Gude ale hauds me bare and busy,
Gars me moop wi' the servant hizzie,
Stand i' the stool when I hae done;
Gude ale keeps my heart aboon.

Oh, gude ale comes, and gude ale goes;
Gude ale gars me sell my hose,

Sell my hose, and pawn my shoon ;
Gude ale keeps my heart aboon.

GUDEWIFE, COUNT THE LAWIN.

BURNS.

GANE is the day, and mirk's the night
But we'll ne'er stray for faut o' light;
For ale and brandy's stars and moon,
And bluid-red wine's the rising sun.
Then, gudewife, count the lawin,
The lawin, the lawin;

Then, gudewife, count the lawin,
And bring's a coggie mair.

There's wealth and case for gentlemen,

And semple folk maun fecht and fen;
But here we're a' in ae accord,

For ilka man that's drunk's a lord.

Then, gudewife, count the lawin,

The lawin, the lawin;

Then, gudewife, count the lawin,
And bring's a coggie mair.

My coggic is a haly pool

That heals the wounds o' care and doul; And pleasure is a wanton trout—

An

ye drink but deep ye'll find him out. Then, gudewife, count the lawin, The lawin, the lawin;

Then, gudewife, count the lawin,

And bring's a coggie mair.

THE DEIL'S AWA' WI' THE EXCISEMAN.*

BURNS.

THE deil cam' fiddling through the town,
And danced awa' wi' the exciseman;
And ilka wife cried: Auld Mahoun,
We wish you luck o' your prize, man.
We'll mak' our maut, and brew our drink;
We'll dance, and sing, and rejoice, man ;
And mony thanks to the muckle black deil
That danced awa' wi' the exciseman.

* Mr. Lockhart, in his "Life of Burns," gives the following account of the composition of this poem:-"At that period (1792) a great deal of contraband traffic, chiefly from the Isle of Man, was going on along the coasts of Galloway and Ayrshire; and the whole of the revenue-officers from Gretna to Dumfries were placed under the orders of a superintendent residing in Annan, who exerted himself zealously in intercepting the descent of the smuggling-vessels. On the 27th of February, a suspicious looking brig was discovered in the Solway Frith, and Burns was one of the party whom the superintendent conducted to watch her motions. She got into shallow water the day afterwards, and the officers were enabled to discover that her crew were numerous, armed, and not likely to yield without a struggle. Lewars, a brother exciseman, an intimate friend of our poet, was accordingly sent to Dumfries for a guard of dragoons; the superintendent, Mr. Crawford, proceeded himself on a similar errand to Ecclefechan; and Burns was left, with some men under his orders, to watch the brig, and prevent landing or escape. From the private journal of one of the excisemen (now in my hands), it appears that Burns manifested considerable impatience while thus occupied, being left for many hours in a wet salt-marsh with a force which he knew to be inadequate for the purpose it was meant to fulfil. One of his friends hearing him abuse Lewars in particular for being slow about his journey, the man answered, that he also wished the devil had him for his pains, and that Burns, in the meantime, would do well to indite a song upon the sluggard. Burns said nothing; but after taking a few strides by himself along the reeds and shingle, rejoined his party, and chanted them the well-known ditty, 'The deil's awa' wi' the exciseman.' Lewards arrived shortly after with the dragcons; and Burns, putting himself at their head, waded, sword in hand, to the brig, and was the first to board her. The crew lost heart and submitted, though their numbers were greater than those of the assailing force. The vessel was condemned, and, with all her arms and stores, sold by auction next day at Dumfries; upon which occasion Burns, whose behaviour had been highly commended, thought fit to purchase four carronades by way of trophy. But his glee," continues Mr. Lockhart, "went a step further; he sent the guns, with a letter, to the French Convention, requesting that body to accept them as a mark of his admiration and respect. The present and its accompaniment were intercepted at the custom-house at Dover; and here-there appears to be little room to doubtwas the principal circumstance that drew on Burns the notice of his jealous superiors. We were not, it is true, at war with France; but every one knew and felt that we were to be so ere long; and nobody can pretend that Burns was not guilty on this occasion of a most absurd and presumptuous breach of decorum.'

There's threesome reels and foursome reels,

There's hornpipes and strathspeys, man; But the ae best dance e'er cam' to our lan' Was the deil's awa' wi' the cxciseman. We'll mak' our maut, &c.

OH, Willie brew'd a peck o' maut,
And Rob and Allan cam' to see;
Three blither hearts that leelang night
Ye wadna find in Christendie.

