Versified Note to Dr. Mackenzie, Mauchline
Friday first’s the day appointedBy the Right Worshipful anointed,
To hold our grand procession;To get a blad o’ Johnie’s morals,And taste a swatch o’ Manson’s barrels
I’ the way of our profession.The Master and the BrotherhoodWould a’ be glad to see you;For me I would be mair than proud
To share the mercies wi’ you.If Death, then, wi’ skaith, then,Some mortal heart is hechtin,Inform him, and storm him,That Saturday you’ll fecht him.
Robert Burns.Mossgiel, An. M. 5790.
Adieu! a heart-warm fond adieu;Dear brothers of the mystic tie!Ye favoured, enlighten’d few,Companions of my social joy;Tho’ I to foreign lands must hie,Pursuing Fortune’s slidd’ry ba’;With melting heart, and brimful eye,I’ll mind you still, tho’ far awa.
Oft have I met your social band,And spent the cheerful, festive night;Oft, honour’d with supreme command,Presided o’er the sons of light:And by that hieroglyphic bright,Which none but Craftsmen ever sawStrong Mem’ry on my heart shall writeThose happy scenes, when far awa.
May Freedom, Harmony, and Love,Unite you in the grand Design,Beneath th’ Omniscient Eye above,The glorious Architect Divine,That you may keep th’ unerring line,Still rising by the plummet’s law,Till Order bright completely shine,Shall be my pray’r when far awa.
And you, farewell! whose merits claimJustly that highest badge to wear:Heav’n bless your honour’d noble name,To Masonry and Scotia dear!A last request permit me here,—When yearly ye assemble a’,One round, I ask it with a tear,To him, the Bard that’s far awa.
Words in this poem
- worshipful a.
- Entitled to worship, reverence, or high respect; claiming respect; worthy of honor; -- often used as a term of respect, sometimes ironically.
- swatch n.
- A swath. Tusser.
- saturday n.
- The seventh or last day of the week; the day following Friday and preceding Sunday. [OE. Saterday, AS. Sæterdæg, Sæterndæg, Sæternesdæg, literally, Saturn's day, fr. L. Saturnus Saturn + AS. dæg day; cf. L. dies Saturni.]
- favoured a.
- Countenanced; aided; regarded with kidness; as, a favored friend.
- brimful a.
- Full to the brim; completely full; ready to overflow.
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- omniscient a.
- Having universal knowledge; knowing all things; infinitely knowing or wise; as, the omniscient God. [Omni- + L. sciens, -entis, p. pr. of scire to know: cf. F. omniscient. See Science.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- unerring a.
- Committing no mistake; incapable or error or failure certain; sure; unfailing; as, the unerring wisdom of God.
- scotia n.
- A concave molding used especially in classical architecture. [L., fr. Gr. skoti`a darkness, a sunken molding in the base of a pillar, so called from the dark shadow it casts, from sko`tos darkness.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Versified Note to Dr. Mackenzie, Mauchline is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems and Songs of Robert Burns, Project Gutenberg ebook #1279; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Burns, Versified Note to Dr. Mackenzie, Mauchline, in Poems and Songs (1786–1796), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1279, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/burns-poems/versified-note-to-dr-mackenzie-mauchline.html, id L03031.
Form and metre
Versified Note to Dr. Mackenzie, Mauchline is 48 lines in 9 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.7 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 15% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AA appointedA · anointedA
- 4 ---AA you · then · hechtin · himA · himA
- 6 ABA---B- adieuA · tieB · fewA · joy · hie · ba · eyeB · awa
- 7 ABABB-B- bandA · nightB · commandA · lightB · brightB · saw · writeB · awa
- 8 ABABB-B- loveA · designB · aboveA · divineB · lineB · law · shineB · awa
- 9 ABACC-B- claimA · wearB · nameA · dearC · hereC · a · tearB · awa
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Friday first’s the day appointed | 8 | /˘···˘/˘ |
| By the Right Worshipful anointed, | 9 | ···/˘˘˘/˘ |
| To hold our grand procession; | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| To get a blad o’ Johnie’s morals, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| And taste a swatch o’ Manson’s barrels | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| I’ the way of our profession. | 9 | ····/˘˘/˘ |
| The Master and the Brotherhood | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Would a’ be glad to see you; | 7 | ······· |
| For me I would be mair than proud | 8 | ········ |
| To share the mercies wi’ you. | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| If Death, then, wi’ skaith, then, | 6 | ······ |
| Some mortal heart is hechtin, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Inform him, and storm him, | 6 | ˘/···· |
| That Saturday you’ll fecht him. | 7 | ·/····· |
| Robert Burns. | 3 | /˘· |
| Mossgiel, An. M. 5790. | 4 | ···· |
| Adieu! a heart-warm fond adieu; | 8 | ˘/····˘/ |
| Dear brothers of the mystic tie! | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Ye favoured, enlighten’d few, | 8 | ·/˘˘˘/˘· |
| Companions of my social joy; | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| Tho’ I to foreign lands must hie, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Pursuing Fortune’s slidd’ry ba’; | 8 | ˘/˘/˘··· |
| With melting heart, and brimful eye, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| I’ll mind you still, tho’ far awa. | 8 | ········ |
| Oft have I met your social band, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And spent the cheerful, festive night; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Oft, honour’d with supreme command, | 8 | ····˘/˘/ |
| Presided o’er the sons of light: | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| And by that hieroglyphic bright, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Which none but Craftsmen ever saw | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Strong Mem’ry on my heart shall write | 8 | ········ |
| Those happy scenes, when far awa. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| May Freedom, Harmony, and Love, | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| Unite you in the grand Design, | 8 | /·····˘/ |
| Beneath th’ Omniscient Eye above, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| The glorious Architect Divine, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| That you may keep th’ unerring line, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Still rising by the plummet’s law, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Till Order bright completely shine, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Shall be my pray’r when far awa. | 8 | ········ |
| And you, farewell! whose merits claim | 8 | ···/·/˘· |
| Justly that highest badge to wear: | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| Heav’n bless your honour’d noble name, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To Masonry and Scotia dear! | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| A last request permit me here,— | 8 | ··˘/˘/·· |
| When yearly ye assemble a’, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| One round, I ask it with a tear, | 8 | ········ |
| To him, the Bard that’s far awa. | 8 | ········ |
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