Late in the nicht in bed I lay,
The winds were at their weary play,

An' tirlin' wa's an' skirlin' wae
Through Heev'n they battered; -

On-ding o' hail, on-blaff o' spray,
The tempest blattered.

The masoned house it dinled through;
It dung the ship, it cowped the coo'.

The rankit aiks it overthrew,
Had braved a' weathers;

The strang sea-gleds it took an' blew
Awa' like feathers.

The thrawes o' fear on a' were shed,
An' the hair rose, an' slumber fled,

An' lichts were lit an' prayers were said
Through a' the kintry;

An' the cauld terror clum in bed
Wi' a' an' sindry.

To hear in the pit-mirk on hie
The brangled collieshangie flie,

The warl', they thocht, wi' land an' sea,
Itsel' wad cowpit;

An' for auld airn, the smashed debris
By God be rowpit.

Meanwhile frae far Aldeboran,
To folks wi' talescopes in han',

O' ships that cowpit, winds that ran,
Nae sign was seen,

But the wee warl' in sunshine span
As bricht's a preen.

I, tae, by God's especial grace,
Dwall denty in a bieldy place,

Wi' hosened feet, wi' shaven face,
Wi' dacent mainners:

A grand example to the race
O' tautit sinners!

The wind may blaw, the heathen rage,
The deil may start on the rampage; -

The sick in bed, the thief in cage -
What's a' to me?

Cosh in my house, a sober sage,
I sit an' see.

An' whiles the bluid spangs to my bree,
To lie sae saft, to live sae free,

While better men maun do an' die
In unco places.

"WHAUR'S GOD?" I cry, an' "WHAE IS ME
TO HAE SIC GRACES?"

I mind the fecht the sailors keep,
But fire or can'le, rest or sleep,

In darkness an' the muckle deep;
An' mind beside

The herd that on the hills o' sheep
Has wandered wide.

I mind me on the hoastin' weans -
The penny joes on causey stanes -

The auld folk wi' the crazy banes,
Baith auld an' puir,

That aye maun thole the winds an' rains
An' labour sair.

An' whiles I'm kind o' pleased a blink,
An' kind o' fleyed forby, to think,

For a' my rowth o' meat an' drink
An' waste o' crumb,

I'll mebbe have to thole wi' skink
In Kingdom Come.

For God whan jowes the Judgment bell,
Wi' His ain Hand, His Leevin' Sel',

Sall ryve the guid (as Prophets tell)
Frae them that had it;

And in the reamin' pat o' Hell,
The rich be scaddit.

O Lord, if this indeed be sae,
Let daw that sair an' happy day!

Again' the warl', grawn auld an' gray,
Up wi' your aixe!

An' let the puir enjoy their play -
I'll thole my paiks.

XIV - MY CONSCIENCE!
Of a' the ills that flesh can fear,

The loss o' frien's, the lack o' gear,
A yowlin' tyke, a glandered mear,

A lassie's nonsense -
There's just ae thing I cannae bear,

An' that's my conscience.
Whan day (an' a' excuse) has gane,

An' wark is dune, and duty's plain,
An' to my charmer a' my lane

I creep apairt,
My conscience! hoo the yammerin' pain

Stends to my heart!
A' day wi' various ends in view

The hairsts o' time I had to pu',
An' made a hash wad staw a soo,

Let be a man! -
My conscience! whan my han's were fu',

Whaur were ye than?
An' there were a' the lures o' life,

There pleesure skirlin' on the fife,
There anger, wi' the hotchin' knife

Ground shairp in Hell -
My conscience! - you that's like a wife! -

Whaur was yoursel'?
I ken it fine: just waitin' here,

To gar the evil waur appear,
To clart the guid, confuse the clear,

Mis-ca' the great,
My conscience! an' to raise a steer

Whan a's ower late.
Sic-like, some tyke grawn auld and blind,

Whan thieves brok' through the gear to p'ind,
Has lain his dozened length an' grinned

At the disaster;
An' the morn's mornin', wud's the wind,

Yokes on his master.
XV - TO DOCTOR JOHN BROWN

(Whan the dear doctor, dear to a',
Was still amang us here belaw,

I set my pipes his praise to blaw
Wi' a' my speerit;

But noo, Dear Doctor! he's awa',
An' ne'er can hear it.)