We are na fou, we're na that fou,

But just a drappie in our ee;
The cock may craw, the day may daw',
And aye we'll taste the barley bree.

Here are we met three merry boys,
Three merry boys I trow are we;
And mony a night we've merry been,
And mony mair we hope to be.

We are na fou, &c.

It is the moon, I ken her horn,

That's blinkin in the lift sae hie;
She shines sae bright to wyle us hame,

But, by my troth, she'll wait a wee.

We are na fou, &c.

Wha first shall rise to gang awa',

A cuckold, coward loon is he ;
Wha first beside his chair shall fa',

He shall be king amang us three.

We are na fou, &c.

"This air," says Burns, "is Masterton's; the song is mine. The occasion of it was this:-Mr. William Nicol, of the High School, Edinburgh, during the autumn vacation, being at Moffat, honest Allan, who was at that time on a visit to Dalswinton, and I, went to pay Nicol a visit. We had such a joyous meeting, that Masterton and I agreed, each in our own way, that we should celebrate the business." Dr. Currie, who mentions that Nicol's farm was that of Laggan, in Nithsdale, adds, that "these three honest fellows, all men of uncommon talents, were in 1798 all under the turf."

NEIL GOW'S FAREWELL TO WHISKY.

Words and music by NATHANIEL or NEIL Gow, born 1727, died 1807.
YOU'VE surely heard o' famous Neil,
The man that play'd the fiddle weel;
I wat he was a canty chiel,

And dearly lo'ed the whisky O.
And aye sin he wore tartan trews,
He dearly lo'ed the Athol brose ;
And wae was he, you may suppose,
To play farewell to whisky O.
Alake, quoth Neil, I'm frail and auld,
And find my bluid grow unco cauld
I think 'twad make me blithe and bauld,
A wee drap Highland whisky O.
Yet the doctors they do a' agree,
That whisky's no the drink for me.
By Saul! quoth Neil, 'twill spoil my glee,
Should they part me and whisky 0.

Though I can baith get wine and ale,
And find my head and fingers hale,
I'll be content, though legs should fail,
To play farewell to whisky O.
But still I think on auld lang syne,
When Paradise our friends did tyne,
Because something ran in their min',
Forbid like Highland whisky O.

Come, a' ye powers o' music, come;
I find my heart grows unco glum ;
My fiddle-strings will no play bum,
To say farewell to whisky O.
Yet I'll take my fiddle in my hand,

And screw the pegs up while they'll stand,
To make a lamentation grand

For gude auld Highland whisky O.

As a performer on the violin Neil Gow was unequalled. "The livelier airs," says one of his biographers, "which belonged to the class of what are called strathspey and reel, and which have long been peculiar to the northern part of the island, assumed in his hand a style of spirit, fire, and beauty, which had never been heard before. There is perhaps no species whatever of music executed on the violin in which the characteristic expression depends more on his power of the bow, particularly in what is called the upward or returning stroke, than the Highland reel. Here accordingly was Gow's forte. His bow-hand, as a suitable instrument of his genius, was uncommonly powerful; and where the note produced by the up-bow was often feeble and indistinct in other hands, it was struck in his playing with a strength and certainty which never failed to surprise the skilful hearer. To this extraordinary power of the bow, in the hand of great original genius, must be ascribed the singular felicity of expression which he gave to all his music, and the native Highland gout of certain tunes, such as 'Tullochgorum,' in which his taste and style of bowing could never be exactly reached by any other performer. We may add the effect of the sudden shout with which he frequently accompanied his playing in the quick tunes, and which seemed instantly to electrify the dancers, inspiring them with new life and energy, and rousing the spirits of the most inanimate."

Neil Gow excelled also in the composition of Scottish melodies; and his sets of the older tunes and various of his own airs were prepared for publication by his son Nathaniel. In private life Neil Gow was. distinguished by his unpretending manners, his homely humour, and strong good sense and knowledge of the world. His figure was vigorous and manly, and the expression of his countenance spirited and intelligent. His whole appearance exhibited so characteristic a model of a Scottish Highlander, that his portrait was to be found at one time in all parts of the country. Four admirable likenesses of him were painted by the late Sir Henry Raeburn; one for the county-hall at Perth, and the others for the Duke of Athol, Lord Gray, and Lord Panmure. His portrait was also introduced into the view of a "Highland Wedding" by the late Sir William Allan, along with that of Donald Gow, his brother, who usually accompanied him on the violoncello.-Scottish Biography.