e'en monc a plack, and mony a peck,
ye ken yoursels, for little feck!
ye bonie lasses, dight your e'en,
for some o' you hae tint a frien';
in eighty-eight, ye ken, was taen,
what ye'll ne'er hae to gie again.
observe the very nowt an' sheep,
how dowff an' daviely they creep;
nay, even the yirth itsel' does cry,
for e'nburgh wells are grutten dry.
o eighty-nine, thou's but a bairn,
an' no owre auld, i hope, to learn!
thou beardless boy, i pray tak care,
thou now hast got thy daddy's chair;
nae handcuff'd, mizl'd, hap-shackl'd regent,
but, like himsel, a full free agent,
be sure ye follow out the plan
nae waur than he did, honest man!
as muckle better as you can.
january, 1, 1789.