_The gist (in rhyme) of the Author's first speech at a Burns' Supper._
What can I say aboot Rabbie
That hasna already been said?
What tribute pay tae his memory
That hasna already been paid?
Great men an' clever hae a' had their say
On the Laddie wha followed the ploo';
The subject's owre big for a head sic as mine;
Them wha can dae it justice are few.
I've nae skill in the clinkin' o' classical words
That some freens o' ma ain think sae gran';
Sae dinna expect me tae gie ye a screed
In a language I don't understan'.
Oor auld mither tongue, I mainteen, is the best,
O' a' herts it can open the portal;
An' Rabbie wi' lyric an' hert-meltin' sang
Has made the auld Doric immortal.
He sang o' the birdies, the trees, an' the flooers;
He championed the cause o' the feeble;
He sang o' the joys an' the sorrows o' men,
He stood against a' that was evil.
He sang in the major some rollickin' gangs,
Which filled ilka hert fu' o' glee;
His sangs in the minor sae dowie an' sad
Brocht the tears drappin' doon frae the e'e.
In oor grand "Scots Wha Hae" the patriot is seen;
'Tis the slogan o' Scotland to-day;
An' whaur is the Scotsman, on hearin' its ca',
Wad ever be last in the fray?
"The Land o' the Leal" is equally gran'
In conception of true human love,
An' belief in the Land whaur there's naething but joy
'Neath the smile o' the Faither above.
"Flow gently, Sweet Afton," "To Mary in Heaven,"
"The Lea Rig," "My Nannie's Awa'"--
Such gems o' love-sang oor best minds declare
Made Rabbie the king o' them a'.
When his hand swept the strings o' auld Scotia's lyre
The notes were sae bonnie an' sweet,
Like the heavenly bliss o' the fond lover's kiss
When in their ain Eden they meet.
Let the story, the toast, the speech, an' the sang,
An' the glass tak' their coorse roun' the table;
Though it mayna be muckle that ilk yin can dae,
At least let him dae what he's able.
Tae help in the cause we a' hae at hert
Let's toast it afore we disperse--
That brithers we'll be on the land an' the sea,
Embracing the hale universe.