Burns [pp. 249-252]

SOUTHERN LITERARY MESSENGER.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY, AT FIVE DOLLARS PER ANNUM-THOMAS W. WHITE, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
VOL. VII. RICHMOND, APRIL, 1841. NO. 4.
DAYS LANG SYNE.
BY ISAAC F. SHEPARD,
Author of "Pebbles from Castalia," and other Poemts.
Ah! dinna ye aft mind ye, Marie,
O' happie days lang syne,
When blithe an' joyfu' as ae faerie,
The simmer wreath ye'd twine?
My heart woad aft loup blithe and light,
An' joy blink in mine ee,
When hameward at the dewy night,
We trode the tearfu' lea.
Ye coud na ken the luve wad wake,
Wi' thy sweet e'ening sang,
When we thegither aft wad make
Ane path the braes amang.
Nae simmer rose was half sae sweet,
Nane half sae lo'ed by me,
As when we wad ilk ither meet,
We twa, alane and free.
I feared nae bogle'neath the flowers,
Nae ghaist the woods amang;
Sae joyfu' gaed the merry hours,
I kenn'd nae day too lang.
Sweet, happie hours! lang, lang bygane,
I luve them mair an' mair;
The banks, the braes, the auld gray stane,
Is thy heart never there?
I ken ye maun aft mind ye, Marie,
O' simmer days lang syne;
They dwell about thee like ae faerie,
Thy happiest days, and mine.
BURNS.
BY H. T. TUCKERMAN.
There are certain sentiments which "give the
world assurance of a man." They are inborn, not
acquired. Before them fade away the trophies of
scholarship and the badges of authority. They
are the most endearing of human attractions. No
process of culture, no mere grace of manner, no
intellectual endowment, can atone for their absence,
or successfully imitate their charms. These sentiments redeem our nature; their indulgence constitutes the better moments of life. Without them
we grow mechanical in action, formal in manner,
pedantic in mind. With them in freshness and
vigor, we are true, spontaneous, morally alive.
We reciprocate affection,'we luxuriate in the embrace of nature, we breathe an atmosphere of love,
and glow in the light of beauty. Frankness, manly
independence, deep sensibility and pure enthusiasm
are the characteristics of the true man. Against
VOL. VII-32
these fashion, trade and the whole train of petty
interests wage an unceasing war. In few hearts
do they survive; but wherever recognized they
carry every unperverted soul back to childhood
and up to God. They vindicate human nature
with irresistible eloquence, and like the air of
mountains and the verdure of valleys, allure us
from the thoroughfare of routine and the thorny
path of destiny. When combined with genius,
they utter an appeal to the world, and their posses sor becomes a priest of humanity, whose oracles
send forth an echo even from the chambers of
death. Such is ROBERT BURNS. HOW refreshing,
to turn from the would-be-prophets of the day,
and contemplate the inspired ploughman! No mys tic emblems deform his message. We have no
hieroglyphics to decipher. We need no philo sophic critic at our elbow. It is a brother who
speaks to us;-no singular specimen of spiritual
pride, but a creature of flesh and blood. We
can hear the beatings of his brave heart, not al-.
ways like a "muffled drum," but often with the
joy of solemn victory. We feel the grasp of his
toil-hardened hand. We see the pride on his brow,
the tear in his eye, the smile on his lip. We be hold not an effigy of buried learning, a tame image
from the mould of fashion, but a free, cordial, ear nest man;-one with whom we can roam the hills,
partake the cup, praise the maiden, or worship the
stars. He is a human creature, only overflowing
with the characteristics of humanity. To him
belong in large measure the passions and the powers of his race. He professes no exemption from
the common lot. He pretends not to live on rarer
elements. He expects not to be ethereal before
death. He conceals not his share of frailty, nor
turns aside froin penance. He takes'with equal
thanks' a sermon or a song. No one prays more
devoutly; but the same ardor fires his earthly
loves. The voice that "wales a portion with
judicious care," anon is attuned to the convivial song. The same eye that glances with poetic
awe upon the hills at twilight, gazes with a less
subdued fervor on the winsome features of the
Highland lassie. And thus vibrated the poet's heart
from earth to heaven,-from the human to the godlike. Rarely and richly were mingled in him the
elements of human nature. His crowning distinction is a larger soul; and this he carried into all
things, -to the altar of God and the festive board,
to the ploughshare's furrow and the letter of friendship, to the martial lyric and the lover's assignation. That such a soul should arise in the midst
of poverty is a blessing. So do men learn that all