_
Whyles owre a linn the burnie plays,
As thro' the glen it wimpled;
Whyles round a rocky scaur it strays;
Whyles in a wiel it dimpled;
Whyles glitter'd to the nightly rays,
Wi' bickering, dancing dazzle;
Whyles cookit underneath the braes,
Below the spreading hazel,
Unseen that night.
_Halloween._
Closely interwoven with Burns's feelings for natural beauty is his
sympathy with animals. The frequency of passages of pathos on the
sufferings of beasts and birds may be in part due to the influence of
Sterne, but in the main its origin is not literary but is an
expression of a tender heart and a lifelong friendly intercourse. In
this relation Burns most often allows his sentiment to come to the
edge of sentimentality, yet in fairness it must be said that he seldom
crosses the line. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he had no need
to force the note; it was his instinct both as a farmer and as a lover
of animals to think, when he heard the storm rise, how it would affect
the lower creation.
List'ning the doors and winnocks rattle, [windows]
I thought me on the ourie cattle, [shivering]
Or silly sheep, wha bide this brattle [onset]
O' winter war,
And thro' the drift, deep-lairing, sprattle [-sinking, scramble]
Beneath a scar.
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