the daily tc of i people into 4
lew lines, and brought them out oi the ire, or
has genius at white heat exclaims
From scenes like these old Scotia grandeur
springs,
That makes her loved at home, rcrcrcd abroa
Princes and lords are but the breath of kings ;
An honest man $ the noblcSt work uf God
Only two great lyrics have been written with
n the limits of the four seas of Britain, aud
burns wrote one OF them. 4 nation. the cx-
preston of whose patriotism is found IN
Scots wha haze wi Wallace blcd,
Scots wham Bruce has often I'D,
Welcome to your CORY bed
Or to victory,
was not born to be slaves.
Burns had his faults Who has no;? We
may challtably apply to him his own lines:
Then gently scan Your brother man.
Still gentier sister woman.
Though they may gang kenn;ng wrAn..
10 step as de Is human.
Who made the heart. It's He alorc
Decidedly can try US;
He Knows each chord-it various tone
Each spriug-itS various bias
Then at the balance let's be mute.
We never can adj iust it
Wh,t'. 4 tl,.