coward slave" to be thought of stanza 1? 1. What kind of poverty would a man be a ashamed of? 2. What does stanza 2 add to the 3. What type of man is presented in stanza 3? What shows the poet's contempt for him? 4. What condition does the last stanza pray for? 5. Do you think the world would be better if this condition prevailed? 6. What are some of the changes that such a condition would bring about? = = = Glossary (for this poem): a' = all; gowd = gold; hamely homely; hodden-grey = coarse woolen cloth; gie-give; sae=so; birkie =fellow; ca'd called; wha= who; coof blockhead; mak = make; aboon=above; guid=good; mauna fa'=must not undertake; bear the gree come out ahead; warld = world. == ROBERT BURNS Robert Burns (1759-1796) was born in a humble farmer's cottage in Ayrshire, Scotland. His boyhood was one of toil, hardship, and poverty, and almost no schooling. What he learned he got from the quick intelligence with which he noted the life around him, and from a very few books that he read over and over. The hardships and mental starvation of his early life made him feel deeply the injustice in the lives of the poor, and rebel bitterly at the superior airs of the rich. It is said- though it is not certain — that the poem "For A' That" was written under the following circumstances: "A certain laird had invited Burns to meet some of his friends, and had kept Burns waiting in the kitchen until the guests arrived. Burns, resenting the insult, wrote the poem there. Burns and his brother tried their hand at farming; but nothing went well, for Scotland is a land of poor soil and harsh climate. His first volume of poems, in 1786, was immediately received with great enthusiasm, read and quoted all over Scotland. Burns found himself famous. He was invited down to Edinburgh, and there was entertained by the most eminent men of the city. Among those who saw him there was Walter Scott, then a mere boy, who remembered that Burns, simple countryman as he was, carried himself with such dignity and showed such great mental powers that he shone even in the most distinguished company. To help him, and to give him freedom for writing, his friends had him appointed as an exciseman, or collector of internal revenue for the government. This position he held during most of his short life. No poet has been more loved by the common people of his own land, His very name will stir almost any Scotchman. He is the poet of the humble; he voices their feelings and their cause, and as in "For A' That," in the dialect of the humble folk. This poem expresses well the best spirit of democracy not only in Scotland but also in America. Among his best-known poems are "To a Mouse," "The Cotter's Saturday Night," "Twa Dogs," "Tam O'Shanter," "Bonnie Doon," Scots Wha Hae Wi' Wallace Bled." You should read these and others. 66 A RILL FROM THE TOWN PUMP (SCENE. — The corner of two principal streets. The TOWN PUMP talking through its nose.) Noon, by the North clock! Noon, by the east! High noon, too, by these hot sunbeams, which fall, scarcely aslope, upon my head, and almost make the water bubble and smoke, in the trough under my nose. Truly, we public characters have a tough time of it! And, among all the 5 town officers, chosen at March meeting, where is he that sustains, for a single year, the burden of such manifold duties as are imposed, in perpetuity, upon the Town Pump? The title of "town treasurer" is rightfully mine, as guardian of the best treasure that the town has. The overseers of 10 the poor ought to make me their chairman, since I provide bountifully for the pauper, without expense to him that pays taxes. I am at the head of the fire department, and one of the physicians to the board of health. As a keeper of the peace, all water drinkers will confess me 15 equal to the constable. I perform some of the duties of the town clerk, by promulgating public notices, when they are posted on my front. To speak within bounds, I am the chief person of the municipality, and exhibit, moreover, an admirable pattern to my brother officers, 20 by the cool, steady, upright, downright, and impartial discharge of my business, and the constancy with which I stand to my post. Summer or winter, nobody seeks me in vain; for, all day long, I am seen at the busiest corner, just above the market, stretching out my arms, to rich and poor alike; and at night, I hold a lantern over my head, both to show where I am, and keep people out of the gutters. 5 At this sultry noontide, I am cupbearer to the parched populace, for whose benefit an iron goblet is chained to my waist. Like a dram-seller on the mall, at musterday, I cry aloud to all and sundry, in my plainest accents, and at the very tiptop of my voice. Here it is, 10 gentlemen! Here is the good liquor! Walk up, walk up, gentlemen, walk up, walk up! Here is the superior stuff! Here is the unadulterated ale of father Adam, -better than Cognac, Hollands, Jamaica, strong beer, or wine of any price; here it is, by the hogshead or the single 15 glass, and not a cent to pay! Walk up, gentlemen, walk up, and help yourselves! It were a pity, if all this outcry should draw no customers. Here they come. A hot day, gentlemen! Quaff, and away again, so as to keep yourselves in a 20 nice cool sweat. You, my friend, will need another cupful, to wash the dust out of your throat, if it be as thick there as it is on your cowhide shoes. I see that you have trudged half a score of miles to-day; and, like a wise man, have passed by the taverns, and stopped at 25 the running brooks and well-curbs. Otherwise, betwixt heat without and fire within, you would have been burned to a cinder, or melted down to nothing at all, in the fashion of a jelly-fish. Drink, and make room for that other fellow, who seeks my aid to quench the |