The Labor enquirer., 1884-01-26
!. BoB1lE' !; sI|lRl||.
The Prince Of Poets Hated all
Shams, and Sang Of
the Humble.
He Was Considered l Dans seross
Nan BY tho Enemies q
Humanity.

0ddS anu Luxufy U0uiQ NOT WIN.
Him From His Poor Friends
Humble Society.
Editor Labor Enquirer. 4,
The twenty-fth Of January awaksns
memories dear TO the heart Of every
lover of true greatness Its ! Hme for
those whose hte it is 70 eke out ! living
through the weary drudeeries Of life, the
victims Of unpaid labor, to do fitting
honors to him who has presented the
cause Of abused and suffering humanity
in language that few if any ever squallsd.
The prince Of poets. rich in lore, no car>
ried his riches in his head and not in
his pocket. The quintessence Of hu-
tmanitY, the lover Of liberty, the soul Of
democracy, the hater Of shams and hy-
pocricy, the arch-enemy Of tyrants, the
hated of royalty and aristocracy, the
friend Of the poor Robert Burns.
Well might those who rule not wisely
or well ask the question that Caser
asked Brutus:.
G@ser-What man Is that9
| Brutus-A soothsayer, bids you beware the
ides Of March, al
C@ser-He is dreamer; let us leave him.
Pass-he is q great observer and looks quite
through the deeds Of men. He thinks too {
much; such men are dangerous.
That Burns was feared it cannot be
disputed. That he was a dangerous man
the enemies of humanity in their blind
| fury have admitted. Feared by whom,
to whom was he dangerous2 Not by the
husbandman, the humane or lowly; to
these Burns is a guiding star. He was
feared by those who starve the majority
Of mankind into submission the titled
hoodlums and landed aristocracy, Of
whom he says:
But then to sec how you're neglecket,
How huff'd, and cuff ID, and disrespecketi
Lord, man, our gentry care as little
For delivers ditchers and sic cattle;
They gang as sauey by poor folk,
AS would by q sinking brock
I've noted, on our Laird's courtday,
And mony time my hearts been wac;
Poor tenant bodies, scant O. cash,
How they maun thole q factors smash;
He'll stamp and threaten, curse and swear,
He'll apprehend them, poind their goar:
While they man maun STAN, we' aspect
humble
And hear 1t a, and fear and tremblel
see how folk live, that haze ritches;
But surely poor folk msun be wretches.
He was feared by kings and soul-less
legislators.
But vicious folk aye hate to see
The works o. virtue thrive, man;
The courtly vermin banned the tree
An graf TO see 1t thrive, man.
King Loup thought to cut 1t down
When it was unco' sma', man;
For this the watchman cracked his crown-s
Cut off his head an a., man.
| After reviewing the French people in
their struggle for liberty, he turns his
attention to the social dead-heads OF
Great Britain.
Let Britln boast her hardy oak,
Her poplar an her pine, man
Aud Britin ance could crak her joke,
An o'er her neighbors shine, man;
But seek the forest round an round,
An soon twill be agreed, man,
That sic tree cannot be found
Twixt London an the Tweed, man.
=, - ~
We labor soon, we labor late
To feed the titled knave, man
An q, the comfort we're to get
Is that ayount the grave, man.
Had he courted the graces and sang
the praises of royol thieves his rugged
path of life might have been made
smooth; but he chose to speak his honest
thought and hurl his shafts Of wit and
satire against the oppressors Of the poor.
This was his sin; for this he was doomed
to poverty. Had he. like Moore, sang
the praises of the royal family land it
is to be regretted that Moore did SOY he
would have been salarled poet, and at
will could have been the guest Of Buck
ingham, wined and dined by snobs; but
there he would be out Of his element.
Selfshness of any kind was not an IN
gredient in the character Of Burns. If
he found man noble in soul as well as
in position, like Dear or Glencairn, he
did not hesitate to eulogize him as
heartily as he dared to curse the high
born bigot of blood.
This truly great man, great as he was
intellectully, he was no less great physi-
cally-with brawny shoulders, slightly
bent through ceaseless and excessive
toil-guiding his team afeld and jocundly
glorying in the skillful direction and
hopeful triumph Of the plow. Whether
in the field or in the clay digging he was
formulating thought that has shaken the
social systems Of this world to their very
centers.
What history this man made for him
self He caused the pens of critics and
eulogists from pole pole tofash for all
time to come.
When Burns reached the zenith
tof his greatness he was on the
threshold Of his grave, and before part
ling this life his herculean genius forced
recognition from the spectacled scholars
and learned professors Of Ed:nburg-
/, They invited him to their metropolis
The hiooraphers Of Burns tell % that
. the simple ploughman, by his native