By Lyne and Tyne, by Thames and Tees,
By a' the various river-Dee's,

In Mars and Manors 'yont the seas
Or here at hame,

Whaure'er there's kindly folk to please,
They ken your name.

They ken your name, they ken your tyke,
They ken the honey from your byke;

But mebbe after a' your fyke,
(The truth to tell)

It's just your honest Rab they like,
An' no yoursel'.

As at the gowff, some canny play'r
Should tee a common ba' wi' care -

Should flourish and deleever fair
His souple shintie -

An' the ba' rise into the air,
A leevin' lintie:

Sae in the game we writers play,
There comes to some a bonny day,

When a dear ferlie shall repay
Their years o' strife,

An' like your Rab, their things o' clay,
Spreid wings o' life.

Ye scarce deserved it, I'm afraid -
You that had never learned the trade,

But just some idle mornin' strayed
Into the schule,

An' picked the fiddle up an' played
Like Neil himsel'.

Your e'e was gleg, your fingers dink;
Ye didnae fash yoursel' to think,

But wove, as fast as puss can link,
Your denty wab:-

Ye stapped your pen into the ink,
An' there was Rab!

Sinsyne, whaure'er your fortune lay
By dowie den, by canty brae,

Simmer an' winter, nicht an' day,
Rab was aye wi' ye;

An' a' the folk on a' the way
Were blithe to see ye.

O sir, the gods are kind indeed,
An' hauld ye for an honoured heid,

That for a wee bit clarkit screed
Sae weel reward ye,

An' lend - puir Rabbie bein' deid -
His ghaist to guard ye.

For though, whaure'er yoursel' may be,
We've just to turn an' glisk a wee,

An' Rab at heel we're shure to see
Wi' gladsome caper: -

The bogle of a bogle, he -
A ghaist o' paper!

And as the auld-farrand hero sees
In Hell a bogle Hercules,

Pit there the lesser deid to please,
While he himsel'

Dwalls wi' the muckle gods at ease
Far raised frae hell:

Sae the true Rabbie far has gane
On kindlier business o' his ain

Wi' aulder frien's; an' his breist-bane
An' stumpie tailie,

He birstles at a new hearth stane
By James and Ailie.

XVI
It's an owercome sooth for age an' youth

And it brooks wi' nae denial,
That the dearest friends are the auldest friends

And the young are just on trial.
There's a rival bauld wi' young an' auld

And it's him that has bereft me;
For the surest friends are the auldest friends

And the maist o' mines hae left me.
There are kind hearts still, for friends to fill

And fools to take and break them;
But the nearest friends are the auldest friends

And the grave's the place to seek them.

• slumber [´slʌmbə] v.&n.睡眠；沉睡状态 (初中英语单词)
• terror [´terə] n.恐怖；惊骇 (初中英语单词)
• sunshine [´sʌnʃain] n.日光，阳光 (初中英语单词)
• confuse [kən´fju:z] vt.使混乱；混淆；慌乱 (初中英语单词)
• flourish [´flʌriʃ] v.茂盛；挥动 n.挥舞 (初中英语单词)
• scarce [skeəs, skers] a.缺乏的；稀有的 (初中英语单词)
• reward [ri´wɔ:d] n.&v.报答；报酬；奖赏 (初中英语单词)
• tempest [´tempist] n.暴风雨 (高中英语单词)
• heathen [´hi:ðən] n.异教徒 (高中英语单词)
• nonsense [´nɔnsəns] n.胡说 int.胡说!废话 (高中英语单词)
• learned [´lə:nid] a.有学问的，博学的 (高中英语单词)
• hearth [hɑ:θ] n.炉边；家庭(生活) (高中英语单词)
• thieves [θi:vz] thief的复数 (英语四级单词)
• fiddle [´fidl] n.小提琴 v.拉提琴 (英语四级单词)
• lesser [´lesə] a.较小的；次要的 (英语四级单词)
• especial [i´speʃəl] a.特别的，特殊的 (英语六级单词)
• thames [temz] n.泰晤士河 (英语六级单词)
• blithe [´blaið] a.快乐的；冒失的 (英语六级单词)
• bereft [bi´reft] bereave的过去分词 (英语六级单词)